Interviews

We’ve spent years filming elite players, documenting their amazing techniques, and using that experience to help the rest of us get a better handle on our instruments.

Cracking the Code’s pioneering use of slow-motion video to film world-class players was the first systematic attempt to understand and categorize the different picking motions great players make.  The footage we’ve captured with our high-speed cameras provides a rare and unprecedented look at how technique really works at the upper levels of mastery.  We’ve augmented that fieldwork with conversations with researchers in related disciplines like motor learning, biomechanics, and psychology, to help understand how that mastery is acquired and maintained.

Our interviews contain thousands of real-world examples of technique in action, along with clip pages featuring slow motion video, live Soundslice tablature, and downloadable tablature files.

For conclusions and practical advice built on what we’ve learned here, be sure and check out The Pickslanting Primer.

Interviews

Albert Lee

An unguarded conversation with a country guitar legend

 

Andy Wood

Going mando and electro with a multi-instrumentalist wizard

 

Andy Wood Acoustic

A closeup look at multi-instrument mechanics and bluegrass standards

 

Andy Wood Workshop

A hands-on plectrum practicum on three instruments with a bluegrass and rock master

 

Aviva Wolff Interview

Discussing wrist mechanics with a leading researcher

 

Ben Givan

Musicology of Django and Gypsy Jazz

 

Bill Hall

Acoustic and electric performer Bill Hall delivers multi-mechanic virtuosity

 

Brandon Ellis

Dive into harmony and technique with a boundary-pushing metal stylist

 

Brendon Small

Talking riffs and media with the Metalocalypse and Galaktikon polymath

 

Carl Miner 2007

Sitting down with a winner of America's premier bluegrass flat pick competition

 

Carl Miner 2015

Getting to the bottom of Carl's incredible crosspicking technique

 

César Garabini

Discover the beauty and groove of Brazilian choro guitar

 

David Grier

The spellbinding artistry of a flatpick wizard

 

David Grier 2019

Songwriting and speed with the bluegrass master

 

Ellen Winner

Musical Learning and Prodigy

 

Frank Gambale

Cracking the Code sits down with a technique pioneer

 

Jimmy Bruno

An economy picking workout with a bop master

 

Joe Stump

At the famed Berklee College of Music, Professor Joe Stump's major is clearly minor

 

Joscho Stephan

A closeup investigation of elite-level Gypsy Jazz technique

 

Li-sa-X

A snapshot of guitar greatness in the making

 

Marshall Harrison

A closeup look at Marshall's blazing swybrid innovations

 

Martin Miller

Face-melting fusion with a modern master

 

Martin Miller Mechanics Workshop

Two nerds try to decipher Martin's spectacular picking technique – and one of them is Martin!

 

Martin Miller Through the Changes

"Playing Through The Changes" explores Martin's improvisational chops

 

Marty Friedman

Up close with one of the most recognizable techniques in metal

 

Michael Angelo Batio 2007

Two-way pickslanting and swiping with a shred icon

 

Michael Angelo Batio 2017

The inimitable MAB stops by the Cracking the Code studio

 

Mika Tyyskä

Exploring songs, sights, and sound with a multimedia pioneer

 

Mike Stern

A jazz legend shares a wealth of improvisational inspiration

 

Molly Tuttle

Cracking the Code sits down with the 2017 IBMA Guitarist of the Year

 

Noa Kageyama

Performance and Practice Strategy

 

Olli Soikkeli

Jazz age style meets space age technique with a swing master

 

Oz Noy

Talking harmony and mechanics with an endlessly inventive stylist

 

Pietro Mazzoni

Science of Motor Learning

 

Siv Lie

Gypsy History and Musical Tradition

 

Steve Morse

A fusion pioneer shares his legendary crosspicking technique

 

Strunz and Farah

Hypnotic harmonies and blazing leads with the trailblazing world music duo

 

Teemu Mäntysaari

Battle-tested pickslanting insights for the modern metal lead player

 

Teemu Mäntysaari Live 2018

Talking technique, teaching, and gear with the Wintersun maestro

 

Terry Syrek

An elite guitarist's struggle with focal dystonia

 

Wim Den Herder

Exploring the intersction of mechanics, creativity, and learning