Critique my trem + alt picking please!

Technique Critique
#1

Hi!

I’m trying my best to improve my picking technique, but to be honest it’s not working out at all.
it’s almost as if i have different modes, like not being able to switch between techniques.
Either I position my hand for trem picking (as bad as it is) or, I just stay in my “normal” position in wich i do everything, or at least try :smiley: But i cannot go from one into the other.

My “normal” mode has this thing where i have to choose between speed and accuracy.
When going for speed it’s somewhere between 85-90 bmp until I automatically start increasing movement range to not get lost, tense up (although i made some progress on that), and really use my forearm/elbow.
It’s no surprise i cannot keep this up and my accuracy goes down the drain because of fatigue.
I also noticed my hand tilts upwards, so i guess i’m trying to use DWPS to force my way through, but with no avail because it’s really uncomfortable.
The strange thing is that i have always done this tilting thing.
It’s probably not even DWPS but only an effect because of the tension i build up, i don’t really know.
The fact that i’m picking kind of diagonal across the string helps up to a certain point, but because i lose accuracy the motion becomes too exaggerated and therefore uneffective and it sounds way too scratchy.
String hopping is also a bad habit i have since very long but it dissapears because of the forearm/elbow combo.

Everything below let’s say 90 bpm (wich is alt pick video speed) i can play in a more relaxed manner when i try to do it the right way, in short, everything feels how it should feel and it works, but there’s just no way to speed it up although i try every single day.
Like I said it’s either the one or the other for me and i want to change this. There’s so much information going on inside my head that i’m getting lost in all of the excercises.
My own take on all the info that’s out there doesn’t work so i hope someone out there can push me in the right direction. Some help on putting a practicing schedule together with the appropriate excercises on 1 string like those tasty Malmsteen licks or multiple strings would be very welcome too.

here’s my trem pick video:

Alternate picking video :

Thank you for your time!

#2

Hey there, I took a quick look at the tremolo video. A few questions for you:

  • re the tension: can you rate your tension (arbitrary scale of 1 to 10, 10 is super tense), and then try to lower it? e.g. “I’m playing at about an 8 tension, let me see if I can reduce it to 6”. I find that this inquiry helps me locate and let go.
  • I feel you’re playing with a lot of force, is that accurate? Can you try playing with almost no effort, i.e., swinging the pick in an easy manner so it travels through the string with momentum, rather than you pushing it through?
  • “I automatically start increasing movement range to not get lost” - right, you might want to look into “chunking” – There are some CTC videos out there on this concept, maybe someone can provide a link, I can’t find it – and I wrote a bit about it here. Essentially, you “chunk” information and only think about the first note in the chunk, the rest will follow.
  • re “Some help on putting a practicing schedule” - take a look here and see if anything resonates. I follow this style of schedule myself, breaking things down into approximately 20 minute chunks, more or less depending on the thing. Since you’re still sorting out technique, keep your licks to just 1 or 2 strings, any more is more complicated b/c you have to deal with changing hand positions etc, gets tough.
  • Then – sheesh, I keep posting links to my own crap, I’m so full of myself – you might look into “slow-fast-slow-fast” practice, which I’ve found super super helpful. I did a short video for the Cliffs of Dover thread

Cheers!
jz

1 Like
#3

Hey @Janske1987, looks like the videos are unavailable. Let us know if you still want some feedback and/or if you have some updated vids to look at :slight_smile:
Cheers
Tommo