Picking Techniques (Guitar Lesson)

Picking Techniques

Lita covers some of the picking techniques she likes to utilize during a live performance.

Taught by Lita Ford in Lita Ford Artist Series seriesLength: 4:43Difficulty: 2.5 of 5

Supplemental Learning Material

Lita Ford Artist Series

Lita Ford who is the guitarist for the band "The Runaways" will present a series that will include the knowledge and personal experiences of what it was like to be a prime female guitarist in the late 70's and early 80's.

About Lita Ford View Full Biography

To LITA FORD, the title of her new solo album Living Like A Runaway has two deep and distinct meanings: The first refers to her first band The Runaways, which she was a member of between 1975 and 1980, achieving her international breakthrough. The second reason is of a much more personal nature: “There have been days in my life when I ran away, when I was unhappy and had to get out of my previous life,” LITA confesses. “It‘s like walking through fire and being able to come through the other side unscathed.” She continues, “I wanted to write an album which gives people courage, inspires them and gives them new power, in other words the power of music. As it has done for me on difficult days, I want this music to help people to get through tough times, while remembering their happy times as well. It’s happened to me plenty of times: fans come up to me and tell me how my songs have helped them in difficult situations, in a way it is almost like a soundtrack to their lives.”

Living Like A Runaway will be released on SPV/Steamhammer June 18th 2012 (USA: June 19th; Germany: June 15th). The album will be available in five different formats: as a limited edition digipak featuring two bonus tracks and a poster, as a gatefold double LP, a jewel case version, an exclusive iTunes version including a bonus track, and for download.

LITA FORD has teamed up with producer Gary Hoey and lyricist Michael Dan Ehmig to work on Living Like a Runaway. Together the team invested a lot of time and effort into this kick ass project: “We worked on the lyrics intensively to really give the songs a lot of meaning and that special emotional depth. I think that these are some of the best lyrics ever, period. FORD is referring to numbers such as ‘Devil In My Head,’ ‘Hate’, and ‘The Asylum’ which see her bare her soul in a way which she has never done before.

In addition to lead vocals, LITA and Hoey have arranged beautiful and melodic guitar harmonies rather than just rattling off a bunch of notes. Also contributing to the album is Nikki Sixx who wrote "A Song to Slit Your Wrist By" which was taken by LITA and completely transformed into a nasty industrial style track with a real F You! attitude. On the track "Bad Neighborhood" guitarist Doug Aldrich provided the riff, which LITA says, “is a high energy guitar riff that carries the song.” Elton John also gave his blessing to LITA to do a cover of his classic "The Bitch is Back", featuring special guests The Uptown Horns.

Unlike many albums today, Living Like a Runaway is an album that truly must be heard in its entirety from start to finish. “Listeners shouldn’t pick out individual tracks but listen to the full album,” says FORD. “It’s a fascinating musical journey, inspired by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. I had seen a documentary about Dark Side of the Moon and it really motivated me to focus on Living Like a Runaway as a whole journey rather just an individual song.

A British born rocker who grew up on the streets of L.A., Lita Ford is considered one of the most important female representatives of the rock genre. Being a founding member of the Runaways, one of the first girl groups who unexpectedly broke down barriers in the punk era as well as the male-dominated world of rock music, causing a stir with their six rebellious releases.

Following the demise of the Runaways, LITA FORD concentrated on her own career and now looks back on many memorable hits including: the chart topping duet with Ozzy Osbourne "Close Your Eyes Forever", "What Do You Know About Love", "Shot Of Poison", "Larger Than Life" and "Kiss Me Deadly." With the release of Living Like a Runaway, expect many more songs to be added to the list of hits.