Rest Stroke "relax" - how? And a few other questions

Jazzaferri

Never mind it came. Blues .....

Buco

In minor
It is a fresh take, could be the best after the original.

dennis

i don't know which guitar mozes is playing, but i've played with mozes a few times, he's just a very very light picker.

I have, however, played the guitar Stochelo is playing in that video. Unless i'm mistaken, that's the Eimers that he used for the DVDs that I produced for him. It's a nice guitar but it doesn't have much volume compared to some other Gypsy guitars that i've tried. Yet we hear Stochelo very clearly!

Hemert

Tomorrow I'm spending the day with Stochelo, recording for the academy, jamming and lots of talking. I'll show him this thread and see if I can get an official (video) response!

Hemert

So, I got the final word from the maestro himself. He was very clear that you should not adapt your volume to compensate for some @#%& playing rhythm way to loud.

Stochelo picking is light as a rule of thumb but of course it will become even lighter when the song or lick is very fast. Mozes' picking is indeed much lighter than that of Stochelo (as Denis already pointed out). He mentioned some other big names that have light picking styles among which Bireli.

woodamand

I had a small break thru on this last night. I have just started a class for GJ guitar. The first tune we are studying is Bellville. There is a somewhat tricky bit of chord changes that I was having some trouble with, no matter how hard I tried to make the changes work right. The instructor gave us a copy of the song slowed down by 50% using the amazing slowdowner, so same pitch just really slow. I started to play along with that, and it was so slow I could actually let the pick loosen up in my hand and suddenly it was not difficult - as long as I took it slow. I know I always practice at too high a tempo, even with a metronome, but there is something about playing along with a song that makes a great difference.
Also at that speed I was able to be even looser on my left hand. I don't normally think that I do a death grip when playing chords, but maybe I apply a bit too much force there as well. It felt a bit more like I was more floating than attacking the guitar as a whole, and I could keep the volume down as well. So at least I have an inkling of what you folks have been talking about, which is great.
I will be trying to keep this in mind at my class tonight where there will be 6 or 8 people all trying to make themselves heard!

Buco

Bireli has a light picking style?!?
That's one piece of info where if I were to make a bet I'd lose my money a 100%.

Dana, after giving you advice not to put a death grip on the pick and hold it just tight enough to where it doesn't fly out, tried to loosen my own grip even more. Turns out I needed to do that even though I thought I had it more or less at the optimum.
I was wrong.
Some passages that I couldn't execute totally clearly are already becoming better.
This discussion really made a change for better in both thinking about picking and physically holding a pick.

@Chiefbigeasy got the monster grip, put in on the pick and went to band practice. It starts out really amazing but in my case it loses the stickiness after a while.

woodamand

Wow Buco - I will remember this as I continue to try and loosen the grip. I am noticing that the pick is now flying out of my hand sometimes.
One more mountain to climb, eh?

Buco

woodamand wrote: »

One more mountain to climb, eh?

Yeah just remember most climbing accidents happen on the descent.

Jazzaferri

Every time ypunplay something with tension, you are remapping the brain and training it to play that way. The hardest part of GJ is slowing down ones practice enough so one is practicing it right. Progress comes much faster that way.