Ok. Maybe I don’t know how to measure what I’m doing. I’ll google it.
How many notes per click are you playing when you checked against the metronome?
2 notes per click. One string per click. If there is a faster option I can’t even imagine being able to do that.
2 notes per click is 8th notes, assuming the click is a quarter note (most of the time it is). How does that compare to your 3nps?
Yep
I’d highly recommend posting a video of what you’re doing. We may not all be speaking the same language regarding the speed you’re playing.
2 notes per click at 190bpm is not fast at all and that would almost certainly indicate there’s an inefficient “something” going on if that’s your max. Not everyone is going to be challenging John Taylor in a speed match, but I think playing 2nps, 16ths at 140 - 180 bpm is well within the range of most people, if they’re doing it right and don’t have some sort of physical disability that’s getting in the way. 2 notes per click at 190bpm is equivalent to 4 notes per click at 95bpm. Quite a bit lower than even the low range I’ve given (which I understand is the point that indicates we’re not stringhopping).
TLDR;
Give us some video
This you’ve described is me. Slow. I don’t know the exact math terms for it but I’m slow.
There is a bit of string hopping isn’t there? Really shows that I haven’t spent a lot of time applying the ctc technique.
I’d suggest a video at regular speed, not slow motion.
Well there is no metronome in the video anyway because I use my phone for metronome. I’m slow. That’s all. Need more practice.
I thought you wanted feedback if there was string hopping or not, which IMO is easier to tell at regular speed.
I think it looks good, string hopping is minimal if there’s any at all. I think the real “test” here would be to compare this motion / speed to your fastest speed on a single note, that way you can get a benchmark of where you are now, and reassess once you spend a good amount of time getting comfortable with 2nps patterns.
I find them harder to play too.
Hi there!
While it looks good, it might be looking good because you’re “controlling” your hand motion, i.e., you’re using too much force. I can see the guitar moving with each movement of your hand, so I assume there is a lot of force.
If you were to rate your tension or use of force on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is absolutely no effort and 10 is serious effort, where would you rate yourself?
And once you have that rating, can you consciously reduce it? e.g., “I’m about an 8 right now, I’m going to see if I can play it at a 5” – whatever that means for you. Then keep letting go of tension.
In a recent post on hybrid picking, I describe a “slow-fast-slow-fast” approach to practicing you might find useful as you work on this.
Cheers, z
Very interesting idea. I e always wondered why when I see yngwie or other play it looks like their picking hand is doing almost nothing. I’d say I am applying quite a bit of force and my hand is very tense too. I’m not sure I could gauge it with a number but it’s over a 6 I’d say. I think it’s because it still feels so awkward for me to pick and switch strings so fast so I tense up. I’m going to practice at a slower speed for a while until I can do it relaxed. Thanks for the idea.
Right, I hear you. That said, your motion looks good! So see if you can just “let go” a bit, and repeat what you do. Then try again and again. Take lots of breaks, you are now unlearning tension and you need to keep gently guiding yourself back to nothing.
Hey @Jarrodpimentals, how is this going?
I had another thought, see if it helps at all. When playing licks lick this, it can be hard to move across all six strings: you have to move your hand or elbow, which can introduce tension, changes angles, etc. You might find it useful to break this into small pieces, and then chain those together (ref chaining).
So, rather than
try something like
(don’t worry about the rhythm, just do 3 notes really fast, and hold the last one) … you can really relax and observe what’s going on as you hold that last note, and get ready for the next fast, very loose attempt.
Then you can start to join these smaller parts together:
Cheers! z
Very interesting. Thanks for that suggestion. I’m glad to add another thing to practice.
These are all suggestions and ideas to try out, to see what works for you. Sometimes I try things and they are useless for a while, and then I come back later and they click. All a mystery, but maybe these will help you find your clues. Cheers! Z
I remember asking Cesario Filho about this once. I believe he said this was also hard for him to do. But he does it very fast, and this means he had to work at it. I imagine if we just play blues alot like try to cover an SRV album this would be no problem.
You might try doing the ole swing tempo trick for awhile, by this I mean a few months. Just play all the blues licks in swing tempo. And maybe eventually your body will adapt, and build up some strength from the two note quick points inside the swing tempo rhythm. So when you try to chain it all really quick it might be easier.