Looking forward to interacting more with all of you. I’ve been playing for 23 years (since I was 12), but I’ve never been fast. I started out playing Zeppelin exclusively, always loved Eric Johnson, and have been playing classical guitar since I was about 14. I studied that in college, but never got fast at it either. I spent a long time not practicing or enjoying the guitar at all, and I always played but only a song here or there.
I recently started looking more into bluegrass/flatpicking and trying to work toward the EJ/Bonamassa speed. I’ve been browsing Facebook groups to go a bit deeper with theory and learn some new exercises. Then I found Troy’s materials on YouTube when searching for videos on EJ’s pentatonic runs, and it has made a ton of difference. I’ve started thinking about mechanics/technique and it has helped. I’ve watched the most of the free content on pickslanting and EJ stuff, and I’m trying to incorporate what I’m learning. It just feels so foreign to change up technique after 23 years of playing a certain way. I’m still unsure about where the majority of the movement should come from (elbow pivot, compound wrist movement, etc.). I can play a major scale at about 110 bpm with sixteenth notes alternate picked, and I’m currently playing EJ-style 5 note descending pentatonic licks at about the same speed.
Here’s to learning more!