Video Question:

July 17th, 2008 - Stirlingc asks, "Dave, I recently saw your lesson on alternate picking. When i went and tried it on my guitar...it seemed as if my pick would "catch" on the string. When i kept trying to pick upward...i had to force it to come up all the way. Is there something I'm doing wrong when alternate picking? I've been trying the way you hold the pick and it doesn't help much." Return to Video Q&A Listing


Length: 3.21 | Instructor: Brad Henecke Another benefit of being a member of JamPlay is the video response section. Our expert staff fields questions from our members and provides video responses each week.

Other Video Responses:

Help With Guitar Solos - February 20th, 2008 (4 minutes, 11 seconds)

3jennijarre asks, "hi i really like your site it has helped me a lot but me and some guys from school have a band everyone tells us we are pretty good but i have a lot of trouble coming up with guitar solos. i cant seem to get one that gos with the music it sounds more like it is coming from outer space. i cant think of one and i hav been trying for a long time. if it helps the major chords in one specific SONG are in this order d a g and e minor. you guys play so well and always make it look so easy that i thought i should ask you to give me a kickstart. thanks for taking the time to read through this letter it means a lot to me and the rest of the band. if u could try to help in some way like make a lesson on guitar solos and how to make them that would be great. thanks again for reading this letter, me and the rest of the guys are very thankful. ROCK ON JARRETT" View Response

Active vs Passive Guitars - February 5th, 2008 (2 minutes, 42 seconds)

Ellen asks, "Hi, what do I need to know about active and passive guitars? What makes one active and another passive? I have been shopping for a CD player and amp that I can run my guitar through at the same time. How can I tell if my guitar is active or passive?" View Response

David Mackenzie - April 11th, 2008 (3 minutes, 30 seconds)

Hcso asks, "I'm asking you this question because you seem to know ACDC very well. When I'm playing the beginning riff to highway to hell I'm getting a real bad buzzing or squealing noise when I transition from D to the rock G chord. It's in the beggining of the song, do I need to find a new chord to try to fit it in to the song. I've tried to palm mute and I can still hear it. Josh Alloway" View Response

Right Hand Hammer-Ons, Tapping Question - June 9th, 2008 (6 minutes, 00 seconds)

bator82 asks, "Hey guys, thanks for the lessons. I was just wondering if any of the instructors knew how to do hammer ons with both hands. It seems like even when I know the notes, I have a hard time getting the sustain I want when I have to hammer on with my right hand. Does it have to do with the amp's gain, the guitar's natural sustain, pickup volume and tone, or do I need a compressor, or again, is it all in the technique. If so, are there exercises I can do to help out with right hand hammer ons and even slides? Thanks in advance." View Response

- August 28th, 2008 (6 minutes, 10 seconds)

Stevenstratt asked "Hey guys. I Have a custom made guitar. It was made by stevens stringed instruments. They are no longer around unfortunately. It is a fender strat copy with a schuller made floyd rose tremolo system. It has 3 seymour duncan pickups. It is the most comfortable guitar I've ever played. I use dean markley blue steel regular strings. I've had the guitar tuned by professionals but it doesn't seem to hold it's intonation very well. Maybe it's the strings. I also have a les paul with the same problem. I've played on friends guitars with the same problem. How do you get a guitar to have a perfect pitch. Thanks. I hope this is a video response question." View Response