Feedback needed: Classical Guitarist learning picking technique!

Technique Critique
#1

Hello CTC people!

After several weeks learning with CTC the importance and the effects of choosing the right fingerings (right and left hands respectively), I decided is time to give myself a try to the picking technique.

I consider myself a late intermediate classical guitarist who’s learning ways of efficiently use a pick to attack the strings rather than my fingers as I’ve been doing for the last 8 years or so.

I thought it would be a good idea to post my videos on here and get some feedback from the community early on.

I’ve used a pick before, but never studied it methodically until 4 weeks ago when I decided I’d give it a try, right now I’m studying the Volcano seminar and I’m in love with downward pickslanting. So here I go (My guitar has not proper strings because it’s actually expensive on my country right now, so I’m using a 3rd in the place of a 4th and my guitar pick is homemade, I try to get the best out of it):

3-String Diminished Arpeggio:

My objective right now isn’t speed, even though I try to play fast, my actual goal is playing clean before doing the metronome practice.

Ascending sevens on top two strings

Here an attempt to the Cascade Pentatonic of EJ

Here a chorus from Dark Eyes by Django Reinhardt

I find Gypsy to be a musical genre quite accessible and enjoyable. Despite of my Downward Pickslanting being “new” on me, I feel totally comfortable when playing these things I share here, at the moment of recording I tried to play at a velocity I could reach without lots of warming up.

So, my main question: Am I executing a proper downward picklasting motion?

Looking forward to reading you all!

Thanks a lot and specially to the CTC team for all the hard work and support.

2 Likes
#2

Great playing! Very musical and clean.

From the videos you posted it looks correct and comfortable - wrist is relaxed and a bit flexed and the picking movement seems to be using forearm rotation which is perfect for downward pickslating.

2 Likes
#3

I agree with majorsixth, your playing sounds and looks good!

1 Like
#4

Hey @majorsixth, thanks a lot for sharing your observations. Very much appreciated.

I do feel comfortable with this technique even though right now I’m trying also some alternate picking that even though it doesn’t come as natural to me, it still feels comfortable

#5

Thanks for commenting @Pemali! I do feel comfortable playing this way even though I look forward to add some strictly alternate picking phrases to my vocabulary

#6

Perhaps one thing that could help you - if lack of speed is what you’re feeling about your playing atm - is trying to make the pick point path more linear. From what I’m seeing in your videos, it’s a bit curvy (which is not wrong at all), but might lead a speed impediment on a really fast ‘click’. By “really fast”, I mean sixteenth notes on a 180 or higher pulse.

If that’s what you’re looking for, the picking should feel more like up and down on a diagonal path, rather than having that “strumming feel” which is typical of gipsy jazz and many other styles with moderate to high speeds.

But that’s only if you’re feeling like it - from the looks, everything is in its right place.

1 Like
#7

@john_louis

This is from last year, when I was able to practice every day for a month. Same Cascade Penatonic you did there:

I believe I was using a movement similar to yours.

Note that the picking is more like a straight “up and down” (or “side to side”, if you will), rather than curvy. See if it’s any help.

1 Like
#8

Checking it out! Thanks a lot @majorsixth and nice tone by the way