90 bpm twilight zone

Playing Technique
#1

I can do metal 16th note stuff pretty smoothly and groovy all the way up to 190 or so (muted or open), slowly creeping higher. I’m most comfy doing DSX and my USX with some forearm is catching up. But when I get down to about 110 in any configuration it starts getting hard and awkward and down at 90 it’s super clunky and awkward and I have a really tough time recreating the smoothness I have at higher speeds.

Anybody run into this or am I a freak?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Success stories?

Cheers people. Love this forum.

#2

Happens to me too, so maybe we’re both freaks! 90 bpm or so as well, I think it’s slow enough that I either have to downpick everything, or “string hop” to get more air time between pick hits. I’ve gotten better at managing it now, it’s just an interesting point where technique shifts.

Similarly, I think around 150 bpm or so I also have a weird spot where I might be changing the technique a little for faster stuff.

#3

A question: if someone plays slowly, should they just wait at the end of the stroke and not immediately turn around? The other alternative is that the pick moves slowly, but this would make slow playing quiet, and it seems to me that the volume shouldn’t change? Are there any other options?

#4

Slower tempos are generally harder to lock into, and tend to also be less forgiving when it comes to slight imperfections and nuances. There’s always a tendency to be “around” the beat.

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#5

Playing in time at lower tempos takes practice, and is helped by consciously mentally subdividing note durations until it’s habitual. I don’t know if that’s playing into what’s happening here, but it’s pretty common. There may also be a technique adjustment to attend to.

Shout out to @joshuaskaja for his Metronome Boot Camp, which I got great benefit from. Including this classic: “you should never try to beat your fastest tempo without also trying to beat your slowest tempo.”

Time feel is one of the most important elements of music and has to be practiced explicitly. There’s a lot more to it than just trying to go faster. Not being precisely on top of the beat can add a lot of musicality, but probably not if it’s uncontrolled, and especially not if you’re unaware of it. Again, I’m not saying @curvy definitely has this particular problem, but I’d argue it correlates pretty strongly with not being able to play slowly, and both would be helped by explicit practice and focus on placement in the pocket.

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