Clips are: 4NPS, 4NPS Slow, 3NPS, 3NPS Slow, 1NPS, 1NPS Slow
Hello! Looking for any obvious callouts that can help me. I feel like on the 4NPS stuff i feel like a weird pause inbetween switching each string. I also cant go much faster than that without using my elbow. Any tips or advice? thanks!
This is pretty interesting, because you begin the Rock Discipline sequence on a downstroke, but you subconsciously know that won’t work, so quite quickly you switch to starting new strings with an upstroke. I assume you weren’t aware of this, correct? One thing you could try is to purposely begin the whole thing with an upstroke (so your 16th note groupings are now UP down up down). It’s not a perfect solution, as your picking appears trapped some of the time, but if you try it and also add a little more downstroke escape (the whole thing is single escape), I bet you’ll have it nailed pretty quickly.
With the 3nps thing, you are using a rotational “helper motion” for the penultimate note. That’s fine, however there is a little lag before you play the last note, I believe because you are going (for the whole thing):
Down Up Down Up Down Up ROTATE Down
So it’s like eight actions for seven notes. Try to combine that rotational movement and the upstroke into one single movement.
Thanks a lot for the insight! I was not aware of this. I cant seem to get rid of the garage spikes problem while doing a motion that i am comfortable with. Picking more trapped is probably not good
Here is my grip and basic setup, my end of my pick always points more towards the neck, when i try to do a strict 90 degree “pick point” like a T grip with my thumb, it always feels a bit awkward and moves it’s way back to how it is.
How long have you been working on this, by the way? It took me several weeks to get a consistent motion I’m happy with, and I still have off days where it just don’t wurk rite.
Right. So, I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with this, though it does point to some sort of mismatch between the pick path and how you’re holding the pick - the pick is orienting itself to a place of less resistance, or closer to equal resistance. But, if you still say you’re getting garage spikes, I’d take a step back from Rock Discipline, etc, and work on tremolo and single string ideas.
Post a tremolo. Experiment - try some motions that use more escape, try different joints - anything that can give you a smooth attack and decent speed. Even if it isn’t the motion of your dreams, getting anything at all smooth tells your brain what things are actually supposed to feel like when they’re actually working right, which will give you an advantage to learning other techniques down the road, if you so choose.
+1 on this. I have a wrist-forearm USX motion I rarely use, and when my DSX-inflected 2WPS isn’t working right I use it to “remember what smooth works like.” 60% of the time, it works every time.
Search this site for “pick point” and see all my posts, lol.
I think it’s all good, and in fact, you should experiment with even more angling towards the neck and see how it feels.
What?
Here’s a quick drawing. The thing that looks like a pick is a pick, the circle is a string in cross section, and the arrows represent the direction the pick is moving. Positive pick point is like pick slanting, in that it corrects a mismatch between how the pick and string interact. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but you could get the same effect from pick slanting instead.
slanting as in making the pick closer to parallel to the face of the guitar?
It’s complicated. Normally I think positive pick point happens when the motion is DSX, but the pick slant is zero degree - upward pick slanting would be an alternative.
Basically, the pick always wants to be number one in the drawing above, and there are a few different ways that can happen.
Thanks for your replies so far!
Here is a couple open string tremelo clips.
First, with mostly just wrist (i sense a little forearm tension here) this is as fast as i can go.
0.25x
Second, i let my elbow be included (This is how i have been able to do shredding dream theater covers lol).
0.25x
Hey! I am a DSX player also! Awesome playing, man - thanks for sharing!
Based on the clips, it looks like you are starting on a downstroke; is that true? Perhaps strict “4’s” on each string, a tremolo with a harmonic at 12th fret or something and then a change to the next string after 2, 4 or 6 notes might be helpful. Also, it looks like your picking hand is really flat - that’s great, but perhaps a bit more pronation and the DSX aspect might show it’s strength?
Good luck, man!
I firmly believe it’s ok to feel forearm tension at a certain point, someone even asked Troy in the “practice at warp 3” thread, and he mentioned how past a certain point there is “tension”. My note to that is as long as it doesn’t feel painful, you’re ok.
I think your “elbow included” motion is still mostly wrist that has your elbow move freely, which I don’t think is bad. Between these two videos, the second one is definitely “better”.
Thanks! I will try that again, i have not really liked more upward slanting styles but i will try some more 
Oh really?! I always thought you were supposed to feel no forearm or elbow tension, just strictly wrist, in terms of wrist only picking that is.
Here is an exerpt of my Dream theater illumination theory cover, that shows some faster picking near the end, just so you can see what it looks like from a front view as well.
Nah, I will die on this hill. Maybe at lower speeds you can “not feel it”, but anything near your max you’ll start to notice forearm tension.
Since you mentioned Dream Theater and posted a frontal view, here’s me practicing the Erotomania run:
I think people here would say I’m a wrist picker, but at this speed I start to feel forearm “tension”.
Awesome playing! I feel like in my video i can see my elbow moving but in yours i cannot. Am i just seeing things? haha.
Thank you, I’ve gone through some retraining to not move my elbow as much, but I’m sure that earlier on I had about as much elbow motion as you.
Elbow motion is seen here as acceptable, with plenty of players doing it at high levels. Even JP has switched to mostly elbow from what I’ve seen.
I had a bad case of medial elbow tendinosis from climbing that pretty much made elbow picking feel painful, so I had to start “locking down” the movement.
In this clip you’re still using wrist, but your elbow is involved as well. Probably more than the magnet angle you posted, but if it’s not painful and getting you what you want, then it’s all good!
What age did you start playing at?
@mwright At about 14, so 25 years ago (lol).
I think I saw some of your content on Facebook or somewhere before… Are you based out of SLC?
