Hello everyone! My previous articles was focused much on theory and I hope you learned many things (if not all) from them. And assuming that you did, now it's time to put those scale knowledge in to action.
Overall proper positioning
Your Picking Hand - make sure your arm and your wrist are relaxed and straight; maintain angle of 10 to 30 degrees between your arm and the strings; make sure you are holding the pick correctly (see Holding a Pick)
Your Fretting Hand- make sure your wrist and your fingers are relaxed; use the tip and not the pad of your fingers to fret the strings, can be achieved by placing your thumb behind the neck (a.k.a. the Classical Position) and aligned with your middle finger and by arching (instead of straightening) your fretting fingers.
These requirements for both the left and right hand can be achieved by not slinging your guitar too low. You need to find your comfortable settings by trial and error. Note that these proper positioning does not only allow you to play fast but also helps prevents serious injuries (you can say goodbye to your guitar if these happen at least for a long time if not permanently).
Holding a Pick
Make sure your thumb and your index fingers are gripping the pick neither too loose nor to tight. The pick must not be wobbly when picking a string. You can ensure this by holding the pick a distance of not more than 3mm or 1/8 in from the tip of the pick. Also make sure your thumb and your index fingers don't protrude over the opposite edge of the pick. Try to keep them in the pick area at all times as much as possible. If your pick slides within your fingers then do a quick readjustment as necessary.
Now try all the things mentioned above and see how it feels. It should feel comfortable and take very little effort to play a note. If not then readjust.
See you next time on part two of this article:)
