For about 20 years, I was in search of something different, in a time period where guitarists worldwide were learning EVH riffs, and whole introductions and songs, I turned a different direction. I learned a different type of theory, Basic Chord Progressions. I had a guitar teacher in junior high school that taught me all of the basic patterns of chords, I also studied the musical history, and the artists that made a world of difference, all the way down to writing up in depth reports on such greats as Clapton, Hendrix, Les Paul, and their influences in the industry.

This taught me basically how to go and sit with any band, and be able to know basically within a certain realm, where the chord patterns would go next, and made me a desirable guitarist.

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By the time I started getting into lead guitar, bands like Metallica, Dokken, EVH and such had already been very active in the scene, and I could see already the vast amount of people copy-catting the riffs they heard everyday. I do not argue that they were good at what they did, but I merely wanted something different. I did not know many of the terms used in soloing, sweeps, arpeggios, alternate picking, economy picking, and speed were not my focus until only a few years ago, because I had spent much of my days searching for the ultimate notes, or tone for a given situation, how to evoke emotions, and depth from what I was playing.

It was also a few years ago that a great player told me a secret, he had pointed out a flaw, something I had been doing for my entire guitar history, and told me if I could do it differently, I would see improvement, which I have. I learned to wrap my thumb over the neck from Hendrix, and while this can be convenient at times, depending on your angle of play, or how big your hands are, it was an out dated method, I am sure that at least a huge percentage of players do this.

So let us review a better method, and keep in mind, unless you are JUST starting to play, this will seem hard and pointless at first, but there are definite positive results after at least 80-100 hours of this new method. Get a sticky note, or a few, and write on this same thing on each of them, “Thumb Placement” place them in a place you often look when you play, (I do not recommend doing this for gigs, or in public, would best serve in your woodshed, wherever that may be) like on your headstock if you glance up your neck often, on your desk, or even a floor pedal.

Next, you will want to spend a good amount of time practicing this method, I practice it a lot and still don’t have it, and it has been three years, but we all learn at different speeds.

Place your thumb dead even in the center of the neck, never gripping the neck, only sliding on a firm thumb, not pressing too hard, because it will tire your hand, but gliding with a distance clear from the rest of your hand on the back of the neck. This will encourage speed, and also technical ability, you will find you have more room for scaling methods, and a much better stamina. This method also helps to discourage Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, to the point where I had it and now it doesn’t bother me, but there are other things to help that as well. John Petrucci : Rock Discipline, in the first 45 minutes, gives an excellent instruction on how to avoid such pains, and this regiment of stretching and movements should be done before any strenuous playing activities. Another thing to consider when you are sitting and playing, is to have your guitar resting on the opposite leg from your picking hand, and swinging your elbow out in almost a classical stance, (I have seen many players, that are lazy with this, on youtube, there are litterally 1000’s of bad examples, you may even personally know some) as well as propping your guitar holding leg up at least a few inches off of the floor. Guitar greats such as Andres Segovia (r.i.p.) maintained this as strict playing habit.

These ideas will help you to develop a prowess never before experienced in your own playing, they worked for John Petrucci, and they are working for me as well, and will be sure to work for you. I would strongly recommend that if you do not own the video mentioned above, go and get it, it is worth every penny, and should be a definite asset to an arsenal of any guitar player skills and instruction. Players that seriously put a lot of time into practicing, usually end up missing these details, and paying for it later, I was that guy, practicing for 16 hours a day for near 12 years, a few years ago, I developed carpal tunnel so bad, I could not get more than a few minutes in on a fretboard, and I could not sleep due to the pain. These stretches, and massages and the thumb placement method along with a hot wax dip (which you can buy and reuse many times) helped me through that and now I rarely have symptoms.

Mr. Petrucci tours at least 9 months out of the year, and is under CONSTANT play and workout, as well as having a footrest custom made for him for concerts, while he stands, he elevates one leg as well, you can investigate further in any recent concert footage, and more in depth in the “live at the budokai” dvd from Dream Theater.

Hopefully these writings help you to get deeper in touch with your axe, as well as tap into any skills that are not already known to you.

Happy practicing, see ya next time!