Welcome to another guitar lesson in this series about how to practice hybrid guitar picking. This video was originally filmed for all of our club members, but we’ve decided to throw it in the mix for you guys.
Hybrid picking is one of those guitar techniques that can really take your playing to another level, it’s a guitar technique that Charl uses all the time in his playing. So If you want to learn more about hybrid picking on guitar, watch this lesson. Enjoy!
IN THIS LESSON…
01:20 – Chapter 01: The Chords
02:00 – Chapter 02: Picking Rhythm
04:34 – Chapter 03: Practice examples
Hey guys, Charl here from worshipguitarskills.com, and on this channel we help worship guitarists, specifically electric worship guitarists to level up their worship guitar skill so they can play with more depth and dimension and really change the atmosphere with their playing when they engage in worship, and really create an atmosphere where people can have a powerful encounter with God.
That’s how we can change lives for eternity right, because we’re using our gifts and our talents, our skills and our abilities to really expand the kingdom. So that’s what we’re about here and we do that through developing our worship guitar skills.
Alright guys, so let’s break this one down.
Let’s look at the chords first of all.
CHAPTER 01 – The Chords
I played Shape 1 for the G, but shape 3 for the C.
Shape 01: G – Root Position
Shape 03: C – 2nd Inversion
Shape 1 in the open position for the E and then Shape 2 for the D.
Shape 01: Em – Root Position 2
Shape 02: D – 1st Inversion
I also used that variation for D to add in a bit of spice there.
Shape 03: D – 2nd Inversion (variation)
CHAPTER 02 – Picking / Rhythm
Now for the picking, I’m picking both notes together followed by my low note.
So it’s 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & [Charl Plays]
Then we went to C with a Hammer On from three to five on the B string,
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &, [Charl Plays]
Then we went to E minor, 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & [Charl Plays]
Went to the D, 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & [Charl Plays]
[02:38] Right so if you are familiar with our 4-2 exercises, we can have the doubles, we can have triples and we can have quads right where we combine those.
In this instance, I’m actually just doing a double there, so I’m playing that voicing of D to another voicing of D. [Charl Plays]
That’s pretty much it, so you just want to try and get a nice balance between your picked note and both picked together.
You can even palm mute the low note.
[03:38] That’s actually pretty cool thinking of it because you’ve got this delay going there, Palm muted, and then I’m adding in these cool notes on the top. [Charl Plays]
Right, that’s a pretty cool part.
- It’s got a nice pulse to it.
- It outlines the harmony.
- It’s got some melodic spice.
What that means is it just adds that melodic interest.
So it’s a pretty cool line using a simple hybrid picking pattern with a simple chord progression and our 4-2 Voicings.
So go and put this to use and then you can practice this in other parts of the neck as well.
CHAPTER 03 – Practice examples
Examples
Instead of playing G, C, E minor D, we can play G, C, E minor D. [Charl Plays]
So then that same idea will be. [Charl Plays]
G – 1st Inversion
C – Root Position
Em – Root Position
D – 2nd Inversion
Or you can play it here, G, C, Em, D.
G – 2nd Inversion
C -1st Inversion
Em – Root Position
D – Root Position
We can play totally different chords C, G, D, E minor. [Charl Plays]
C -2nd Inversion
G – Root Position
D – 2nd Inversion
Em – 2nd Inversion
You can change your progression, you can change your chord voicings, you can try to change the position on the neck, you can palm mute the low note, you don’t have to palm mute both, you can add in the delay.
There’s so many things that you can do with this and you can even keep it nice and simple without the hybrid picking pattern, you can just go. [Charl Plays]
Just more Longer notes or even longer than that [Charl Plays] and you can do that again. Imagine it in like a down verse. [Charl Plays]
Alright so you just outlining the harmony and now the song builds and now you can go, and let’s say it builds even more…and more. [Charl Plays]
CHAPTER 04 – Guitar As A Mini Orchestra
[06:59] When you think of the guitar like that in more of an orchestral way, think of an orchestra. The orchestra does not play all together at the same time.
There’s different things that get added to the mix as you go and the guitar in essence is a mini orchestra with your six strings and your different Voicings that you got available, you can do so many, so many cool things.
That is why I teach our members different Voicings, so that you can play harmony all across the neck.
That you can see the shapes, that you can hear them, you also understand how they work and you work on your technique in order to play them.
Then we look at Rhythmic techniques, right?
I showed you open rhythms, more busy stuff with Hybrid Picking and embellishments, adding in picking and strumming.
All of these things together gives you the ability as a guitarist to compose parts right there on the spot, so that you can respond to whatever’s happening.
CHAPTER 05 – Ending (4 Dimensional Approach)
[08:01] I don’t know about you guys but when we do worship on Sundays we don’t always do the song exactly the same.
There’s sometimes a moment where there’s more of a gentle moment to kind of slowly build into something big and then it’s like a very declarative thing going on there and then.
As a guitarist, if you only know how to play one chord progression in one area of the neck with one rhythmic approach, then you’re limited, right?
But if you’ve got this kind of plethora, if I use a fancy word of techniques and voicings, and just ways to play and express yourself, then you can really respond in the moment. That is when you add a new dimension to the worship experience, because you’re not playing one dimensionally.
I always say we want to have a four dimensional approach in our playing:
- you want to understand what you’re doing
- You want to be able to see the shapes visually on the guitar
- You want to be able to physically play what you hear
- You want to have the ear to hear what’s going on
But also to have your ability at a level where you can hear the differences between major, minor between whatever the case may be right.
So there you go…
A couple of tips and pointers around how you can use these shapes and these rhythms and specifically Hybrid Picking, to start adding some depth and dimension to your playing!
