Paul Gilbert Lesson

[dbzsony]

Sorry if it's a stupid question, but does Paul rest his forearm on the top of his guitar or does he anchor the side of his hand on the bridge?

[AndyPollow1]

@dbzsony Both sort of but I dont think the side of his hand is ancored in one place - it slides on the strings lightly.

[Unknown1196]

this guy is a total killer.

[arzachelek]

God said to Paul: Teach me to play the guitar like that! Paul said: ok! and after the very first lesson God signed a pact with the devil. Nevertheless, he failed to be as great as Paul!

[cutelex16]

i really love paul's MONSTER LICKS!!!!! that he made by using the skip picking, hammer ons and pull offs technique that make's him a very unique guitar player ^^

[joeylodes]

MONSTER!

[leothedrawer3]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[intellectualxone]

@pebble37lifter

Yeah, I do that on occasion. Mainly to damp the bottom strings, but it works, haha. If it messes with your sound or technique, just teach yourself not to.

[SuperToother]

when the pick scraped against the string when he was first showing that its best to angle the pick, did anybody else think it was someone burping? lol

[stikhi]

Paul is like a magician, he gives aways all his secrets and tricks and yet..........

[ikillyouuuuuuuuuuuuu]

Good for beginners, thanks paul

[pebble37lifter]

when picking I place my pinky below the lowest string to stabilize my hand is that normal? :(

[TheRealAdamBrown]

Dude i just held my pick like that and wham! I'm playing as fast as him! :D

[Heineken1712]

for me the hardest thing about make fast picking sound clean is the change between strings. any tips?

[WuzzMcWaffleStein]

@Heineken1712 same here, i can alternate pick fast on one string, but i have a very hard time changing strings!!

[DjChrispyNuggets]

I want to have a beer with Paul Gilbert.

[Fendertastic]

Did this for twenty minutes at a relatively slow tempo.

I now play triangle in a Reggae band.

[hellraiser7974]

i don't think playing scales or melodies fast is something hard, most players can do it, but try to play melodies using 7th, 9th chords and their inversions, that's pain in the ass... but Paul is amazing..:-p

[dmartinez3]

@hellraiser7974 part of what you are saying is true but it is very hard to play scales or melodies as fast and as clean as he does. That is something that requires a natural ability, just like someone being able to run a mile in 4 minutes. If most players could do it, no one would care that he can play that fast. People would only care about his musical ability and not his technical ability.

[skyguy15]

I noticed he angled his like " \ " while angeling the pick on alternate picking is effective, always remember you can tilt it the other way, I natrually learned that tilting it was a smoother way of sliding in and out of alternate picking, I do it the oposite direction when angeling it though.

[skyguy15]

Neato, I've been practicing licks like this just being experimental, this is truely a guy to look up to if you want to go into some fast experimental rock IMO

[dimetonn]

this is the easiest of paul gilbert licks...and that means that the hard ones are truly hard...

[lilticklez]

I was like number 421.. sorry stoners

[cowbelltell]

awesome just awesome

[franmonaj]

Yeap! Awesome technique and teaching skills too! Paul Gilbert rocks!

[rockerdude29]

fuckkk.he's sooooo good.I have to be that good in 10 years.or at least close to that good.and who says he cant play clean without distortion.Him,and malmsteen have to have the cleanest technique ive ever seen.

[boxingin]

Man he's just playing a fast scale. Wow how talented!! LMAO!!!

[eveningninja]

@boxingin And you're just commenting a youtube video!

[boxingin]

@eveningninja That's why we're here for aren't we? Geezzzzzz. Bluuuuuu bluuuuu blluuuuuuu bliiiiiiiip! LMAO!

[eveningninja]

@boxingin I'm personally here to overthrow the government.

[brando18guitarplyr]

@boxingin You obviously do not know anything about guitar players, and the songs they play.. =.=" and because you are being such an douche and saying someone sucks, why don't you put on a video of you playing a song that you wrote, and see if that one is good. you probably can't even hit 3 chords clean....

