Series Introduction And Picking Primer (Guitar Lesson)
What are you waiting for? Get your membership now!
Series Introduction And Picking Primer
Allen kicks off his technique series with a primer lesson on right hand picking.
Taught by Allen Van Wert in Speed And Technique seriesLength: 30:52Difficulty: 1.5 of 5
Video Subtitles / Captions
Supplemental Learning Material
Speed And Technique
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsAllen "Robot" Van Wert teaches his approach to developing technique necessary for fast playing.
Lesson 1
Series Introduction And Picking Primer
Allen kicks off his technique series with a primer lesson on right hand picking.
Length: 30:52 Difficulty: 1.5 Members OnlyLesson 2
Rudimentary Drills
Allen shows you the 24 rudiments crucial to developing finger dexterity.
Length: 7:22 Difficulty: 1.5 FREE
Left Hand Endurance Building
Allen shows an amazing muscle building exercise that really works out the left hand!
Length: 9:32 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Fundamental Picking Exercise
This lesson covers an exercise that works on all the major picking techniques.
Length: 11:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Synchronize And Stretch
Allen shows you a great exercise set that helps with synchronizing your hands as well as stretching your left hand.
Length: 8:18 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The System
Allen Van Wert explains his system of programming, reinforcing, and forgetting primary functions of guitar playing. This system is a long term practice routine that will take some time to fully implement...
Length: 50:53 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Interval Exercises
This is the next step after you have learned Allen's "system". If you follow Allen's teachings you are sure to have a deep understanding of intervals and scales.
Length: 21:29 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Triad Arpeggio Exercises
First, Allen gives a pop quiz for you to check your own ability to visualize the fretboard. Then he gives exercises for programming your triad arpeggios.
Length: 21:30 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Seventh Arpeggio Exercises
Allen Van Wert shows you how to apply his systematic practice approach to 7th arpeggios. If you are just discovering this series make sure to start at the beginning or some things may not make sense.
Length: 8:36 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Fretboard Advancement
Allen briefly explains how he refers to modes in the context of this lesson and then shows you how to grow your knowledge of the fretboard.
Length: 15:35 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Rut Busting Exercises
Get out of that rut with these exercises from Allen Van Wert!
Length: 10:44 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Basic Tapping
Allen returns to his speed and technique lesson series with a look at the basics of tapping. This lesson will act as a primer for more advanced tapping concepts and eventual speed increases as well!
Length: 30:42 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Using Tapping to Extend Your Range
Allen is back with the next installment in his look at tapping. In this lesson Allen discusses and demonstrates how you can use tapping to easily extend your range while playing.
Length: 11:05 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Single String Tapping
Allen is back with more tapping goodness! This time around, he discusses single string tapping.
Length: 10:27 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Multi-String Tapping
By this time you should have a pretty strong grasp of tapping basics and be proficient at tapping on one string. In lesson 15 of his Speed and Technique series, Allen starts working you up to tapping...
Length: 14:46 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Tapped Octave Minor Pentatonic
In this lesson Allen demonstrates an octave displaced, tapped, minor pentatonic scale. This can be useful for solo work and getting around chord changes!
Length: 10:28 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Emulating Keyboards
Allen is back with a comprehensive look what what many people call "Touch Tapping." Allen likes to describe this as emulating a keyboard on the guitar.
Length: 32:41 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Combining Tapping Techniques
Now that you should have most of the tapping techniques under your fingers, it's time to put them all together. In this lesson Allen provides you with a piece of music that encompasses all of the techniques...
Length: 11:16 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
String Skipping Exercises
To wrap up his current film session and look at the speed and technique series, Allen provides a lesson based around exercises to build your string skipping technique.
Length: 29:31 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
About Allen Van Wert
View Full Biography
Allen Van Wert got the nickname "ROBOT" from his unusual guitar tapping techniques that often sound like a video game more than a guitar. He has studied and played a wide variety of genres. His experimental and eclectic amalgamation of music combining shred guitar, crazy tapping techniques, and electronically infused composition contrasted by a highly emotional soft melodic side, make his debut album a really fun and interesting listen for just about anyone.
