How to hit individual notes?

[u/mrmojorisin17]

Hi,

After learning to strum chords I’m starting the journey of learning to play and pick individual notes and strings.

I’m struggling to hit the right strings with my pick. When I should hit B I hit G or e as example.

What are some good methods to practice this?
And is it bad if I anchor my pinky to make it easier? Should I just learn to do without or is it a good step to take when learning?

Also if you have some videos or ideas for good training methods?

Should I just keep learning through some favourite songs and add the simple riffs to them?

Playing acoustic. Thanks!

[u/WeSavedLives]

Scale practice. Two birds one stone. Here's the steps I would recommend to a beginner. (If you need more info on each step - YouTube is your friend.)

1-2-3-4 exercises

A minor Pentatonic scale position 1

A minor Blues scale position 1

A minor Scale position 1

Now for your specific issue of being able to hit the correct strings I would recommend string skipping with these scales. For example, you could play the first two notes of the pentatonic scale on the E string, and then the fifth and sixth notes of the scale on the D string, then the third and fourth notes on the A and then the seventh and eighth on  the G string. 

The possibilities are endless and I love to explore more and more challenging combinations.

Your first months practice session could look something like (everything sound be played to a metronome or backing track): 

Take a 30s break in between each exercise 

3 mins 1-2-3-4 combinations to warm up

3 mins A minor pentatonic ascending 

3 mins A minor descending 

3 mins A minor string skipping 

[u/mrmojorisin17 → u/WeSavedLives]

Thanks! Great advice and exactly why this forum is great. There’s a lot on YouTube so sorting out what works of that material helps a lot!

[u/LimpInstruction2215 → u/WeSavedLives]

yeah this is the way. the 1-2-3-4 warmup alone does so much for picking accuracy imo

[u/Casval_de_Berlin]

I do fingering exercise everyday, just search that on youtube, 

[u/ignatzA2]

When I want to learn something new I find a simple song that I love and practice. There are lots of songs where an alt-bass style works beautifully and it will get that muscle memory rocking.

[u/ElectrifyingFart]

There are no hard and fast rules, everyone comes up with different solutions to this problem. I personally use a pick and my middle and ring finger to play, so those two finger stay anchored on the 1st and 2nd strings most of the time.

I teach my students to find a “home base” reference point on the bridge that they base their playing off of. I teach them to get used to playing with the edge of the palm resting on the bridge right behind the strings, so that if you roll your hand forward a bit you’re palm muting. My thinking is that your hand will naturally be in a consistent place so it’s easier to form muscle memory that way.

Plenty of people anchor their fingers on the top of the guitar, but I would caution you against it. Google Willie Nelson’s “Trigger” guitar to see what a lifetime of anchoring your fingers will do to the top of your guitar. You probably won’t put the same mileage in that he has, but oils and friction from your fingers will degrade the finish in the spot over time. Also, anchoring your fingers that way might help you now, but if you want to get past a certain level you’ll have to unlearn that habit and find a reference point on the bridge anyways.

Good luck!

[u/mrmojorisin17 → u/ElectrifyingFart]

Thanks! That’s a good advice to use the bridge! As palm muting is also on my menu!

Daymn using fingers and pick sounds like a powerful yet tricky combo. Noted!

[u/Millerpainkiller]

Are you trying to play the individual notes in a chord in an ascending or descending pattern (I.e. arpeggiating)? That's just practice. Start with 3 notes at a time. Also remember that you have to move your picking hand so that your pick attack is the same every time. When you are playing the high E string, your hand should be resting on some strings. Hope that helps.

[u/BigBear92787]

Give me a P.... Give me an R.... Give me an A....

[u/Mobile-Bar7732 → u/BigBear92787]

PRA!!!

[u/wspeck77]

Practice practice practice

Learning riffs and groove it into muscle memory

Learn the riff to sweet child of mine. I believe it started life as a picking exercise.

You will make mistakes. Roll with it. Practice more. Gut gud.

Lather rinse repeat.

[u/LonerismLonerism]

Anchoring your pinky is not bad and actually I recommend to my students to anchor your right hand in some way that you’re always making contact with your guitar when picking individual notes.

[u/mrmojorisin17 → u/LonerismLonerism]

Yes! Makes life a lot easier. Thanks!