[patrick0hardstyler]

hey youtubers......a lil help???

wat body is this orange pgm using? alder or basswood? wat pickups????.....dimarzio tone zone or paf pro???? help plsssssss.... XD

[parlancex]

It's basswood with a maple top. Both pickups WERE dimarzio tone zones, but recently (and after this video was filmed) they were changed out for dimarzio d-activators.

[Danje1]

Its F# Locrian. Right?

Love this scale ;)

[acdcfan9]

basically e minor because in the song its played over an E5. but yeah f# locrain as well.

[MASSRCOR]

@dgc837 @hfd312 finally some people who know what they're talking about \m/

[Weezy0529]

Been holding the pick wrong for years... thank god for this video.

[SantaKalauz]

there is no rules for pick holding

[thisisthomasjordan]

@SantaKalauz no.. but it is possible to hold it VERY bad XD

[SantaKalauz]

in that case..... :D

[fobsternd]

this lick is from his song "Straight to the Telephone Pole" from album GOOMY.

[granskater]

@fobsternd Thanks for that,now i can download the tab :)

[maccermacnab]

my god...

honestly, is there a better, more accomplished, and COOL player

than Paul Gilbert

[manindaironmask]

buckethead

[GoodMetalFTW]

@maccermacnab

"better" i would say so. shawn lane, and paul would agree. more accomplished, not in the genre he plays (except for van halen). as for a cooler player i think buckethead is just about as cool as it gets. him or jason becker.

[richcapo]

@maccermacnab Stanley Jordan, Joe Pass, Jimmy Bruno, and Robert Fripp, to name a few.

[arasu90]

@richcapo Guthrie Govan, to name one ;-)

[arasu90]

@maccermacnab Guthrie Govan has notice to envy to Paul Gilbert :P both great great guitar players in their own styles

[lagiator]

@maccermacnab good isn't defined by how fast and clear a player plays. but he is pretty amazing though. he's latest album is damn good.

[medvidmaks]

i need tabs (:

[dgc837]

its E aeolian but played stating on the F sharp note so its F sharp locrian : )

[ConnorShawMusic]

i love that riff he plays

[petar1987]

his fingers are working like a car engine. flawless

[MrZovar]

When he plays the D E and F# on the second string, he uses his 1st, 3rd and 4th fingers.......and i have seen that pretty much all of the guitar greats use those fingers when playing 3 notes separated by a fret each, on one string. I have some problem doing that, because I use my 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers. Is that wrong? How many of you play it the way Paul does it?

[VinterVandring]

I find it easier to use my 1st, 3rd and 4th fingers, but there is no recipe for being a great guitarist. Find thy own style, and work with it to make it better all the time.

Although, this won't stop me from wishing I had Paul Gilbert's MASSIVE hands.

[Lun1us]

you not wrong. I m a good guitar player and i use my 1st 2nd and 4th finger because is more easy for me. My fingers are shorts.

Sorry for my english

[ozzy9691]

@MrZovar its not wrong. it depends on what you play next. each method leaves a finger free so...yea lol

[anarcheril]

Anyone know what scale he is playing. Usually Paul likes to tell us everything he is doing, but this time he failed to mention the scale and the key he is playing it in. Still love you Paul, sweet lesson.

[supprize]

its in E Minor and he starts on F#, so its an F# locrian scale, the 7th degree in the key

[Jeppe000]

Yeah

[anarcheril]

thanks bro

[julius16465964]

its a major scale maby A or C: but paul gilbert love dominant scale

[wileypayote]

I think's it's the E minor pentatonic diminished 7th. there you go dude. I have no idea

[hfd312]

@anarcheril just listen to the beginning he plays it slow the notes arent hard to get by ear. Sounds to me like a g major scale starting on the F# on the low E string, and like he says, 3 per string. it ends on b natural on the high e. It helps me to just internalize a middle c, and then you know every note just by hearing the second note, hearing the interval, then applying it to a c scale to find the note name, and when it comes to scales, just hear if its happy sad diminished etc. good luck

[hfd312]

that way you can hear a major scale, minor scale all that. you can just hear the major third perfect 5th and the major 7th in this scale, particularly the f# he starts on to the root G helped me figure out the scale after hearing it once. hope that helps, and wasn't too wordy!