Allen has recorded guitar for the famed video game soundtrack composer Jesper Kyd (Composer of Hitman, Splinter Cell and many other big title games) as well as composing and recording for movie trailers and TV commercials. He has also been producing, recording and co-writing for local artists in his small home/project studio.
His three books on guitar technique, ear training and songwriting have helped many students over the past couple of years. Allen has also played in various cover bands in many genres since the age of 16 and has played to over 5000 on a few occasions. He was a featured guest musician on the album "West Coast Shred Fest".
In his spare time, Allen programs video games for fun. Wooo!
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Mario DaSilva
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Kailana Nelson
Mark Nelson introduces "'Ulupalakua," a song he will be using to teach different skills and techniques. In this lesson, he...
Free LessonSeries Details
Randall Williams
In this lesson Randall introduces the partial capo (using a short-cut capo by Kyser) and talks about how it can make the...
Free LessonSeries Details
David Isaacs
JamPlay welcomes David Isaacs to our teacher roster. With his first lesson Dave explains his approach to playing guitar with...
Free LessonSeries Details
Marcelo Berestovoy
Marcelo teaches the eight basic right hand moves for the Rumba Flamenca strum pattern. He then shows you how to apply it...
Free LessonSeries Details
Justin Roth
In this lesson Justin introduces his series on playing with a capo and dishes out some basic tips, including how to properly...
Free LessonSeries Details
Robbie Merrill
JamPlay welcomes bassist and founding member of Godsmack, Robbie Merrill. In this short introduction lesson, Robbie showcases...
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Amodeo
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Free LessonSeries Details
Erik Mongrain
Erik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries Details
Hawkeye Herman
Hawkeye teaches several Robert Johnson licks in this lesson. These licks are played with a slide in open G tuning.
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
DJ Phillips
Learn a handful of new blues techniques while learning to play Stevie Ray Vaughn's "The House Is Rockin'".
Free LessonSeries Details
Dennis Hodges
Learn a variety of essential techniques commonly used in the metal genre, including palm muting, string slides, and chord...
Free LessonSeries Details
Eric Madis
In this lesson Eric talks about playing basic lead in the Memphis Blues style.
Free LessonSeries Details
Billy Sheehan
Billy starts his artist series off with a lesson on something he gets asked the most to explain: right hand 3 finger technique.
Free LessonSeries Details
Daniel Gilbert
Known around the world for his inspirational approach to guitar instruction, Musician's Institute veteran Daniel Gilbert...
Free LessonSeries Details
Rex Brown
Dive into the playing of Rex Brown. As the bass player for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill, Brown's real world experience...
Free LessonSeries Details
David MacKenzie
David MacKenzie introduces the tapping technique and teaches a fun exercise. This lesson includes a backing track.
Free LessonSeries Details
Bumblefoot
Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal pulls out all the stops in his blistering artist series. Dive into the intense,...
Free LessonSeries Details
Prashant Aswani
Do you want to play more musical sounding solos? Do you want to play solos with more emotion behind them? Maybe you're the...
Free LessonSeries DetailsJoin over 483741 guitarists who have learned how to play in weeks... not years!
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.Take a minute to compare JamPlay to other traditional and new methods of learning guitar. Our estimates for "In-Person" lessons below are based on a weekly face-to-face lesson for $40 per hour.
 |
||||
| Price Per Lesson | < $0.01 | $4 - $5 | $30 - $50 | Free |
| Money Back Guarantee | Sometimes | n/a | ||
| Number of Instructors | 87 | 1 – 3 | 1 | Zillions |
| Interaction with Instructors | Daily Webcam Sessions | Weekly | ||
| Professional Instructors | Luck of the Draw | Luck of the Draw | ||
| New Lessons | Daily | Weekly | Minutely | |
| Structured Lessons | ||||
| Learn Any Style | Sorta | |||
| Track Progress | ||||
| HD Video | - | Sometimes | ||
| Multiple Camera Angles | Sometimes | - | Sometimes | |
| Accurate Tabs | Maybe | Maybe | ||
| Scale/Chord Libraries | ||||
| Custom JamTracks | ||||
| Interactive Games | ||||
| Community | ||||
| Learn in Sweatpants | Socially Unacceptable | |||
| Gasoline Needed | $0.00 | $0.00 | ~$4 / gallon! | $0.00 |
Mike H.
