My god, has anyone checked out guest columnist and Century Media artist Chris Broderick? Three words..... AMAZING! Ok, let's get that pickin' goin', Di Meola style.

As a major influence on many major pickers out there, Al Di Meola practically changed the world of picking. He played fast, and he did it on the acoustic guitar. One thing that made him exceptionally pick-tastic was his syncopation.

In this example, I've provided a way to work on this concept in order to strengthen the old picken hand. Try this and/or variations of this at a super-slow pace, play it nice and clean, then speed up slowly. Make sure the transitions from 16th to 16th note triplets and vise versa are smooth. This makes your 16th note triplets sound freak-like fast!

Enjoy

Shane Gibson

Bio

www.myspace.com/shaneshred

www.shaneguitar.com

Berklee College of Music Graduate, Shane Gibson currently resides in Los Angeles California. He has studied under world renown guitarists Jon Finn and Joe Stump, among others. Shane's latest solo project, which includes world famous drummer Thomas Lang, is currently in progress, and should be done by the end of this year.

Shane Gibson endorses Carvin guitars, Bugera amps, and CurtMangan strings. He tours the world doing clinics and workshops for these products. Shane has:

Performed at NAMM 2006
Performed at Music Messe in Germany 2007
Performed at MI in Japan 2007
Been featured on Young Guitar Magazine from Japan (Sept. issue) 2007

A quote from the amazing Ron Thal, aka Bumblefoot. "EXCELLENT ! ! ! ! ! F..@$ing Excellent! You suck beyond belief. By suck, I of course mean suck, as in you f*@..ing rock. You suck so much that I took it upon myself to put a link on my site, hope ya mind. PS - you're gay. PPS - in all seriousness, *great* stuff - man, I'm looking forward to seeing ya get out there and get the recognition you deserve :) bbf"

Jason Becker....."This guy smokes!!! Great compositions as well.."

Mike Varney of Shrapnel records......"One of the best new shredders around, hands down."

Thomas Lang......"Shane Gibson is one of the most uncompromisingly creative and unique guitar players on the scene today. His playing is insanely complex, yet musical and always innovative. There is no pretention, no fuzz and no compromise in his music and it's an honour and true challenge for me to work with him."

Jon Finn ........."Shane never ceases to amaze me."

Derek Taylor ..."Sounds like you would need to keep a fire extinguisher close by when you play that one. Wow!!!! That type of stuff is amazing"... :

Rusty Cooley...."Shane is a great new player on the scene... sick chops and deadly rhythms!"

Doug Stapp...."Wacky playing! I haven't heard crazy stuff like that in a while. Like Micheal Angelo on crack....Just better! Very hip."

Marty Friedman...."Your guitarist is a maniac" (directed at singer of Shane's band 'Defable')"

Joe Stump: "I can honestly say that Shane is among my most advanced students. He is constantly improving both as a player and overall musician."

SCOTT STINE...."Unfreakinbelievable!!! Is that a word?"

Shane Gibson is a "Berklee's Best" scholarship recipient. He has won "Battle of the Bands" two years in a row in the state of Florida. While in Boston he has recorded 3 radio jingles and has been a studio musician in countless projects.

Former bands include; Teiousekkai, Channel 9, Cofield, Novial (with friend and "Moments in Grace" front man Jeremy Griffith), Fools Mistake, and Excuse.

Shane's past creation, "Mr. Stork" is an intense mix of metal and "who knows" styles of music, which include 13 songs. Influence include; Bjork, Meshuggah, Tool, Slayer, Dream Theater, Al Di Meola, Bumblefoot, Ozric Tentacles, Vai, and The Mars Volta.

Shane would like to thank Erika Kimura (my inspiration), Jeremy Griffith (reason for playing), Jason Frazier (I didn't know fingers could do that!), Christina Slocumb (who's a buddy?), Ashley Bailey (for always being my audience), Chris Stanbrook (most metal bassist ever) Damion Sanchez (Filthy good drummer) and every other friend who has made an impact on me as a musician. To my family, "you are the best." Anyone else I forgot, thank you.

Contact info:

Shanemanagement@gmail.com