Anton Oparin impossible picking

Playing Technique
#36

I just have a different opinion on this as i explained already.
Take someone like Rick Graham, he has that very special ability to make this superfast spasm movement, which only very few people in the world can do. How hard i trie, even if i would practice this 24 hours a day for the rest of my life, i will never be able to do this; it realy is something special.

Anyways, of course we all can achieve things we never could do before by practicing and learning from and watching at all those great players.
I realy I love this site, your enormous work at Cracking The Code, and the contributions and discussions going on here.
On this specifick topic it just was that he stated he was very confident that he could pull it of. Then the vid came and it was…lets say, a little bit disapointing :wink:
But, i will back off and keep enjoying all the great stuff on this site.

Cheers!

#37

A post was split to a new topic: Hamsterman Oparin Roll Critique

#38

I really don’t want to make a huge deal out of this, but just so we are totally clear on this, what I am saying here has nothing to do with Anton or Rick. This has to do with how we treat each other on this forum. It’s fine if you were expecting something different from the clip that was posted. What is not fine is calling someone else’s playing ‘bad’. Honesty is saying hey you’re not nailing the technique yet. ‘Bad’ is just belittling someone’s efforts.

I think we’re probably on the same page here, and again, it’s not like this happens all the time. I just think we should all act like we’re in the same boat here when it comes to learning – because we are.

Onward…

1 Like
#39

Ok, now that things have cooled down I hope this is the right place for this comment :sweat_smile:

I was always amazed at Anton’s effortless string-tracking. From the few videos I watched, it seems to me that he can track all 6 strings almost exclusively with the wrist! I believe this is possible because he has Gilbert-esque (huge) hands. With smaller hands, I think the introduction of additional moving parts becomes necessary to reach the same results.

#40

I think you are absolutely right!

#41

I don’t buy this. Check out Molly Tuttle, or Andy Wood (who doesn’t strike me as having large hands). They have similar 6-strings reach from mostly wrist deviation.

#42

On the other hand Anton already did this at very young age, where is hands were not developed yet.

#43

Ah I see happy to not sell it :joy: . From what I recall, I thought their typical licks involved a 4-string range but maybe I’m wrong.

About young Anton, true, he was already doing the 1-6 mega skips!

#44

Yes, that is true. Those big mega string skip jumps at those blistering speeds i have never seen anybody do this that accurate with alternate picking.
But he did it already at very young age, with much smaller hands.
On YT there some vids where he was 8 years young already doing the Pagagnini stuff; it is just rediculous

#45

Look at this. 8 years young little Anton ripping it!
The guy is just very special with abilities most of us only can dream of…

1 Like
#46

You must not forget that Anton already had a classical training in playing the violin, doing all that Paganini stuff at even a younger age.
So his brain/muscle coordination was already programmed at the most efficient period in live, where all the connections in the brain are made.

#47

I do think that larger players have a larger sweet spot for wrist motion, and if Anton is playing a Dreadnought-sized guitar here then he is indeed a big dude. Even if he’s playing a Dred Jr.-sized guitar, he’s still substantially taller than me because I don’t have that kind of air gap between my arm and the guitar on any sized instrument.

However…

Large picking distances can be covered by almost anyone, even smaller players like me, with only wrist and almost no arm movement. That’s because the wrist operates in exactly the plane you would need to cover these distances. There is nothing magic about this and there are no barriers to regular people doing this type of wrist motion. It is what the wrist excels at.

1 Like
In search of a specific string tracking +wrist video
#48

…and me too,so far!!!

#49

It’s a bitch!
Also because of those accents on every 3rd of the triplets on the high E string, which alternates between a down ad a upstroke, Aaaah!

1 Like
#50

@Troy, could you please do a tutorial on the first part of this clip?
Since you almost can tackle anything it would be great to see how you would approach this.
What makes it even more hard are the dynamics; those accents on every 3rd of the triplet alternating between a down and upstroke.

I would be very gratefull if you want to do it.

#51

I think that using both the wrist and the arm together can be done as well for those with smaller hands. But the key is to be ‘super’ loose in the arm… otherwise, the arm/elbow motion will reduce the range of motion for the wrist.

Also, something to remember is that some people develop their mechanic to use only wrist-tracking and nothing else. I think Ynvgie does. But other’s have a hybrid system… where they move their pivot point with their arm/elbow, and have a 3-4 string range with their wrist. And some people use mostly the arm, and do very little wrist-tracking. So for those of us who do less wrist-tracking… it’s a bit more of a learning curve.

2 Likes
#52

We already have. I like to think it is the clearest lesson on this subject that has ever been done, but I am biased:

I do some string-skip rolls in the lesson - the big inside, little outside version, the reverse of what Anton is doing. But the technique and concept are all the same. There is no substantial difference between any versions of this, whether adjacent strings or skipped strings. The adjacent-string version also has a skip on every repetition so it really doesn’t matter.

Anton is using the supinated Andy Wood version of this technique, Molly uses the pronated version. We teach both in the lesson. One is not better or worse for this as far as I can tell.

1 Like
#53

Thnx Troy!

But the stringskip in this is a 2 string skip, from high E To D, that is a substantial difference i think. Also accenting every 3rd of the triplet makes a difference.

#54

Of course, everything makes a difference and feels different. And every little pattern you learn will take a little feeling around to get the hang of it. But if you can do the adjacent-string version smoothly and rapidly, with accuracy, you can definitely do the four-string one at or near the same speeds. If you can’t really do the three-string one, then the problem may be the core motion itself.

#55

I can do the 3 string one. But this one, with that big stringskip from High E to Low D string at that speed, no way…
That is why i hoped for a tutorial from you on this because for me it feels very different from the 3 string version.

Anyway, thnx for your response!