New book on Economy Picking

[Mike Neer]

I’ve been working on a new book, Modern Technique For Steel Guitar: Economy Picking, for just over a month and it’s finally completed and off to the printer. It was an intense process and commitment to make this happen. I ordered a short run of books which will be ready to ship early August. Many of you have ordered already and I am thankful for that.

The reason it was so difficult and yet so easy to write is because I am deep in the rabbit hole of this subject matter, which is “economy picking.” I am sure many of you have heard about it, especially if you are a guitarist. The technique is all about efficiency of movement with the right hand. Articulating the technique was definitely not the easiest thing to do, but the exercises in the book are pretty clear.

A few years ago I started messing around with sweep picking, trying to see if I could get anything interesting out of it. I just kept working on it and got pretty good at it, but it is its own thing and it is not easy to shoehorn it into your playing. But I started to break it down into smaller bites and I started discovering I was able to play things that I could never play in a million years with conventional picking—even some simple lines that need a certain articulation. There is another layer of picking to be learned and it can transform your playing. How much you are willing to put into it determines whether that transformation was good or bad!

I was writing this book in my favorite mode, which is passionate and in the moment. This book, like my others, was written for myself as a map of my process and progress in the middle of a growth period, and it’s just something I feel good about sharing. I know that if 150 learned the same skills, 150 of them would do and think it differently. That’s what it’s all about.

Much of the way I try to imagine solving problems or creating is to think of other musical instruments and how their techniques and sounds can translate into useful stuff for steel guitar. One of the main instruments that I have looked into is harp--yes, the angels' instrument of choice. Honestly, any type of harp music from the Malagasy vihuela to the kora to Veracruz harp, to pedal harp. Of course, guitar is always a source of ideas, considering I've played since about 5 years old. Also, a fascination with rhythm has been one of the most useful things. Much of the concept of this economy picking technique is the coordination of the right hand and the left hand bar blocking. It is very critical to be precise in your rhythm, which working on is really going to benefit you and everyone else in your life except the person who has to listen to you practice it.

https://steelinstruction.com/product/al ... pre-order/

[John Larson]

You had me at sweep picking, would a primarily E9 pedal player gain anything from this book?

[Bill McCloskey]

Very exciting Mike, and congratulations on getting it done. Would you say it is really designed primarily for the C6 lapsteel player, or do the techniques transcend tuning.

[Mike Neer]

So the book is written from the C6/C13 tuning perspective but the techniques are useful across a wide range of tunings—of course you’d need to do the work to create your own pathways, which is what I refer to the lines as. I would advise having a steel tuned to C6 for working through the book, and then once you have a grasp on the concept take it to any tuning. I think it would be amazing for pedal steel and I wish I had one here to try it out for myself.

You have to be in it for the long haul, and the work has got to be put in to see positive results. I still work through it every day and it is still very challenging, but not without significant rewards.

It’s a shame that instructional material has to be tuning based with so many variations. I tried to make it a universal approach but it just proves too difficult. I also didn’t want to end up with a 125 pp book that becomes repetitive.

There are benefits to using the picking in any tuning, but the benefits would be a lot less significant with a straight up G, D or E tuning than with 6th and 13th tunings, because pentatonic scales and such are essentially built right in.

I plan on presenting some materials that are a little more specific stylistically and even tuning-wise. But I have to get through this phase first.

[Mike Neer]

This video of Orange Blossom Special features some of the economy picking techniques in the book, the first an alternating rest stroke and the second sweep picking. The sweep picking is something I’ve been working on for a long time, and this particular usage is hard to ace. It is very methodical, but once you really focus in and mentally prepare, it becomes possible.

There is an arrangement of OBS in the book.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Kat4oyadSh4? ... vqSnT0qNdc

[Brad Bechtel]

I just ordered a copy and am eagerly waiting for the delivery! Thanks and good luck, Mike!

[Mike Neer]

Thanks, Brad!

