That was the whole point. It’s only two strings but it forces you to do the exact thing you are having trouble on, and create a lick that cycles.
The one thing I did notice is that in your video, it looks and sounds like you are digging into and getting caught up on the strings way more than you need to. So much so I can hear the plink over the amplified sound. When you play the gambale lick last, it sounds much smoother than the other stuff you are playing there.
Yeah, I do hit hard - and perhaps with more depth than is necessary. Trying to train that out is proving really difficult, though. Work in progress, I guess.
This got me to your speed at 140, but my fingers hurt from two days of tryin to get that lick higher and higher. It would probably take me about 2-4 weeks to get it to 160. heh! and my fingers arent sore just like exhausted from the confusion from the lick having to travel backwards on the high e string when I get to it, and the confusion from the middle to index finger thing on those single note strings.
Thanks, this is a great strategy actually. I tried it with just my 3nps ascending and descending 6:4 runs and I ended up around 168 bpm or so. Not sure if that’s good around these parts, but it’s what I have. And the min7add9add13 FG arpeggio I got to about the same. However, those problems with the ascending bits when isolated and repeated are still very troublesome. Fossegrim’s lick is an absolute nightmare hahaha Hard on the ego to practice that lol
AHA Slight Breakthrough on the Fossegrim Special. Cool. I enjoy a victory!
168 bpm 16ths is 11.2 notes per second
112 bpm 6s is 11.2 notes per second
this is very fast actually. heh
How are you with just plain ol’ simple sweeps that descend like this one below (sorry the audio is shitty I just couldn’t bother to do anything but my phone right now):
Tab:
Hmmm lemme take a try at that sweepy… Not the worst at it, but there’s always room for improvement I think… lol (lol I think I missed an F in there - hehe whups)
That’s good! Now why do you suppose that’s easier for you to do?
Well sure, but that still sounds REALLY good 
Here you go!
i sneaked that lick in ascending and descending 
left out some palm mutes hang tight!
tried to iron out the rhythm on that fast lick, still trying to figure that out. i think this is right, just seems a bit off.
never doubt economy it can take you really far.
The thing I notice is you don’t use elbow for the sweeps. You pivot on the palm. I think thats what you should do for your normal picking.
Just keep your palm there, it’s so more stable than a floating elbow for just about everything but strumming
Cool, thanks for this - I’ll mess around with it and see if i can’t post a version!
I wrote you a second solo.
If you guys need fingerings let me know.
Okay, so I am still plunking away with the etudes you made up, slowly but surely. There’s a few things in there that turn into tangles, sop it’s good to address - thanks so much again!
I have a Bach Orchestral suite that has been kicking my ass for literally decades and I am finally making headway on it; I had to change the fingerings in a few spots to suit me, and combine sweeping and hybrid picking, but it’s starting to get faster, I am very happy about finally making some progress on it. Thanks for your input guys!
Here is the orchestral suite, I got this from a John Tappella book called “Challenge The Masters” which I learned pretty much the whole book back in, umm 1990 I think? Anyways - it was a great melodic exercise and it really got me interested in Bach’s music but I could never really get it quite as fast as I would like. A sloppy 120bpm on a good day, which always bothered me because there was lots of other stuff that I could play super fast, but the same practice techniques just didn’t seem to increase the BPM’s. You know? I couldn’t seem to “rep with the metronome” to make it happen.
I have visited and revisited my picking technique to try a lot of different things, but in the end - alternate picking as much single string stuff as possible seems to work just fine, then sweeping/economy picking everything else and when those two don’t work, hybrid picking. lol So my “main” is that stuff, and I am a crosspicking “enthusiast” about 5-10 minutes a day. lol
So yeah, I rearranged the fingering on this to suit “me” and for the first time in literally decades I broke 120bpm. A clean 120, and I think it just goes to show that you gotta run with what you are actually good at.
Anyways, if i can hit 130 with this, and I feel like I can - I will post a video. Have a good one everybody!!
edit I fixed the image, I guess GP8 exports pngs with a transparent background! Sorry about that!
Geez I can barely make it out.
It’s quite hard to see! Have you been developing economy picking with your elbow motion? How is that going?
Is that the “Black Cat at Midnight” suite?
Fixed my man, sorry about that.
Yes - I think I got the image fixed! lol Sorry guys! Yeah, I have been using a sweep type thing on and off since I heard the name “Gambale” but I have finally really dug into it. pretty amazing guy that Frank…
Although I do still alternate pick - single string stuff, even number of notes per string sequences - it’s actually how I do my pentatonic 5’s a la Eric Johnson, and I have always hybrid picked so Marshall Harrison has become pretty interesting to me (Amazing player also) And also Jimmy Bruno. I decided to just let the fact that I can’t seem to alternate pick everything go and focus instead on what I can do.
And yeah, I use elbow, a bit of wrist and lately a thumb thing too… hehehe is that allowed? It seems to work…
The Bach piece is the Litmus test! If I can do that at the tempo I want, then I will be a pretty happy camper!
I don’t know about a “Black Cat At Midnight”… If so, I have never heard it called that… lol Maybe? 
