Another attempt at notation

General Music Discussion
#1

I’ve repeatedly tried to find a notation that I like to describe picking on paper, and have repeatedly failed. However, here is my latest attempt, and it actually seems to work well enough for me that I’m almost happy with it… but not exactly. However, there are some interesting (well, to me) ideas. Any comments are welcome.

Thesis: “In alternate picking, every stroke unavoidably starts trapped and ends trapped, with up to three parts in between, all going in the same direction: a possible initial escape jump to clear blocking strings, the mandatory hit on the intended string(s), and a possible overshoot that lands the pick trapped on the far side of the upcoming strings, ready for the direction change. Two jumps in a row are never needed and indicate a mistake.”

We have a few levels for the pick’s point.

  • OFF is just above the string plane, the pick CANNOT hit a string this far away from the guitar.
  • ON is just on/below the string plane, this WILL hit notes but they won’t be so loud (good for speed).
  • LOUD is as deep as you like.

We only care about locations in-between strings

  • 0 is just below the 1st string
  • 1 is between the 1st and 2nd strings.
  • 2 is between the 2nd and 3rd strings.
  • 3 is between the 3rd and 4th strings.
  • 4 is between the 4th and 5th strings.
  • 5 is between the 5th and 6ths strings.
  • 6 is between the 6th and 7th strings (pretend that there is a 7th).

The pick is always at specific locations, e.g., ON@3, or OFF@3, at least in one’s mind. The main idea is that the pick moves between gaps between the strings, it’s easier to think of them then the actual strings.

Simple Examples

  • 21 is a downstroke hitting the 2nd string, down as 1 > 1.
  • 12 is an upstroke hitting the 2nd string, up as 1 < 2.
  • The pick stays ON in these examples.
  • 32 21 10 is sweep picking in the same direction (3>2 2>1 1>0).

Simple Inside Picking Examples

  • (5)21 is a downstroke: the pick was ON@5, OFF@5, was ON@2, crossed (hitting note) to ON@1. 5>2>1.

Simple Outside Picking Examples

  • 54(1) is a downstroke: the pick was ON@5, crossed (hitting note) to ON@4, went OFF@4, went to OFF@1, then ON@1.

Most General Picking Example

  • (5)32(1) means ON@5 to OFF@5 to ON@3 crosses ON@2, OFF@2, OFF@1, ON@1.
  • It is illegal to have two DIFFERENT ()’s in a row unless they’re the same number.

Sweep Picking Example

  • 32 21 10 01 12 23 34 sweep with a turn-around. (Update: I’m not sure if this makes sense as a shortcut, but the same thing might make sense as 3 2 0 1 2 3 4, it’s removing shared string gaps as being redundant…)

USX: YJM, EJ and Gypsy Jazz Example

  • (3)32 23(3)

DSX: Example

  • 22(2), (2)23

Summary: If we have four numbers WXYZ, where W > X > Y > Z (all in same direction)

  • Two numbers is simplest. XY.
  • (W)XY is inside picking.
  • XY(Z) is outside picking.
  • (W)XY(Z) is the most complex stroke required for alternate picking.

Thoughts

  • It seems to be more important to think of the spaces between the strings than the strings themselves.
  • It seems to be useful to think of jumping to a point (between strings).
  • If the pick is ON, it is between two guardrails so it is harder to “get lost” (in terms of navigation) and hit the wrong thing.
  • Alternate picking requires (W)XY(Z) in the worst case, that is obviously tough to get correct at high speeds.

Golden Recipe?

This is one stroke, where everything is moving in the same direction:

  1. The pick starts trapped.
  2. If necessary, the pick “jumps” to become trapped on the nearest side of the string it needs to hit.
  3. The pick hits the desired string and remains trapped.
  4. If necessary, the pick “jumps” to become trapped on the far side of the next string that it needs to hit.

(This recipe is the same as all of the above, just expressed differently.)

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