How does malmsteen hold his pick

If the OP is trying to dissect Yngwie's and Romeo'sa heav picking technique to build up his speed I honestly would not go through all the trouble. I would recommend a heavy pick 2. A lot of guys if they analyze their playing will be surprised to find that the problem is actually the left hand is lagging.

To play shred fast you have to learn to get both hands working totally in sync. RLD said:. If you have nothing helpful to add then don't bother replying. I have never heard any explanation from either Yngwie or Romeo on their pick grip. Maybe you should point me towards this explanation instead of participating in a thread that you quite obviously aren't interested in or know anything about the topic. I provided the youtube link. All the info is there. Maybe you want him to come and hold your hand?

You've probably already read this somewhere, but I thought I might add It looks so effortless because they have learned to keep all the tension out. In order to work on this we have to slow down, way down and bring the speed back up while remaining as relaxed as possible.

I don't think you have even read my first post. Im assuming you can see the pictures I posted, one of which is from the exact same video you posted a link to. With this in mind, surely you must have enough common sense to know I have watched that Yngwie video and it doesn't my specific question, which I had to highlight because of people like yourself. I've been a big fan of his for many years, and have studied his style and technique quite a bit.

The angle, or grip Yngwie uses is nothing unique. What IS unique is that he "flicks his thumb" when doing arpeggios, uses circular picking, uses very little pressure, and is aided in this fact by having extremely light gauge strings which offer very little resistance, and a scalloped fretboard which further enables him to use almost NO pressure when fretting notes.

Way back many years ago I had a Michael Angelo Batio vhs video where he said, "The common denominator between those who pick fast, is that they hold their pick firmly. The guys who can't pick fast 'flick their thumbs'.

Historically, this movement, or motion mechanic, has been the most visible and most commonly discussed component of picking technique. The sheer variety of motion mechanics used by elite players has been a source of fascination and bewilderment. While rotational forearm techniques are probably the most common, elbow and even finger-based motion mechanics are also possible.

Yngwie Malmsteen, to take a highly relevant example for the Cracking the Code documentary series, uses all three. Malmsteen's legendarily fast rotational motion mechanic, which he employs for pure alternate picking, is a highly capable all-rounder and also a great introduction to rotational picking techniques that are so common in guitar.

If you haven't already settled on a motion mechanic for alternate picking, or if you'd like to experiment with a new one, Malmsteen's rotational mechanic is natural, it's easy to replicate and it's fast and effective. So it's an ideal companion to his entire system of one-way pickslanting, even numbered note groupings and sweeping. Here's how to do it: From an anchor position, with the right side of the palm resting on the bridge, simply rotate the hand downward so that the pick assumes the classic downward slant.

This hand position should feel completely natural, similar to what happens when you hook your thumb into your belt loop. There should be no tension anywhere in the hand or arm because no real effort is required to make this happen. You're simply resting the hand against the body of the guitar and allowing gravity to do its work.

Here's what it looks like when Malmsteen does it:. This is the classic downward pickslanting hand position that is key not just to Malmsteen's style, but also the styles of Randy Rhoads, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson , and so many other guitar legends.

You'll know you're doing it correctly when pickstrokes are no longer parallel to the strings, but angled with respect to them. Downstrokes now bury themselves between the strings - or hit the guitar's body. Upstrokes pull away from the guitar's body, and break free of the strings. Firstly, he answered if he feels healthy these days. Saying that he feels well, Yngwie adviced people about drinking. Later then, a fan asked him if his picking technique is natural or did he think about it a lot when learning and practicing for speed.

Yngwie revealed the main secret behind his picking technique and said he never thought to do that. Saying that it was natural, Yngwie explained how it came to be.

Whatever it took for me to get that sound, I adjusted my hands to that. Where to look for inspiration? The collective picking techniques of todays guitarists can be found all over Youtube if you know where to look.

We as mad picking scientists are on a voyage of discovery and we need to know all of these almost magic formulas so we can do our own experimenting and find what works best for us. Steve Morse holds his pick with two fingers and thumb, some hold the pick higher and closer to the first finger joint to get more strength, where as some hold pick right at the tip as an extension of their first finger. Motion sickness The motion of picking comes from the wrist and some guys add a little thumb joint movement to push the pick into the strings, especially in economy picking.

Some players hold it 45 degrees forward and some tilt the pick backwards, have a try and see how you go with just that but remember everything new feels a little strange at first.