Alternate Picking Technique Help (First Post)

Technique Critique
#1

Hey guys, new member here.

This is my first post and I’m looking for feedback on my picking technique and see if there are any problems that stand out and/or areas for improvement.

I’ve never been a fast player but now I’d like to focus on increasing my alternate picking speed. I seem to run into trouble when switching strings while playing something fast, and it feels like I’m fighting to make the string change, possibly both mentally and physically. I’m guessing that I’m not changing strings on the appropriate pick stroke for the motion (i.e. trying to change strings on a downstroke with a USX motion and vice versa)

Below is a clip of my tremolo picking. I’m guessing I’m hitting 16th notes at around 170ish BPM (estimated compared to a click) which isn’t very fast, but I think I can probably up the speed slightly if I use a little more arm/shoulder movement. Looks like I’m using a USX motion with some thumb movement and wrist extension? It also seems like I’m failing to follow through with a pick stroke every once in awhile as I feel the pick getting caught on the string.

I’m also working on a part (0:38-0:51) of California by Brad Davis (below):

Below is a clip of me trying to play at my max comfortable speed before things fall apart and the playing loses definition and begins to sound just like unmusical noise. It’s pretty rough I know, but I’m trying to get the picking motion comfortable but sloppy before cleaning it up. I know there are also some syncing issues with my fretting hand and picking hand (I never realized how many notes I’m fucking up until listening to myself in slow-mo :joy:). Is my current technique sufficient to allow me to play fast? Let’s say my goal is to comfortably play 16th notes across multiple strings at at least 180 BPM.

TLDR:

I’d like to develop my alternate picking speed to play much faster but I feel slow and clunky when changing strings.

  • How does my picking look; any problems/things that stand out for me to improve upon or stop doing?
  • Will my current technique be sufficient for playing fast? (My goal is comfortable 16th notes across multiple strings at 180+ BPM).

Hope the vids are ok, let me know if more angles/playing/exercises are needed.

Thanks!

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#2

Thanks for posting! Looking good so far.

Have you watched any of our lessons on escape motion, and are you familiar with the difference between USX, DSX, and DBX motion? Because Brad’s piece is exclusively USX, or “upstroke escape” motion.

What I mean by this is that Brad is using a picking motion which moves along a diagonal where upstrokes go up in the air and “escape”, and downstrokes stay in between the strings. Because of this, during pure alternate picking, Brad can only move to a new string when he plays an upstroke. If he wants to play a downstroke and move to a new string, he must use a downstroke sweep — which means he can only move to a higher string. If he wants to play a downstroke and move to a lower string, no dice. He has to rearrange the line. That’s how USX picking works. If you watch his piece in slow motion, you will see that it is specifically arranged to follow these rules.

In your version of Brad’s tune, you’re going DUD and then moving to a new string. That can’t be done with the motion Brad is using, and that’s why you’re not using the same motion he is. At least for the first few notes, you’re using a double escape, or “DBX” motion, where the pick makes a semicircular motion and goes up in the air at both ends of the pickstroke. This is more similar to what other bluegrass players like Molly Tuttle do.

None of this is wrong, but it can help to know what kind of motion you’re trying to make, and which type of joint motion you’re using to do it. This is why tremolo doesn’t always tell you what you want to know about your technique. Since you’re not moving to a new string, it’s hard to know which type of escape motion you’re using, and whether it is really working. In your tremolo clip, it looks like a mix of things, starting out doing USX motion with the wrist, and switching to DSX, possibly with forearm and fingers as you speed up.

Again, none of this is specifically wrong. For every one of these things you’re doing, there is an elite player who is awesome at it. But it can be confusing to try to do all of them at once. As a first step, I’d recommend trying all the motions and choosing whichever one is working the fastest and smoothest right now. Then I’d try some simple phrases that match that motion, to try and get the hands locked up and synchronized.

More than that is probably beyond the scope of a forum post, but that’s the initial road map that I like. Keep us posted!

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#3

Troy,

Thanks so much, I appreciate you getting your eyes on this and giving me some feedback.

I’ve seen some CTC material so I’m familiar with the different escapes, I guess I was trying to approach this as a purely alternated picking piece this without using economy/sweep picking just because I like that rhythmic “feel” of strict alternated pickstrokes, even if there’s a lower speed limit compared to using only USX/DBX paired with clever string changes.

I actually saw significant improvement in about a day just by practicing crosspicking and 1NPS patterns, trying to get a quick and comfortable DBX motion down. What also seemed to help was trying to keep my thumb fixed instead of moving it around so much :+1:. Will keep working on it.

Again, thanks for your input!

1 Like