Hi guys. I’m uploading a video showcasing my progress with 3nps alternate picking. This lick is the first six notes of the minor scale played in 3 different octaves. One of the reasons I’m posting this is to find out what exactly I’m doing ( CTC terminology wise ). I’m trying to figure out why it goes pear shaped 7 seconds into the video and also how I should experiment with tempo when practising. My way of practising is playing triplets at first and then going for bursts (in sextuplets). The tempo here is 95 bpm.
I’d love to hear from you guys.
Thank you for your input in advance!
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I think you may be a primay upwards pickslanter: do you feel that the “inside ascending” string changes are harder than the outside ascending ones?
To check this, try to play the same scale but with this pattern (3 notes on the low E, 6 notes on all the others) - the string changes should feel very easy if you start on a downstroke:
G--------------------------------- 7-9-10-7-9-10-- etc.
D--------------------7-9-10-7-9-10----------------
A--------5-7-8-5-7-8------------------------------
E-5-7-8-------------------------------------------
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That is so true…all the exercise/examples from the UPWS lessons come naturally as opposed to the DWPS ones (possibly some of the Eric Johnson ones excluded). Is it too early to try 2 way pickslanting exercises? Moreover, is this considered to be a demanding speed/tempo?
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Hey, I don’t think it’s too early, and sextuplets at 95-100bpm is a good speed to work on your fast picking technique without getting too tired.
But instead of a straight scale, you could try to start with patterns that change strings more slowly (like every 5 or 7 notes instead of 3). For example, this rolling pattern is a popular one:
-5-7-8-7-5-7-8 (then move to next string etc)
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I’ve also noticed that it’s usually the first 2 ( the bottom 2) strings i’m struggling with. It could be the pivoting DWPS motion I can’t quite master. Also, i’ve tried the pattern you suggested but not really repeating the same notes but moving further up the scale on the same string. It’s quite the tongue twister but it works fine (but for some synchronicity mistakes) what do you think I should do next. Should I stick to it?
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I think it depends on your objective. What is your main goal at the moment? is it the 3nps scale you played in the video? (tell me about it - I’m also mainly UWPS and it took me forever to play a decent ascending scale).
Also, if you know that the low strings are the problem it could be good to practice some licks that alternate between these two strings. Try to do some variations or it can get really boring 
I think it’s very good that you already identified an area for improvement. Next step is to try and look at what your hand is doing when things go wrong. Filming is good for this!
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