[VinterVandring]

I thought this was how everyone picked? Strange. But his speed and clean shredding is so damned sexy.

[bluesenight]

no most of the players move the whole hand from the wrist down parallel to the strings (watch Vinnie Moore vid). in this video he used only his wrist(tony macalpine use this most of the time), it will give you more speed but you will sound more dirty because of the pick engel it will "slice" and not pick the string. some ppl like good old paul gilbert like this sound, but it will only work whit distortion, if you try to play clean whit it, you will sound horrible...

[reasonsrhymes]

Such a great technique, took me some time to get accustomed to it but it really helps my speed picking. Tone wise there is a difference as well, I prefer it this way now.

[PnTNecrosis]

I feel retarted because I CANNOT hold the pick at that angle, I wind up holding it at the opposite angle than Paul does. Pointing up rather than down. Is that bad/wrong? Or does it really matter?

[Painkiller86]

There's no wrong way. In fact, in one video, Paul says that's how he used to hold the pick, but switched because it was hurting his thumb. Do what's comfortable to you.

[PnTNecrosis]

Well if Paul used to do it that way then I feel much better haha! Thanks!

[0mnis14sh]

If its comfortable and unrestricted then that's fine as long as its the same 45 degree angle. I have mine at the angle you use as well as using 2 fingers to hold it, I find it's more secure this way.

[AJGNW]

You pick like marty friedman or what? x)

[PnTNecrosis]

Lol kind of. All I know is it looks goofy, but works for me :-)

[MistahhB]

It does not matter. Paul shows what he uses, that doesn't mean anything else is wrong.

[Truchristianrocker]

whatever works for you, i know many people who hold the pick pointed down, but i hold it pointed up and i actually get more speed out of it that way, but i cant hold it the other way so what ever floats your boat

[jayco4]

its all practice man, it gets easier and easier. ( but pauls right, it does take a LONG time before it sounds really good )

[sportsportsport]

Wow. Alternate picking is extremely difficult in my opinion.

[aligatorsandwitch72]

once you get used to it you cant go back to any other style of picking.

[KeithMaxLoud]

totally agree

[Sivels]

just takes practice. you'll quickly accustom to it

[gibson724]

stavsantis is right guys. dont not even get intimidated of paul. I know its paul, but never say die. We all have the potential to do anything its really up to you just to believe in yourself and learn the shit.

[drawnacrol]

wish I had pauls picking accuracy,never misses a note

[Unkonsis730]

everyone who plays guitar has to have someone to inspire them u can have ur own tone but hopefully u make that tone to more then just pinch harmoics and such its why paul is really good he mixes up his music!!!

[migjp7]

"GET OUT OF MY YARD"!

After watching this video there is no doubt in my mind, Paul Gilbert sets the benchmark higher than most any shredder I have ever seen!

This list includes the almighty Van halen, Schenker, Satriani, and Malmsteen!

This video is a must see for anyone who thinks they play fast and articulate.

I learned more in this 2 hour video than I had taking lessons or playing live for years!

GILBERT IS THE SHIZZLE!

[liveoperator]

he rivals billy corgan for guitarist who looks most like a spider

[anakid123]

hah

[shredftw]

pause @ 1:13 and look how freaking long his fingers are

[dmstretton]

Mr. Big?

[Nick184]

his pinky moves so fast it looks like a little goldfish thats been taken out of water.

[AyanRafique]

"Its easy because im sitting down, and there is no audience throwing cups at me.."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

i would shoot anyone who throws a fucking cup at Paul Gilbert

[robs70986987]

wow

[kirkloganx]

its good to use both man, dont focus on just one

[aldencipriano]

iight cool this is actually easy... i think the easiest lesson of paul gilbert

[bobbyprier]

obviously douche bag

[AlexHalps]

Oh calm down. That was an uncalled-for insult. And pointless.

[fenderbender92]

aha the song is "Straight through the telephone pole" off of "Get out of my Yard!!"

Great!

[Jammey90]

Paul Gilbert is the way, the truth, and the life. Find out the origin if all the beautiful music we are able to hear today search for Go away you pushy Christian and Case for Paul Gilbert.

