Analysis of Igor Paspalj's picking style

[aanghel]

Hey everyone. I started watching Troy’s videos about a month ago and they helled me understand the mechanics of picking very well. However, there is one thing that bugs me. One of my favourite players, Igor Paspalj, has a pick grip and hand placement that I cannot emulate if somebody held a gun to my head. We met in real life once and he gave me his pick. He uses the ultex 1,40 ones as well as dunlop flow gloss, so bigger picks. So can somebody more qualified help me understand his right hand? Im not sure if he arches the ring finger of the pinky. How does he have that O shape all the time? I really do not understand this.

Flight of the Bumblee Bee - 240bpm - Igor Paspalj

Flight Of The Bumble Bee - Igor Paspalj

[jptk]

It looks like the pinky side of the palm rests on bridge/strings and he’s using the angle pad grip, which is an extended finger grip. The other fingers tend to extend with this grip also.

[aanghel]

This is how I hold my pick currently, inspired by Igor’s playing. Since im a new member, I will have to have multiple replies because of the image limit. Sometimes, when I hold my pick like this, my pointer fingers gets in the way. I pick with my leading edge. Is this the way Igor Holds it, because in the last picture it looks so. However, when I play it drastically changes
.

[aanghel]

This is the other viewpoint.

[aanghel]

So, when I try to emulate the way he picks. Minimal movement and O shape is always present. This is both live and in videos. I somehow cannot even position my arm that way and allow it to stay that way. When I saw him live I noticed he picks all from his wrist at faster speeds.

[aanghel]

This is the point of view from above.

[aanghel]

However, when I start playing my hand doesnt keep the O at all, and my movements become bigger. The only reason why im writing such a lengthy post is that im not sure if my technique is ok. I can achieve relatively fast speeds (170 bpm 16s), but i still have a feeling my technique is lacking because when I compare myself to Igor, my movements are very big and chaotic, and not small and controlled as his. If I have to define in in a couple of words, it looks as if he fluidly glides across the strings, and I fight the strings. How would I achieve a similar technique, since his playing looks efortless and I am sure is much more controlled than mine.
This is me the moment I start playing a bit faster. I am aware that everyone has his own technique, and what is good for him might not be good for me. But, I still want to try to pick the way he does since I didnt even get to try his techniques. It is really frustrating for me to try really hard to replicate the way he picks, because I frankly cannot even do the hand position at all.

[jptk]

In general here, it is recommended to post a video of you doing your fastest tremolo, just on one string.
There is a link with instructions on how to film this, let me find it for you.
The details of the O shape aren’t really important. What is, is finding what motion you are able to do fast and capitalise on that.
So when doing this, I’d not think about how you are playing your fastest tremolo. It should feel like little effort at 150-160 bpm. If you have a faster motion, film that too.
Post these ideally in the technique critique section so it’s in the right place for people to see.

[jptk]

Filming Your Playing

[jptk]

I’d also start going through the picking primer also if you haven’t already. There is a lot of great information in there about how different joints work and interact

[Pepepicks66]

By the way, you should be able to post multiple images per post!

Based on your picture, my initial reaction is that your forearm is not as vertical compared to his. You can see it in the picture of him playing acoustic, or how in the video his neck is at least 30° relative to the floor. You might need to sit “classical style” or put on a strap to approximate his picking mechanics.

[aanghel]

So you think the way I place my guitar when sitting is different than his. Because, after I look at the videos I can see he places his guitar at an angle, and that his wrist is always at an angle which he does not change? So in order to approximate the way he pick I should angle my guitar at roughly 30-45 degress?

[aanghel]

Also, could you post some pictures that would further help me understand you fully or point me towards stuff I should google. I don’t want to be a burden and I appreciate whatever you send me

[Pepepicks66]

Sure thing. Approximating what your position looks like:

Here’s what I think his angles are at:

[aanghel]

How do you grip your pick in those pictures, and whats your pov from above?

[tommo]

Hey @aanghel !

If I may interrupt the flow, I’d ask why you are trying to imitate so closely the style of a particular player. It may not be the quickest way for you to get results, and it may make you work too hard on “aesthetic” considerations that perhaps don’t matter, functionally speaking.

What we usually recommend on here, as a starting point, is to just post a clip of your most fast and comfortable tremolo picking. If I ask you to hold the pick in the most comfortable way for you, and to play a fast tremolo on one string, what would it look like?

A video around 10-20 seconds showing this would be sufficient for a start. And if you want you can also include a second video with a couple licks you are trying to learn, or just some noodling if you want. Filming suggestions have already been linked by @jptk above (thank you!)

[joebegly]

All great points in terms of advancement.

Could we (in parallel) get academic and talk about this beast’s mechanic though? It’s implied, but the original intent of the thread could be more an analysis of Igor as @aanghel didn’t initially post any footage of himself.

Re: Igor, I can’t tell if it’s a wrist/forearm blend or what degree of ‘flextension’ is going on. The lighting makes it tough. I feel like at times I see small amounts of that ‘wiggle zone’ activation but my eyes might be playing tricks on me. Either way, it looks super relaxed and he’s got a great attack. Just wondering if any setup decisions he’s made (light palm side contact at bridge, loose ring-finger ‘anchor’ or ‘reference’ on the middle pickup) play into his mechanic.

It’s cool to see this type of speed not from an elbow player We recently saw @qwertygitarr give us an awesome demo with pretty similar speed, though his playing is more obviously rotational than Igor’s.

[Pepepicks66]

@aanghel

How do you grip your pick in those pictures, and whats your pov from above?

[aanghel]

Didn’t know for the video thing until my buddy here linked it. I will surely check that out. Just as people try out and learn different licks from players they envy, I tend to try to take some of the techniques great players used. I see tons of guitarists playing with closed fists and thats something i am used to seeing. However, im not used to seeing somebody picking from their wrist at almost 240 bpm. So, when I tried to replicate the technique I couldnt do it at all. When I first saw his wrist picking I started researching more about the picking hand and thats how I found Troy Grady. I will start the picking primer soon, and record the video for the forum. My goal of this post is to ask people that also analyze guitar picking (wouldnt be here if they didnt) how does he manage to effortlessly shred away with only his wrist.

[aanghel]

Yeah, youre right. I really wanted guys that are more educated than me about guitar picking techniques to explain the mechanics behind his amazing playing, since I dont usually see this sort of speed and this sort of technique. Maybe try looking back at his old videos, just sort the oldest → newest on his youtube videos and see how he retained that wrist picking technique for years. Even when he played live, standing a couple of feet away, his hand doesnt even look like its moving and thats something I dont see often. He also has minimal string noise and all around his picking hand is really confusing to me.