Sweet Child Of Mine Guns N' Roses

Practice Tips For Principled Players
(and everybody else too!)

General: Observe all picking. Use alternate picking throughout. Those using "The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar" should be applying all the instructions given for the correct functioning of the pick hand and arm, beginning with P.51, "Using The Right Hand & Arm For Pickstyle: The Basic Mechanics of Using A Pick".

In addition, the training achieved by correct practice of the "Right Hand String Shifting Exercise" (p. 54) will be the key to playing this intro smoothly and easily.

More insight into the subtleties of pick use can be gained by reading the technical analysis of picking mechanics by pick virtuoso Ney Mello. One of the most primary things to realize is that your picking will be a combination of forearm and wrist movement, but forearm movement is the first to establish, as it is forearm movement (which is technically speaking, movement from elbow joint) that is normally "locked up" in improperly developed students.

When this is the case, undue work is given to the wrist itself, because the forearm is not doing it's job of bringing the pick to the string. This will be especially evident on string skips, as occurs on the 1st to 2nd notes, and the 4th to 5th notes.

The "Right Hand String Shifting Exercise", properly done, is the antidote to this condition.

Bar 1: Get into a good position before beginning (see below). On the 2nd note, as you lift 4, do not let it rise up far from the string. Position it immediately for it's upcoming job on the 1st string (5th note).

Leave 4 on the string after it plays the 5th note, so it is there for the 7th note.

Watch 3 as well. Don't let it stay tense up in the air as the others play.

Bar 3: Keep everything relaxed as you reach with 2 to play that note on the 14th fret.

There are two ways to approach the left hand requirements for this music. You can bar with the 1st finger, as shown here... Notice all fingers are CLOSE, RELAXED, and in position before I begin.
Or, you can put the 1st finger on the tip, as shown here.
If you use the bar, make sure the middle knuckle is UP like mine. This will allow you to leverage arm weight properly (heavy arm). Of course, the fingers must be light during movement, and the entire arm focused on, and kept relaxed during no tempo and slow tempo practice.	If you use the index on the tip, you will need to move it from the 4th to the 3rd string within the first 4 notes.
I prefer to use the bar, but it's a good idea to practice it both ways and see how it feels for you.

After doing proper No Tempo Practice, and using the Basic Practice Approach, test yourself by playing along with the tracks below. Master the first one, make sure it is PERFECT, every note, and then proceed to the next speed. You will get a 4 beat lead in.

The final speed is performance tempo, the actual speed Slash plays it (cooool!).

	30 bpm
	40 bpm
	50 bpm
	60 bpm
	70 bpm
	80 bpm
	90 bpm
	100 bpm
	110 bpm
	120 bpm
	126 bpm