What’s up guys? I’ve been having a lot of trouble with ascending 3 NPS runs that start with a down stroke and continue all the way up. The main issue is switching the pick slant on each string while simultaneously trying to play fast. I’m comfortable using one slant (DWPS) but not at all when having to switch off between up and down every 3 notes. I was hoping for some advice on how to practice this and get better at it but also wondering if it’s feasible to just downward slant the entire time and use the diagonal escape to avoid getting stuck? Any tips on how to do this while trying to get faster with things like ascending and descending 3NPS modes would be really appreciated.
One question: the first stroke has one slant. The third stroke has the flipped slant. But what do you do on the second stroke?
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You can sweep the string changes.
So pickwise you have:
Down – Up – Down
Down – Up – Down, etc.
The last pick stroke on the first string is a down, and the first pick stroke on the next string is also a down.
Continue this pattern all the way through.
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Thanks for the reply. So for example if I’m doing an ascending run starting on the E, I’ll use a downward slant all three notes on the E string down up down, then switch to an upward slant for the up stroke on the A string and go up down up and switch off like that each string all the way up. Having to change slants on each string is totally throwing me off. That’s why I was wondering if I could just downward slant the entire time and use the diagonal escape on the string changes. Regardless if that would work or not, I would like to learn both ways since pick slanting is the main objective here.
Thank you! Yeah I definitely practice that way for economy picking but I’ve always wanted to learn that blazing pure alternate style and also prefer the articulated sound it produces for example the 3 NPS run towards the end of Dimebags Domination solo
Troy just released a new video explaining the "Displacement Trick."
Check it out - it might help!
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First off: playing a 3nps string scale fast and clean with pure alternate picking is deceptively difficult. Just be aware of that.
A method like that presupposes that you can do both a DSX and USX tremolo - can you? You’d also need to be using the correct escape before playing the third note on each string, otherwise you’d have to string hop.
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Wow! I would do down (USX), up (flat), down (DSX) and be free to hit the A string with an upstroke (DSX). I’m sure yours works but as usual I don’t know what is popular.
I made this account here just to post about a similar question and then this popped up the first thing I see on the forums. So, similar to this, I have no problem changing the pickslant/escape angle when doing descending runs on 3NPS stuff. No idea why ascending is so hard though. I go DUD on a string with DSX, and I just can’t land the upstroke on the next string smoothly. The motion feels really awkward. I used to primarily play with USX, but now that I’ve discovered the greatness that is the flexed form similar to MAB or Alexi Laiho, I’m really starting to like 2-way pickslanting. It’s just that DSX feels so incredibly hard for me when ascending. If I try to turn my brain off and just pick away at it, it seems that my hand defaults to doing my old USX sweeping motion for it resulting in a downstroke on the next string as well. Couldn’t find anything about this on Google either, so I’m really hoping someone else has experienced this too and figured it out.
Yeah this sounds like it wouldn’t work.
Pick one shape and drill it. I did 124 124 134 134 135 135 just for familiarity.
Maybe?
Yeah it’s not common and not easy. I think it’s easier than descending / ascending 4s which I’m working on.
Old vid:
Personally I use DSX always except for when I absolutely can’t aka. when I’m switching strings after an upstroke. When I have to switch strings after an upstroke I do a wrist flick/rotation movement that gives me a single USX movement, but I always immediately revert back to my natural DSX. As a DWPS player you use USX naturally so you’d do a wrist flick/rotation to get a single note of DSX when required. It’s theoretically two way pickslanting, but in some ways it’s also not as I never stay in the USX position for more than one note (Unless I’m playing 2 nps pentatonic stuff at which point I try and usually fail to stay in the USX position 
).
For you this would mean that when playing a scale with 3 nps, you’d do the flick on the third note of the E, D and B strings to get one note of DSX in there. Since I’m a natural DSX player I do the flicking movement on the 3rd note of the A and G strings to get one note of USX.
Look at the displacement video troy posted, this is a perfectly acceptable way to play ascending 3nps patterns, and at speed only the top 2% would hear (or care) that it’s not ‘strict’ alternate picking.
Conversely, you can be a bit more forceful and just swipe over the next higher string, and then you’re set to play the upstroke. As an example,
6th string - D U D (this last downstroke swipes over the muted A string)
5th string - U D U