"I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar!"
I am 66 years young and I still got it! I would have never known this if it had not been for Jamplay! I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar! Ha! I cannot express enough how great you're website is! It is for beginners and advanced pickers! I am an advanced picker and thought I had lost it but thanks to you all, I found it again! Even though I only play by ear, I have been a member a whopping whole two weeks now and have already got Brent's country shuffle and country blues down and of course with embellishments. Thank you all for your wonderful program!
Greg J.
"With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace"
I'm a fifty eight year old newbie who owns a guitar which has been sitting untouched in a corner for about seven years now. Last weekend I got inspired to pick it up and finally learn how to play after watching an amazing Spanish guitarist on TV. So, here I am. I'm starting at the beginning with Steve Eulberg and I couldn't be happier (except for the sore fingers :) Some day I'm going to play like Steve! I'm self employed with a hectic schedule. With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace, rewinding and replaying the videos until I get it. This is a very enjoyable diversion from my work yet I still feel like I'm accomplishing something worthwhile. Thanks a lot, Greg
Bill
"I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students."
I am commenting here to tell you and everyone at JamPlay that I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students. I truly enjoy learning to play the guitar on JamPlay.com. Yes, I said the words, ""enjoy learning."" It is by far the best deal for the money.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Love the idea. I done it for 2 hours. Left hand by it self as well then combined them both together after I was done. To see if I could tell of some improvement in piece of music from joe stump and I am really happy with it. Thank you. I make sure to practice this everyday for hour.
hey Allen when your holding the pick how far does your point stick out I have mine just out a little bit and I don't know if I'm just scraping the string or picking it .When I slow down I don't seem to have as much control over the picking.The pick seems to get caught on the string the slower go. do you have any advice
second time for me to watch this important video.
Suggestion: Instead of practicing so close to the bridge for less string movement, just place a finger on the 12th fret. Then move up to the 11th, 10th etc. until you are acclimated to picking with less string tension. I had the same problem with the bridge obstructing my technique.
Very informative lesson for me, a decades-long player and instructor. Question: I'm a lefty but when I first started at age 10 my teacher insisted I learn to play righty because will be more convenient and beneficial in the long run. Over the years one of my biggest obstacles was picking speed and recently realized it might be because my right hand/arm is not dominant. Do you know any lefties that also hit this speed wall? Or am I imagining the whole thing and simply need to practice speed picking more?
Very insightful lesson Allen! My question is regarding the effect of string gauge on picking technique. I recently went from heavier gauge to lighter gauge strings on my Les Paul, and noticed that my pick attack is more precise on the heavier gauge strings. I assume this is related to the amplitude of oscillation being less on heavier gauge strings. Any thoughts?
This was one of the most interesting technique and tip videos I have seen on the site. Never really analyzed how far I was moving past the string with my pick. Also notice you keep your fingers tucked in.l Great video
Thank you!
how come your series says mainly taught on acoustic and all it has is electric?
Thank you so much for this series. I'm still pretty new to playing, and I can't believe how fast these exercises help you improve.
HAHA. Awesome! I am glad it helps
Heya - As a long time guitarist, and jazz guy - educator as well - I'm glad to see your very practical cross - genre speed techniques. Speed has not been my main focus, and I'm ready to step it up there. This is like doing some good reps at the gym, and I appreciate your clear approach. Did you mention to students that you're tuned down 1/2 step? I might have missed that mention, but would be helpful for folks with less experienced ears.
Scene 3; The devil is in details....
If I was detuned here I am sorry for not mentioning it. I usually go out to get filmed doing song stuff and the guitars get tuned to the song and I forget when giving technique lesson stuff after.
Hey Allen, I took the exact same pick "journey". Std medium picks to stubby"s and got a stylus for practice and now the V picks. I hate to jump on the bandwagon as everyone else but the V picks are the most comfortable, smooth and most important is they stick in your fingers. I use the dimension jr. Indeed, the stylus will "fish hook" and stop you dead if you dig to deep. It's a great tool.
