John Slaughter is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his work with Skindustry and Coldera.
In the later part of 2006 he was co-founder of power metal act Coldera composing their first released demo track "Through the End". Many adjectives have been used to describe John's playing in live performances, but the most commonly heard is "prodigy".
Please visit John's web site.
Send comments or questions to John Slaughter.
© John Slaughter
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Click here for a printer-friendly version of "Picking Positions".
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T h i s b e i n g t h e f i r s t l e s s o n I w a n t e d t o d i s c u s s t h e three d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f r i g h t h a n d p o s i t i o n i n g I u s e f o r m y p l a y i n g . O n e p r o b l e m I s e e a l o t o f m y s t u d e n t s h a v i n g i s v e r s a t i l i t y . W h e t h e r i t' s l e a d p l a y e r s t h a t h a v e t r o u b l e w i t h r h y t h m p l a y i n g , o r r h y t h m p l a y e rs s t r u g g l i n g w i t h l e a d s , o r b o t h s t r u g g l i n g w i t h p e r c u s s i v e p l a y i n g .
O n e d a y a s t u d e n t a s k e d m e , " W h y d o e s y o u r h a n d c h a n g e p o s i t i o n w h e n y o u p l a y ?" I n e v e r r e a l i z e d t h i s a b o u t m y p l a y i n g b u t o n c e I d i d , I d e c i d e d t o s h a r e t h i s w i t h a l l m y s t u d e n t s . I n t h i s l e s s o n I w i l l g o o v e r p r o p e r r i g h t h a n d p o s i t i o n i n g t h a t w i l l e n a b l e y o u t o p l a y a n y s t y l e w i t h j u s t t h e s e three t y p e s o f p i c k i n g p o s i t i o n s .
Lead Positioning
So here we have my right hand position when I am playing leads. You will find this is very similar to my position when playing rhythm, but with some minor yet important differences. By resting your hand on the strings, while playing lead, it keeps the other strings from ringing unwillingly. Now because I use strict alternate picking the key to success is all wrist movements in this position. Holding the pick loosely creates a softer attack which allows me to glide to different strings easily.
Rhythm Positioning
R h y t h m p l a y i n g i s a l w a y s j u s t a s i m p o r t a n t a s l e a d p l a y i n g . I t a l l o w s y o u t o a c c o m p a n y t h e m e l o d i e s b e i n g p l a y e d o n t o p o f t h e m u s i c . K e e p i n g t h e r i g h t h a n d h e a v y o n t h e s t r i n g s a l l o w s f o r s t r i c t p a l m m u t i n g g i v i n g t h e u l t i m a t e " c h u n k" t o n e , u n l e s s y o u' r e p l a y i n g o p e n c h o r d s . N o w d u r i n g l e a d s I u s e s t r i c t w r i s t m o v e m e n t s , h o w e v e r , when playing r h y t h m I l i k e t o a d d a l i t t l e f o r e a r m i n t o t h e m i x c r e a t i n g a p o u n d i n g p e r c u s s i v e s o u n d . T h e p i c k I g r i p a l o t t i g h t e r a s i t h e l p s w i t h h e a v i e r d o w n p i c k i n g , i n s i d e / o u t s i d e p i c k i n g , a n d s p e e d p i c k i n g ( w h i c h I w i l l c o v e r i n m y n e x t l e s s o n s ) .
Percussive Positioning
P e r c u s s i v e p l a y i n g c a n b e u s e d f o r b o t h r h y t h m a n d l e a d , and t h e r e f o r e r e q u i r e s i t s o w n p o s i t i o n f o r b e t t e r e x e c u t i o n . H e r e, t h e l e f t h a n d t a k e s o n t h e r o l l o f m u t i n g w h i l e m y r i g h t h a n d s t a y s c o m p l e t e l y o f f t h e s t r i n g s e t s . T h i s a l l o w s m e t o g i v e t h e " s c r a t c h y s o u n d" d u r i n g t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f m y p l a y i n g . T y p i c a l l y I w i l l s w i t c h f r o m t h i s p o s i t i o n t o l e a d p o s i t i o n d e p e n d i n g o n t h e l i c k t h a t I a m e x p r e s s i n g . H e a v y f o r e a r m a n d w r i s t m o v e m e n t s a r e u s e d . T h e p i c k is a g a i n g r i p p e d t i g h t l y f o r t h e e x t r e m e p e r c u s s i v e p u l s e p r o v i d e d w i t h t h i s s t y l e o f p l a y i n g .
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