Why are you trying to convert people on Youtube? :P

[yngvaibucketrucci]

satan is the origin of all beautiful music!

[guitarristaheavy616]

wow, Straight Through The Telephone Pole

[ratso11]

he's kinda quick heh? been playing for almost 20+ years. i can't do that. almost heh, but he is so clean, precise. i guess we know what paul does in his spare time.

[scott7himself]

so if it was in a song, you woud be able to tell due to the chord progression, but this is just an exercise, so the key is not really important here, its the technique thats being built, not mode knowlege. if that helps anyone? lol

[weissgyz]

THIS IS IN A SONG! Straight Through The Telephone Pole and it starts at roughly the 2:08 mark in the song so yeah...

[scott7himself]

he is playing the locrian shape....but in G major...which is also Em ...so for the guys arguing over which one, its both technically, the only thing that would change that is if he was referencing note of G major more, or Em...depeding on that will depending on what he is actually using

[markmusicman]

agreed ! You got it.

[BManNOTGman77]

god i wish i could alternate pick that accuratley

[wrigleyx]

.....what else? loool!!!

[Luffyinblack]

*sigh...-.-'''* I suck in guitar playing reaaaally bad

[FallenInByohazard]

anyone can play guitar like paul gilbert. its just passion, persistence, and confidence

[Luffyinblack]

Well said :o

[stavsantis]

sero=iosuly not to dent youre confidence, but you will find out whether ou have what it takes, some people take years to be able to play a lick like this at decent pace, others get it fairly quickly, me... im someone with ability to learn things quickly, and practise a little and get away with it, however, my problem is that if i dont play for a few hours or days it takes me a while to warm up my fingers and picking hand... so ye, practisae your arse off.. but dont expect to be as good as Paul.

[alex102473]

no way if anyone could play as good as PG then everyone would do it... theres people that play there whole life and arent even close to being as good as PG

[stavsantis]

no youre absolutly wrong, i agree that with alot of practise anybody can become good, but... not this standard, paul gilbert is actually a virtuoso and is among the top 5 guitarists in world, also, he was playing even faster stuff thatn this when he was 15 and recorded his racer x albums as a 17 y.o kid, so not just "anybody" could play like him, , however alot of practise will allow you to become better than slash zakk wylde etc.

[FallenInByohazard]

i disagree because anything is pretty much possible

[stavsantis]

yes, but the key is to not get down on yourself if you DONT reach this standard+ , because think of how many other guitarists cant do it aswell.... play guitar for fun and, you will usually naturally get better, as opposed to sitting there playing scales a zillion times a day, although id say a mixture will lead to optimum performance.

[FallenInByohazard]

exactly, thank you for making a wise statement :)

[Necrophageon]

Why can't it just be G Major? He starts on F#, but it's the same thing... stupid standard-less music theory.

[JACA7XGNR]

its the 7th degree of g major which is f# locrian

[Necrophageon]

*shrug* Still relatively new to theory... particularly the deep end. I figure if it looks like G major, sounds like G major, and smells like G major, it must be G major. No, seriously though, I'm taking your word for it. In fact, I'll go enlighten myself right now. : )

[JACA7XGNR]

you do that dickhead

[Vincent745]

wow harsh lol

[VetleZorZ]

UREH UREH

[wisd0m18]

it is f# locrian . do you know modes or what?

[VetleZorZ]

I don't know what this discussion is about, but he is definately not playing in f# locrian, as it is not his tonal center. This is either G major or E minor.

[JACA7XGNR]

were both saying its g major you absolute idiot

[GriffRadford]

Nope, you are the idiot. it is Em, seeing as he resolves it to the note E. Just beause hes starting on F(sharp, sorry my sharp key doesnt work) doesnt mean hes play in f sharp locrian. Since locrian is extremly unstable and has a weak resolution the only chance you going to get a good sound of it is when playing over an F(sharp)min7b5 chord.

[atylerplai]

this section of the song is actually E dorian, which uses the same notes as D major/B minor, but it resolves to E.