I’ve been planning a web page to demonstrate all the examples in the book. I was hoping to do this before the book went to print so I could include a QR code but I just didn’t have the time to get it done. Now I’ll have to add a loose page with the info.

[Mike Neer]

My books have arrived from the printer and they will start going in the mail on Monday. I’ve sold about half the copies I had printed, which was no small amount. Thank you for ordering, it helped me pay for the printing, which I appreciate greatly.

I feel really good about this book. I spent about 3 hours a night, 5 nights a week for a month writing this. I was very committed to staying on course. It is only about 50pp, but it has no filler, just lots of examples for you to practice to build the physical technique, and of course my thoughts/recommendations. It’s not about licks, though you do get a chance to put it all into action. I give an example in one key and leave all the rest up to you.

I really feel like this is going to give people some great ideas and inspiration to go further. I am thinking about next steps already.

[Mike Neer]

All orders have shipped, still have a few copies. Who needs one?
I am putting together some assets for a page on my site for purchasers, but I need a couple of days to finish painting my house and chilling out, so maybe next week. All orders come with link and password but there is no content posted yet.
Thanks everyone!

[Bob Shilling]

My copy just arrived. You've put a lot of work into this. Now I have to get to work.

Thanks Mike!

[Mike Neer]

I really welcome any feedback/comments/questions on the book. It is a pretty immersive undertaking to develop this technique, but as I was saying to myself yesterday, there is really no going back. My adoption of economy picking into my own playing has given me confidence that I've never had before.

For those still unclear about what "economy picking" is, it's a technique that minimizes physical effort and maximizes efficiency by teaching your fingers to pick in the direction of the next string. If you are ascending, your thumb would be used to move up to the next string. If descending, your other fingers, mainly index, would be used to play in that direction. We combine that with alternate picking or legato when necessary. That is the start of it and the core principle. From there, it expands into other techniques/effects for a wide variety of sounds. But the biggest benefit is the ability to pick without your fingers tripping over themselves, and I think that the actual dynamics of this picking are much stronger.

But the most crucial part of the process is bar blocking! The bar must move in coordination with the picking hand.

[Tim Toberer]

Do these techniques work without fingerpicks? I still wear a thumb pick most of the time, but I really prefer bare fingers lately. I haven't given up on metal fingerpicks completely, but I have always found them incredibly awkward, and they make my acoustic instrument very loud and brash. Also are you using downstrokes with your index and middle fingers or upstrokes with your thumb?

[Mike Neer]

Tim, I frequently play with bare fingers, but I think at the least a thumb pick is important for this technique. I just recorded this bare finger blues noodling for you to see that it is possible. Forgive the not-so-great playing, but this is what woodshedding is, right?
https://youtu.be/dspuutv2QcM

[Brad Bechtel]

Tim, I frequently play with bare fingers, but I think at the least a thumb pick is important for this technique. I just recorded this bare finger blues noodling for you to see that it is possible. Forgive the not-so-great playing, but this is what woodshedding is, right?
https://youtu.be/dspuutv2QcM

What a great example! (I'm still going to use picks, though.)

[Andy Volk]

Well done, Mike! The proof is in the pudding - I mean noodling.

[Tim Toberer]

Okay I see it's like sweep picking. I look forward to trying to learn some of these techniques. Thanks for the video! I think it sounded great

[Mike Neer]

Would love to hear anyone’s experience of progress with this book. I have been taking a long break since the book’s release, spending some time away, so I am a little behind in correspondence, etc. Still playing a ton though and sharpening my picking skills. I am still floored at the way things have evolved in my own playing since really homing in on this.

I am looking at some dates for virtual workshops. Would be free for purchasers of the book.
Would really love to do some in-person workshops but that might be a little difficult.

[Michael French]

Mike, Thanks for the detailed information in your new picking book. I would like to see some short video explanations of bar blocking. What is a reasonable bpm to shoot for with the picking patterns featured?

