Any discussion on string-tracking technique in CtC?

Playing Technique
#1

Did a forum search and while there were a few other threads talking about issues with string tracking, I didn’t really see much about the mechanical discussion of how different players do it. So…

Is there any discussion of the differet mechanical approaches to string tracking in CtC? I haven’t found one yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there… This is something I’ve always struggled with and as my string changing has gotten smoother under CtC I still haven’t really sussed out a good solution to this.

I tend to string track in two ways:

  1. Smaller movements I tend to try to manage by changing wrist deviation. This works for small movements but not large ones, but is slightly problematic anyway since my pickstroke is a combination of wrist deviation and extension, so it makes my picking inconsistent from string to string.
  2. Larger movements I try to just shift my whole arm across the forearm contour of the guitar, up or down as needed. The two major problems here are that it’s a large, imprecise motion, and because friction between the skin of the underside of my forearm and the gloss surface of the guitar can make it a little jerky, especially on a hot, humid day.

Are there other approaches I should be thinking about? In theory, keeping wrist deviation constant but making small corrections in my shoulder to slide the forearm up and down across the face of the guitar, but I don’t know how well that would work in practice.

#2

Im very interested in this topic too, this is the element that requires a lot of precission. Im practicing crosspicking mostly and my undertanding is that pick should stay exactly over the center of a string when picking than travel to the next string and stop exactly over the string etc… Im using my elbow for tracking and i made some progress, but it still a bit unreliable. I would like to hear from someone who has reached some confidence with string tracking and get some advice.

#3

Great question. I imagine that it may well come down to a personal ‘feel your way’ type thing, but I think discussion on this is valid and look forward to more responses

#4

We talk about this pretty extensively in both the Molly Tuttle and new Andy Wood interviews so I’d check them both out. Bottom line, for small distances they don’t move - three-string rolls, for example. For larger distances like four+ strings, they do. And they have two positions - on the strings, and on the body. We cover both and when they switch in the respective discussions.

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#5

Also for me string tracking (in the ascending direction) remains a nemesis. It has gotten better by practicing a lot of the passages requiring the string-tracking movements I “don’t like”, but it doesn’t feel 100% good yet.

With this discussion in mind I’ll watch again the bits Troy mentions in the above comment, I may notice some new details I had missed!

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#6

Cool - I’ll go back and re-watch the Andy Wood interview, and then check out the Molly Tuttle (don’t know why I haven’t gotten to that yet, her performance you guys had on Youtube was unreal). Thanks!

The whole thing still feels very awkward for me, arpeggio stuff or scale runs.

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#7

This is one of my biggest issues with descending scales with twps. Troy made a video about the necessity of anchoring, but the solution doesn’t really suit my ergonomics. It requires a shift of the thumb as you descend. It may be because I have inordinately short fingers (my middle finger is exactly 3 inches from the line at the palm to the tip).

I have tried to float my hand, anchoring by my elbow on the body, but that doesn’t track well, either.

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#8

Can you do two-string repeating six-note fragments, like descending sixes? Or for that matter, can you play two-string one-way-pickslanting phrases smoothly? Like moving the Yngwie six-note pattern from the high E string, to the B string, to the E string, and so on:

https://troygrady.com/seminars/volcano/clips/alternate-picking-ping-pong-sixes/

Tracking is usually much less of an issue across smaller differences and can often be done subconsciously, with only wrist movement, and without moving the arm or anchor point.

Until you can do this smoothly, at medium-fast “natural” speeds, I definitely wouldn’t worry about trying to to play 3nps sequences across all six strings. Smaller tracking patterns like this will help you figure out what’s wrong.

Also, and because you’ve asked a number of questions about basics, I would highly recommend posting a clip. It is nearly impossible to diagnose what might be going wrong without actually looking at what you’re doing. And spending a few months working on things until you feel you’re “ready” to post a clip might be wasted effort if you’re doing something incorrectly during that time that we could correct now.

If not that, then I’d recommend a lesson with an experienced teacher, either Skype or in-person. An experienced eye will spot things you may have no idea you are doing. The Teemu interview is a great example of the kind of seasoned feedback someone who has gone through this process can provide to students.

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#9

Hi @Troy, since we are on the topic I’d be curious to know if you had worked consciously on the tracking or not. Based on some remarks you made on the Volcano seminar, I would guess that your right hand figured out string-tracking almost automatically once you got the DWPS going.

Thanks and sorry for the repetition in case you already answered this somewhere else!

#10

Ok, I just made a couple videos. I’m editing them and youtube is slow, so I will make a critique thread when they are up and cut to size.

#11

I guess I would say no? As in, I never really worked on tracking by itself as its own problem. I’m not even sure how you would do that. Maybe by eliminating the left hand and trying different picking combinations across strings? That’s super academic and I don’t personally enjoy exercise-based practice, even though guys like Teemu have gotten great results with his “hands separately” methodology. However if someone is having very specific issues, maybe something like that could help reveal what the issue is.

In general though I’ve worked on phrases, and they all feel different and have different tracking requirements. I’m not saying that’s always easy but tracking itself has rarely risen to the level of something I try and separate from its musical context and practice.

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#12

I haven’t gotten a chance to go back through the relevant sections in the Woods and Tuttle interviews that cover string tracking - hopefully tonight - but I’ll post back when I do. For now, I’ll say I’m glad this thread seems to be generating some pretty good discussion.