Learn selective string picking with Tosin Abasi in this new guitar lesson

News
By published

YouTuber Ben Eller and the Animals As Leaders man talk you through seven different ways to use it

Ben Eller's YouTube channel is a superb resource for guitar learning, and following Mastodon's Bill Kelliher guesting on it he's now got Tosin Abasi to unpick one of his  signature techniques in a special video lesson.

The phrase selective picking was actually coined by Abasi and this seven-part tutorial gradually becomes more advanced as it goes on. 

We're loving the Hawaiian shirts too! Check out above, and you can find Kelliher guesting on a tutorial for Mastodon's new song Fallen Torches below. 

Subscribe to Eller's YouTube channel here. 

Rob Laing
Rob Laing
Reviews Editor, GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars

Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.

More about guitar lessons techniques

"There’s plenty for us guitarists to learn – and ‘less is more’ is the overriding lesson": how to play like George Harrison on The Beatles' Abbey Road

"You owe your guitar the chance to be its best": How to clean and polish your guitar frets a better way

‘Ain’t Going Down Without a Fight’: Michael Bolton confirms he has incurable brain cancer
See more latest
Most Popular
Michael Bolton performs, during a concert at Arena Monterrey on June 9, 2023
‘Ain’t Going Down Without a Fight’: Michael Bolton confirms he has incurable brain cancer
Sheryl Crow and Olivia Rodrigo
“Some of the greatest musicianship right now is young and female... If you want to take a course in great songwriting, go study at the college of Taylor Swift”: Sheryl Crow heaps praise on Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and Phoebe Bridgers
Bastl Instruments Kastle 2 Wave Bard
Bastl Instruments' Kastle 2 Wave Bard is a cute, patchable and experimental groovebox that fits in your pocket
Catalinbread Wake Chorus/Octaver: this blue-green stompbox combines a chorus with an octave down effect running in parallel, which you can blend into your guitar signal and make it sound bigger.
“An additive chorus effect that plays well as an ‘always-on’ tonal thickener with a twist”: Don’t sleep on Catalinbread’s Wake if you’re looking for dream pop tones on your pedalboard
Diane Warren
“If I’m going to write a song with an artist, I’m probably going to end up doing most of the work anyway, to be honest”: Super-songwriter Diane Warren on why she prefers to work alone, and can't understand it when "maybe an OK song" has "eight writers"
Neuzeit Instruments Drop
Neuzeit Instruments drops Drop, a snapshot-based MIDI and CV controller that's designed for... drops
Sammy Hagar in 2025
“He stopped writing, I think, because he just ran out. He had used that guitar neck up. He did everything and anything that neck could do”: Sammy Hagar explains Eddie Van Halen's lost years
PRS CE 22 Limited Edition
“Classic PRS aesthetics and a voice that blends warmth with bolt-on articulation”: PRS Guitars keeps the limited edition releases coming with the return of the CE22
tourist
“Get the ideas out - and then look back with different ears or different eyes in a few months. Then the really good ones will stand out to you”: Tourist shares his music production wisdom
Epiphone goes high-end with its Inspired By Gibson Custom 2025 collection: [from left] the '63 Firebird in Polaris White is joined by a 1959 Les Paul Standard, a '64 SG Standard, a 1960 Les Paul Special in TV Yellow and a 1962 ES-335 reissue.
“We tried to capture the heart of what a Gibson Custom guitar is, and I think we really have done it”: Epiphone expands and upgrades its flagship Gibson Custom collab with eight stunning vintage-inspired electrics