[grievous56]

Thats my favorite part of Straight Through The Telephone Pole. Great Playing

[letiziaytito]

i think i got it...paul is playing in the key of g..he's playing f# locrian wich is the 7th degree of g...e aeolian(or minor)would be the 6th degree of g major!!!!!if im wrong i apologize..

[letiziaytito]

i think he's playing f# locrian....hope im right...

[DisembodiedLoaf]

He is.

[zachrockstar01]

close but it is E aeolian or E minor..

although it does lean on the F# the very last note he plays on the video is E which is a "guitar solo climax" so it is an minor... but it is very close to locrian... its basically the same thing... we're both right

[JACA7XGNR]

its actually f# locrian the last note is just a whole step up

[JACA7XGNR]

yer you are

[EdwardSciss0rhands]

that guy makes it look so simple while it's not!!

i can't get it...

[DisembodiedLoaf]

It's simple but it's hard. It's just an f# locrian.

[WeirdoOwl]

you got a taste in guitars. amazing work man, tnx:)

[VDragulaV]

Buckethead?

[guitarman46464646]

haha nope

[DBZ666Dante]

buckethead took his course for about a year....now,did the pupil become better than the master or the master still has it??:P

[Sylar85246]

hahahaha Well that's a no brainer. The master definitely still has it.

[AWT666Paul]

fucking amazing

[qwenmn]

clean

[yonitoh]

aguante pail gilbert

[johnfeuling]

Paul, you are so amazing and giving of your talent. Thank you. I had to find the "Green-tinted" video for nostalgia, and I have to say...I miss the hair a little. peace, brother!

[m9m9m9m9m9]

what pick is he using? dunlop jazz III?

[djsewell]

nope, he just uses reg dunlop picks

[Painkiller86]

He's using the Pick of Destiny!

[anguskicksass]

no dude, the pick of destiny can't give you that much skill

[sssoadz]

i really love the sound of pg guitars i think its just great

[stratthead]

I dig Paul's chops, but man raise the action. It sounds like a banjo Paul. Sacrifice a little speed for tone brutha'.

[PGManiac]

He likes to bend and vibrato with left hand. .,I think that's the reason he remove whammy from his signature model

He has incredible bending and vibrato skill. .

But in his youth he likes to use whammy bars. .

[andr4681]

cos he plays alot of string skip and fast licks and by that he vibrates the string alot and with a floyd rose it would go out of tune pretty fast

[onprcntr]

What Scale is that?

[spidanez]

i think that its g major. at least thats what i played on my guitar... and also i played at half the speed....

[mickiew4]

G major and E minor are the same set of notes, starting at different places in the scale, actually. this one is that set of notes.

like, the last scale he plays ends on an E, so in that case it would be an E minor. whatev, you were right i just wanted to add.

[cloud041089]

i like how he outside picks all the way up the scale.. looks like if i cant economy pick for the life of me, i don't have to.

[bojketic]

nice

[Ubervodka]

hey does anyone know the exact model of this ibanez? i wan to buy one.

[robobond]

I believe he has a signature model.

[bojketic]

better buy some musicman guitar,them are much better...

[patthebrit3]

its an ibanez pgm301. The new ones only sell in white with the black f-holes

[DiekClaymation]

Yep, PGM301. They do sell it in white with black f-holes. Notice that is doesn't have any floyd rose (or similar) system that's what changes from PGM300, so it u wan't floyd rose, the best option (based on this guitar) would be an Ibanez RG or S. If you don't want the floyd rose then buy this 1 it's incredible.

[Ubervodka]

i wan that apple red color pgm301 lol

[goldfings]

hello,i've got a problem here...holding the pick like paul is good for shredding..but why i always lose my grip on the pick..everytime when i try to shred the pick will shift the position..anyone can help?

[guitarman46464646]

same here man

[DiekClaymation]

It also depends on your pick.

I have a Jim Dunlop pick (Stubby 1.0mm) it's small and very comfortable so you can press harder and it won't slip out and it doesn't hurt or make you feel uncomfortable. I recommend you to use this pick, or Tortex picks which are almost the same quality...

[lawrenceguitars]

his hands are huge, he can shred with his thumb over the neck urgh