Excited to start this journey

Introduce Yourself
#1

I’ve been playing since I picked up the guitar my brother abandoned at age 9. I was already taking piano and percussion lessons and my parents drew the line, so I decided to teach myself guitar from a poster. Undoubtedly, I developed a few bad habits along the way, because I didn’t have anyone to correct them.

I’m a fan of just about every style of playing, but metal, prog and blues have the lion’s share of my attention. Vito Bratta, EJ, Joe B, Satchel (steel panther) and a host of other long haired heroes from the 80s and 90s are where I have my targets set. I’ve NEVER been able to get through fast runs at tempo. I can play bits and pieces, but connecting them has always been impossible.

I was running through some passes I wanted to speed up a few weeks ago and I realized I kept hitting the wrong strings on the way up and down from high to low and back again. I had seen guys on YT talking about pick escape, so I slanted my pick more and still couldn’t speed up without noisy mistakes. It seemed like a dead end, but I’ve never been one to give up, so I started looking for teachers who could help… Everyone is packed right now because of the pandemic. I then remembered seeing some of Troy’s interviews and videos and thought maybe I’d give it a try to see if I need mechanical help.

I’m a few days in now and I know what I’m doing wrong. I’m using a DSX not the USX I thought I had. Merely slanting the pick doesn’t fix the issue. I need to change the angle of my arm to allow an USX if I’m switching strings on upstrokes! It’s going to take some work to get it, but at least I know what I’m doing wrong… I also tend to move just my thumb and index finger and that is a HUGE issue. I’m experimenting with a few different grips and starting to develop movement from my wrist and elbow instead of my fingers.

I’m going to set up a camera to capture all my bad habits so I can see exactly what is happening and with any luck at all, I’ll be able to develop new good habits that break the barriers I’ve been running into for 30+ years!

This is really exciting, so thanks to Troy and the Cracking the Code crew for putting this all together.

Greg

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#2

Awesome. Thanks for signing up!

Did you take any of the table-top tests, and did that help understand which actual joint motion(s) you’re using? Because that’s really the first area of focus. As you point out, just thinking about the way the pick is slanted doesn’t really change the motion. In similar fashion, just turning the arm doesn’t * necessarily * do that either, because some motions, like Al Di Meola’s wrist motion, actually move diagonal to the way the arm is positioned.

Give those tests a shot if you get a moment and let us know if that provides any more clarity — we’re always looking for feedback.

#3

Ok sorry, must have missed that. Nothing wrong with finger type motions, they usually end up being USX though, like Yngwie. You say you’re getting DSX with that? That would be interesting to take a look at if you can shoot a “down the strings” type clip.

#4

Yes, I did the table top tests and that’s where the light bulb came on. Slower speeds I use my fingers and it looks like USX and that’s why I’ve been so confused over the years regarding why I can’t speed up and switch strings. BUT, once I speed up, I go into a DSX wrist motion like Andy Wood and everything falls apart… Just the quick adjustment from flat to supinated arm position show me that I’ve been backwards all along. I thought I was USX and I was really DSX.

I am getting my camera rig sorted out. I’m hoping to have it ready tonight. I really want to capture my before and after in its current state.

I can’t believe how much information there is just in the Pick Slanting Primer.

#5

What do you mean falls apart? Andy’s motion is great. It might be the most common picking motion of all time. Are you saying you can do that? If so, don’t toss it in the garbage.

#6

When I say it falls apart, I mean that my mind expects USX so I’m switching strings after an upstroke. I’m really DSX, so when I switch strings after an upstroke, I hit the string instead of going over them. Just as a quick test, I started my phrasing on an upstroke vs a down stroke and my string changes cleaned up. It’s awkward for me to start on an upstroke, but I’ll just have to drill on it for a bit until it becomes normal.

You’re right, I think the technique is good, I just need to either add some USX positioning or flip/flop my upstroke vs downstroke. I’m just excited that I’ve identified the thing that has been tripping me up for years.

#7

For sure, if you use a single escape motion you’ll get the smoothest results by terminating on the correct pickstroke. We give this advice a lot, but it would be instructive to see in your case what actually happens when you try to ignore it. i.e. Are you actually hitting the string, or is some other thing happening? This kind of feedback can be helpful to us just in terms of seeing what really goes wrong when players are unaware.

If you want to add that into you shot list of stuff to film, that would be instructive feedback for us, since it’s currently something that you’re still doing and hasn’t been smoothed away yet. If not no worries at all, and glad you’re making progress.

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