Help a serial stringhopper and swiper figure out his technique

[Troy]

Re: accuracy, the errors you’re seeing here in slow motion are what I call “displacement” errors, where the picking hand “displaces” one of the pickstrokes to the next string. You’ll notice that on the D and G strings in this clip. You are fretting three notes and three notes, but you sometimes pick only two notes on the D and then the G string gets four notes. This creates an even number of notes per string, which makes it easier for your picking hand. This is why players do it.

What’s amazing about displacement is that you can’t always hear it. You would think, picking a note on the G string before it is fretted would be obvious, but not if the G string is muted by the other fretting fingers. In those cases it can sound fine, and again the picking will be easier because you’re picking evens, which fits your DSX motion. So it quickly becomes permanent because it “works”, basically.

Ergo, this is not a swiping issue, it’s an accuracy issue. It’s also not happening on every attempt so you can already do it the correct way, i.e. it is fixable. You just need to employ more obvious chunking on specific landmark notes, and slow down a small amount.

Edit: Also, these are really great examples of super common errors. Thanks for filming them. Would you mind if we used these in a lesson about common picking mistakes and how to fix them? Nothing specific in mind, but we eventually want to address all of this in the Primer and real-world footage of real-world problems, whenever we can, is the best way to go.

[asopala]

@Troy

the errors you’re seeing here in slow motion are what I call “displacement” errors, where the picking hand “displaces” one of the pickstrokes to the next string. You’ll notice that on the D and G strings in this clip. You are fretting three notes and three notes, but you sometimes pick only two notes on the D and then the G string gets four notes. This creates an even number of notes per string, which makes it easier for your picking hand. This is why players do it.

Ergo, this is not a swiping issue, it’s an accuracy issue. It’s also not happening on every attempt so you can already do it the correct way, i.e. it is fixable. You just need to employ more obvious chunking on specific landmark notes, and slow down a small amount.

That’s really good to know. I’ll be sure to employ that when I practice going forward.

@Troy

Edit: Also, these are really great examples of super common errors. Thanks for filming them. Would you mind if we used these in a lesson about common picking mistakes and how to fix them? Nothing specific in mind, but we eventually want to address all of this in the Primer and real-world footage of real-world problems, whenever we can, is the best way to go.

I would be elated if you used my recordings.

[Troy]

Awesome, thanks! We’ll let you know if / when they pop up in a lesson.

[Fossegrim]

@asopala

I’m honestly not sure, I think it’s a slight amount. I’ve definitely noticed when the pick wears down, it gets harder to play. And I get the same audible strings on my guitars with fixed bridges, so it’s a muting thing.

From my view it looks like a fair amount. But since you do have a fair amount, from personal experience a pick with a more beveled edge like a heavier Dunlop flow (my current) or a jazz III, tend to alleviate the sticky feel that those matte type tortex picks can have, especially the sharper ones on the wound strings where the flatter edge can snag in the winds.

It’s a pretty simple, cheap fix to try to see if it works. Especially for a frustrating issue.

[RobertFlores]

Looks fine. No magic pills. Keep practicing. Use your ears and your body. Ears for gauging whether it’s clean enough, are all the notes audible? Body, does it feel relatively relaxed or strenuous? Have fun. That’s the recipe. No amount of analysis will provide an instantaneous solution.