[Tim Toberer]

Mike I am excited about your book, but I haven't spent any time on it yet. It is honestly above my skill level and I have some other projects taking priority. I really wanted to get a copy because I know when I decide I am ready for it, I wouldn't be able to find it.

[Mike Neer]

Mike, Thanks for the detailed information in your new picking book. I would like to see some short video explanations of bar blocking. What is a reasonable bpm to shoot for with the picking patterns featured?

I am going to post up a few videos to the asset page this week. I will demonstrate bar blocking for sure.

Tim, when I started playing steel, there was always a lot of pedantic talk about picking and pick blocking, etc.--in other words, there were rules to follow and the best course was to stick to that path. If I only knew then what I know now.... But honestly, I wanted to play steel the way steel players did, so I stayed the course. But as I developed as a player, I had other ideas about playing based on a lifetime of playing guitar. If I would have had something like this to chew on back then, I think I would have been a much stronger player sooner.

So, what I am saying is, it's not beyond your skill level; it's a very useful tool to complement and boost the techniques that you are already working on, and dare I say take you beyond what is possible with conventional techniques.

[Tim Toberer]

Tim, when I started playing steel, there was always a lot of pedantic talk about picking and pick blocking, etc.--in other words, there were rules to follow and the best course was to stick to that path. If I only knew then what I know now.... But honestly, I wanted to play steel the way steel players did, so I stayed the course. But as I developed as a player, I had other ideas about playing based on a lifetime of playing guitar. If I would have had something like this to chew on back then, I think I would have been a much stronger player sooner.

So, what I am saying is, it's not beyond your skill level; it's a very useful tool to complement and boost the techniques that you are already working on, and dare I say take you beyond what is possible with conventional techniques.

I think I get what you are saying. Mostly my problem is with TAB and translating it into music. I did manage to get pretty good at reading TAB for guitar, which I find pretty essential for learning finger style. It took about 6 months of working on it every day before I got comfortable with it. I can see how the sooner you start incorporating these ideas in your playing, the sooner you can reap the benefits. I will give it another go

Yesterday I had a bit of a breakthrough. I have been playing more of my old folk/bluegrass style lately, trying to get back to my roots. I was basically just sitting at the steel (it's a console) with my guitar in my lap. I would play some common runs that I use on guitar in D and C and G, and trying to find them on the steel. Amazingly I was able to find ways to play most of them pretty quickly. Not exactly, but that wasn't really my intention. I had another realization. It is actually more difficult to play what I think of as simple progressions on steel guitar in these 6th tunings. I realized I haven't spent near enough time on the basic minor and major chord grips, skipping the 6th or b7. I need this to be clean and automatic. So that is where I am at.

[Mike Neer]

I’ve posted a quick video which I’ve made public on YT on bar blocking.
https://youtu.be/T83IUeJENXA

[Tim Toberer]

I was listening to Bob Dunn and realized he seems be using this technique. His style actually makes a lot more sense now. Most the time I listen to his solos and just think "How the hell is he doing that!"

[Mike Neer]

I would really love to hear from anyone who has been working with this book. So far, it’s mostly been crickets…. For me, the entire experience of developing this technique has changed my paying in immeasurable ways. I was hoping that others were starting to see results by now.

If it is daunting or not coming together for you, STICK WITH IT! The results will come eventually, it’s not an overnight thing.

[Lee Gauthier]

Today's the first I've heard of the book. I might pick up the e-book sometime soon and give it a read.

I checked out your bar blocking video and at least the descending moves are very similar to how Paul Franklin teaches bar movement. Obviously not the economy/sweep picking part but he does keep the tip of the bar only on the highest sounding string and the previous strings get naturally muted as you descend.

Clean "Sweep" speed ascending eludes me with any technique so far and it seems like there is work to do there even from your playing examples, but I really like the sound of what you are getting so far.