Having a problem descending a scale

Technique Critique
#1

I’m practicing a two-octave G Major Scale and ascending is going fine. But I’m having a problem with the turn-around when I reach the top of the scale.

I’m playing A and B on the top high E string (I need two notes - an even number) of notes to turn the scale around using economy picking.

So after I play the A and B notes on the high E string I’m moving to the G on the 8th fret on the B string. That is an upstroke. Both the B and the G are upstrokes.

Okay so far so good.

The problem is when I try to play the following note which is F-sharp on the 7th fret of the B string the sound gets kinda bumpy and unsmooth.

Granted this is kinda new to me using economy picking and playing a descending scale. I have not done much descending stuff.

I am just moving my wrist toward the floor or toward the controls on the guitar. Just a simple down motion, but it’s kinda tricky to get it sounding smooth.

Actually I didn’t expect this would be a problem but it is.

If I can get over this particular hump the rest of the scale will come more smoothly I expect.

#2

Can you add some TAB to your description? :grinning:

#3

I don’t know how to do that. The A is a downstroke. The following B is an upstroke. Next the G is an upstroke. And the following F-sharp is a downstroke.

I’m just practicing slowly and a little faster at times mixing it up.

#4

I think drawing it out on paper and then uploading a photo should more than suffice!

However, if you want to do it regularly, there are extensive free (Free music composition and notation software | MuseScore) and paid (https://www.guitar-pro.com/) solutions.

#5

I have Guitar Pro already. Is there a way to add a Guitar Pro file as an attachment?

#6

Export it as an image?

#7

Scale.pdf (37.9 KB)

#8

I didn’t see an option to export it as an image.

#9

Screenshot 2023-02-06 at 21.04.34
Screenshot 2023-02-06 at 21.04.341706×1310 141 KB

#10

Hey @357mag I know you previously said you could not post videos, however you mentioned you may be able to upload an mp3 file. In that case, see if you can upload a few takes of the descending scale, and maybe we will be able to give some actionable advice based on the sound alone.

#11

Okay here is a sound file. When I listen to it it does not sound too bad really. I’m just practicing it slowly and then doing some faster practice.

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#12

Ha, nice Brian May-esque harmoniser effect :slight_smile:

Instead of only isolating those 4 notes (IMO too little a unit to be representative of real playing), what about constructing an exercise on the top 2 strings like so:

-------5-7---------------7-8-------------------------------------------------------------------
-5-7-8-----8-7-5-7-8-10------10-8-7-(loop indefinitely or move through more positions of the scale) ---

Also, make sure you try a variety of speeds.

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