NEOCLASSICAL ROCK
Starting a new series this month is Aussie shredmeister Chris Brooks who is looking at strategies for gaining speed, Yngwie style.
Chris Brooks the renowned Aussie rock and metal guitarist begins a new series looking at the neo-classical style of Yngwie Malmsteen
This series is derived from my book, Neoclassical Speed Strategies For Guitar, written to explore the speed picking strategies employed by Yngwie Malmsteen. As we venture through both conventional and unconventional aspects of the nimble-fingered Swede’s powerhouse picking, you can expect solutions to stumbling
blocks you may have already encountered in your own playing. Let’s begin with some crucial biomechanics for doing things The Yng Way.
‘Pick edge offset’ reduces friction and latency by using the edge of the pick to attack the strings rather than the flat surface area. Offsets are applied using wrist placement and pick grip. To offset the pick as Yngwie does (along with many other elite pickers), turn the pick clockwise from the flat to string position (Figure A). This starting point means the outer edge of the pick will hit the string first on a downstroke.
The other plane of motion crucial to everything in Yngwie’s system relates to how the pick moves up and down in relation to the guitar body. Parallel motion, where pick strokes maintain an equal distance from the guitar body, will see the pick trapped on the wrong side of the next string in many cases, requiring a bounce or hop motion to make the string change. This can be costly at speed.
Instead, try the stance illustrated in Figure B, where downstrokes push in towards the guitar body, and upstrokes pull away for clearance. This orientation can be achieved via rotation of the forearm, both outward and inward within the range illustrated. Yngwie’s string changes are all set up around this downward picking orientation, with the back end of the pick pointing down, and most strings being initiated with downstrokes and completed with escaped upstrokes.
Single strings are really where speed starts, so be sure to give each exercise here plenty of practise. Next month, we’ll triple down on string changes by looking at three ways Yngwie maximises picking orientation for scalar lines. Happy shredding!
NEXT MONTH Chris continues his exploration of the speedy style of Yngwie Malmsteen
PICK EDGE OFFSET REDUCES FRICTION BY USING THE EDGE OF THE PICK TO ATTACK THE STRINGS RATHER THAN THE FLAT SURFACE AREA