Hi, Allen, thanks for posting these videos man, you did great. But can all of these lessons be done also on Acoustic guitar? Or does it just go for electric?
yes
Hi Allen, What type of settings are you using for tone on the guitar? Are you using any effects? Thanks
no FX.. whatever amp they had there direct I think it was a mesa of some sort. Sounds like in the intro they added some delay or reverb to the signal.
Hi Allan, Thanks for the lesson and details on picking. I noticed your using a floating bridge on your guitar. Is your bridge "locked" normally when your playing the lessons? I'm having a problem with my hand / wrist hitting my floating bridge on my jackson which distorts the notes slightly when playing.
Not locked. I just try to be careful to not hit it.
Thanks Allen! This increased my speed and control greatly within minutes of performing these practices.
I am glad that there is something like this series. Thanks.
where can we get those pics? does he have a website?
ALLEN! That is very true that you should practice the fast motion rather than just slow stuff down! You should say that more often cause it's really vital for the mind. Just slowing a piece down and going slow is the cause of speed walls, it's been established by an engineer that studied piano technique because the difference of the motion is so big. It's understandable but it isn't the intuitive way of learning to do the exact same motion, since as you say, the body usually adapts the motion to the most natural motion(which is different when playing something slow than when playing something quickly). There's a lengthy "proof" in the free book (online) Fundamentals of Piano Practice.(This is not an advert tho, the book is free and constantly updated cause he loves the subject.)
thanks
BUT DOESN'T IT MAKE THE TONE DIFFERENT? Wont there be a muting sound that will be learned like "a bad habit" that disrupts the tone. Sure efficient motion is important, but I feel uncomfortable about this bad habit that might mute my string a few milliseconds because I have learned the feeling of muting the string right after I play it.(With the pick ofcourse.)
It shouldn't be a problem because you can open up the picking a little if it causes an issue later on.
Please tell me, ( i did not really get from video ) will this exercise improve my strumming speed too, or just picking single string speed?
It should help strumming speed some too.
Thanks a lot for this lesson. I have been playing the guitar for a long time, mostly self taught. I have always had problems with picking consistently when the licks are fast. I always used my wrist to pick. It may sound funny, but it never occurred to me to use my whole arm. Since I have been practicing these exercises, I am much more consistent and am getting faster.
awesome!!! Keep at it
that was definietly over 20 notes a sec
I was just fooling around in front of the TV and was mightily impressed with my tremolo picking. I love it when I 'magically' improve. ;-)
so what do we do if we play with our thumb?
same thing
Love the way you analyze technique to get the best bang for the buck. I am sure it will enable me to reach my goals faster.
Yeah Stylus pick! I used those when I was 13 and it made a big difference. I've bought more over the past few years and recommended them to students, they're great.
also this lesson is amazing.
wow i can feel it in my thumb and wrist. good job
Love this guy...great refresher lesson on picking technique. Everyone can get something from this. I know this is a series and I really hope he touches on economy picking because there is NO good info and technique info. on the method. I know Allen is a fan of the economy picking and he would be a great instructor on the topic and will be able to provide excellent practice licks. The people on Jamplay can really benefit from the efficiency of the picking style. please do us all a favor and do a lesson on economy picking.
There is already a lesson ready where he covers the absolute basics of economy. I know he talked about getting more in depth with it further down the line.
Is it posted yet? Or is it in the works?
It has been taped already but not live at this time.
Fantastic!! This series is going to be excellent!
I am actually aroused.
If there is someone on Jamplay that can help me achieve the goals I want it is you Allen! Your song lessons were exactly I needed to give myself a massive challegenge and although I still can't play it, it helped me alot getting better! Really liked the way you introduced this topic, because as you say speed isn't a substitute for music, but it sure is useful! Really in depth study that already opened some new doors for me already! Thanks a lot man!
Allan, you D` man! Physics is music!
This is awesome.... ... awesome
This is exactly what I've been looking for. I've been trying to play Turkish March as Allen showed it in the other lesson but my picking and hand synchronization are not up to the task yet when I try speed it up. I hope this series will improve both.
will we be doing left hand excersices as well?
Yes there are some massive left hand workouts coming up.
awsome :)
Great stuff Allen! I'm looking forward to the rest of this series. http://www.styluspick.com/ looks interesting too -- I'd never heard of it.