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Neil- is it possible to play the intro to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida with a pick and could you demonstrate it? You play it fingerstyle and very quickly (I believe it was an keyboard piece) but then the rest of the song is purely plectrum/picked.

Thanks for your help! :cheer:

There are quite a few ways to do it with a pick and I messed with most of them as I was working on the lesson. Here they are in what I consider the best order as far as the least amount of work involved to get the best results. Of course, your mileage may vary, depending on which of the techniques you are already most comfortable with..

The run consists of groups of 4 notes where the 1st and 4th are the highest string, with the 2nd two strings lower and the 3rd one string lower. The complete string order is:

2 4 3 2
1 3 2 1
1 3 2 1
1 3 2 1
1 3 2 1
1 3 2 1

Solution 1. The Hidden Pick- This is where the picked is tucked between the upper knuckles of you index and middle fingers (the second ones from your fingertips). You pick the run as described in the lesson with p, i, and m, then slip the pick into normal position when you hit the last note of the run (A on the 17th fret of the 1st string). That high A can be held as long as you want, really giving you time to grab the pick if you have it stashed anywhere near your right hand in general. It could be on a stand or table in front of you, or even in your teeth, a la Jimmy Page and many others.

Solution 2. Inverted Alternate Picking- This would be reversing the normal direction of downs and ups making it more efficient for the particular sequence of strings, effectively a modified cross picking pattern.

U D U D
U D U D...

Solution 3. Cross Picking- Consistently picking in the direction of the next string. If you are fairly accomplished at this already, this might be the best but it is harder to keep the timing as precise as Solution 2. In this case. starting each group of 4 with an up and following it with 3 downs might be the best case.

U D D D
U D D D...

Solution 4. Alternate Picking- Regular alternating of downs and ups. This would be the least desirable unless you were Doc Watson or Ricky Skaggs already.

D U D U
D U D U...

I would really like to hear from everybody who tries any of these as to how it progresses and what seems to work best for you.

Neil

Neil- thanks so much!! I've got some work to do! :cheer:

Rick, I hacked at this thing for months and finally decided it was impossible about 43 years ago. Who cares about keyboards anyway! Then Neil come out with this lesson. It is not going to be easy, but I am giving it a shot. I am going the fingerstyle route. It is too hard shaking the picks out of my guitar. :laugh:

Bill