In martial arts, throwing a punch with just your arm is weak and exhausting. But when you engage your entire body—rotating your hips, driving with your legs, and aligning your shoulders—the motion becomes powerful and efficient.
The same principle applies to selective picking in guitar playing. By dividing the workload between your fretting and picking hands, you achieve greater speed, precision, and fluidity with less effort.
Selective picking isn’t just a technique; it’s a game-changer for modern guitarists, offering a unique blend of speed, tone, and percussive qualities. In this article, we’ll explore the mechanics of selective picking, how to achieve the right tone, and strategies to master this powerful approach.
What Is Selective Picking?
Selective picking is a contemporary guitar technique, closely associated with Tosin Abasi, the virtuoso guitarist of Animals As Leaders. It involves a division of labor between the hands: the picking hand strikes notes strategically, while the fretting hand produces others through hammer-ons from nowhere (also known as cold hammers). This approach allows for fast, fluid, and rhythmically complex lines with fewer pick strokes, creating a broader palette of sounds and textures.
Effortless Speed
One of the key advantages of selective picking is its remarkable efficiency. By distributing the workload between both hands, you can achieve higher tempos without overexerting either. This approach mirrors the mechanics of tapping, where both hands collaborate to produce notes, enabling faster passages with significantly less strain.
Unlike traditional alternate picking, where both hands must match the same note value (e.g., both playing 16th notes or triplets), selective picking shifts part of the responsibility to the fretting hand. This division of labor reduces the demand on the picking hand, opening up new rhythmic possibilities and making it easier to achieve effortless speed.
For instance, in alternate picking, a 16th-note passage requires both hands to play every note in sync. In selective picking, the fretting hand takes over some of the notes using hammer-ons, while the picking hand strategically strikes the remaining ones. This not only enhances speed but also results in a smoother, more fluid, and dynamic sound.
Getting the Tone
The right tone is essential for selective picking to shine. Here’s how to dial it in:
- Pickups: Most players recommend using single-coil pickups or split-coil humbuckers for a clear, articulate sound.
- Gain Settings: Aim for a tone that’s crunchy—on the edge of clean and distorted. This balance ensures clarity while retaining the percussive qualities of the technique.
- Compression: A compression pedal is your best friend. It evens out the dynamics, ensuring consistent note volume and enhancing the attack of your picking.
- Effects: Adding a touch of an overdrive pedal or a subtle delay pedal can help shape the tone further, giving it depth and character.
Fretting Hand: Hammer-Ons from Nowhere
The hammer-ons from nowhere technique is the backbone of selective picking. Here’s how to execute it effectively:
- Finger Placement: Use your fretting hand fingers to tap the string on the desired fret, causing it to vibrate and produce a note.
- Thumb Position: Keep your thumb behind the neck, approximately behind the second finger, to provide stability.
- Palm Alignment: Your palm should remain parallel to the bottom edge of the neck. While there are exceptions, this is the foundational position.
- Muting: Keep your knuckles low to effectively mute any unwanted strings below the one you’re playing, especially when fretting notes that coincide with open strings. For example, if you’re hammering a G note on the 6th string, the open G string (3rd string) might resonate unintentionally. Keeping your knuckles low allows you to lightly touch and mute these strings, ensuring a cleaner, more controlled sound.
Picking Hand: Pick and Palm Muting
The picking hand plays a crucial role in selective picking, not just for striking notes but also for controlling the tone and muting unwanted noise.
- Strategic Picking: Strike notes selectively, focusing on precision rather than speed.
- Palm Muting: Use the fleshy part of your palm to lightly rest on the strings near the bridge. This not only prevents notes from overlapping, creating a punchy and percussive tone, but also effectively mutes any unwanted strings, ensuring clarity and control in your playing.
- Percussive Qualities: The combination of strategic picking and palm muting gives selective picking its signature attack and clarity.
Hand Synchronization
The true challenge of selective picking lies in synchronizing both hands. Much like a drummer coordinating their limbs, you need to ensure that your fretting and picking hands work in perfect harmony.
- Rhythmic Focus: Pay attention to the rhythmic aspect of your playing, not just the melodic.
- Practice Carefully Designed Exercises: Focus on exercises that target both hand synchronization and tone shaping, ensuring precision and balance in your playing.
Practice Strategies
Mastering selective picking requires patience, precision, and a structured approach. Here’s how to practice effectively:
- Start with Rhythmic Patterns: Begin by practicing simple rhythmic patterns to internalize the timing and coordination between your hands.
- Focus on Synchronization: Work on exercises that emphasize the synchronization of your fretting and picking hands. Start slow and gradually increase the tempo.
- Gradual Complexity: Begin with simple patterns and progress to more complex ones as your technique improves.
- Tone Shaping: Use your practice time to experiment with tone settings, ensuring that your sound is clear, punchy, and balanced.
- Warm-Up Routines: Always include warm-up exercises to prevent muscle tension and injury. If you feel any pain, stop immediately and consult a medical expert.
Inspiration from the Master: Tosin Abasi
No discussion of selective picking would be complete without mentioning Tosin Abasi, the guitarist of Animals As Leaders. Abasi has redefined modern guitar playing with his innovative use of selective picking, combining it with guitar techniques like legato playing, pull-offs, and hammer-ons to create intricate, rhythmically complex lines.
Abasi’s mastery of the technique is particularly evident in his use of eight-string guitars, which allow for extended range and greater harmonic possibilities. His ability to blend technical precision with musicality is a testament to the power of selective picking as a tool for creative expression.
FAQ: Your Selective Picking Questions Answered
Q: Why is there noise when I play?
A: Noise often occurs when strings resonate or vibrate unintentionally. To fix this, place your picking hand close to the bridge, ensuring it touches all the strings. Simultaneously, keep the knuckles of your fretting hand low to help mute the strings below the one you’re playing.
Q: Why are my note volumes inconsistent? Should I use more compression?
A: While a compression pedal can help, the real solution lies in refining your technique. Focus on your fretting hand, practicing hammer-ons from nowhere to balance the tone produced by each finger. Combine this with careful attention to your picking hand to maintain consistent dynamics.
Final Thoughts
Selective picking is more than just a technique—it’s a gateway to new levels of speed, precision, and creativity. By balancing the workload between your hands, you can achieve effortless speed while exploring a broader range of tones and textures. It is a tool that can transform your guitar playing.
So grab your guitar, start slow, and focus on building both accuracy and expression. With time and dedication, you’ll unlock the full potential of this powerful technique.