Help, cant play fast tremolo, every day movements are different

Technique Critique
#1

Hi I new here! sorry for my english I am from Ukraine. I play guitar professionally, but never cant pick fast or even.
So I try work my tremolo and start with fast speed as @Troy recommend. It is been 5-7 days now i practise just tremolo 2-3 hours a day. here is problems i think are happen:

  • i cant do it really fast and every day is feel different: at the best days i can play at 160-170 bpm 30-60 seconds with little tension building in elbow and biceps and sometimes pick get stuck , some days i can play in 180-185 bpm but just 1-2 bars and than pick get stuck and 8-16 notes in 200 bpm
  • i afraid i play with different motion every time and maybe simultaneously and they conflict with each other
    - do I move my hand not just up and down but also right and left so i do string hooping on single string?
  • my hand want to tense up for playing (mentally) so i cant use only elbow end everything feels
    tense
  • pick always get stuck after 3 notes or 10 bars
  • every day feel different so i am not sure do i do it wright ? it is frustration that I cant play today what i can play yesterday. like going on circle, i am not sure do i get better how to get more stability
    here is video :

and here is video of me playing yesterday and 2 days ago. do i use different motions every time or i am wrong? this video in worst quality sorry

I hope for help! was so exiting few days ago so i finally learn picking but now feel some randomness Tnx for halp!

#2

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First of all – never practise anything for three hours of it’s not working! If you’re learning a new motion short sessions here and there throughout the day is recommended. Also, when working on your motion, don’t use a metronome! It distracts from actually feeling what’s going on.

I looked at your videos and the first one looks a lot smoother than the second. Yes, they are different motions. The first one is DSX and the second a somewhat erratic USX, at least as far as i can tell. Both are mostly wrist. But none of this really matters. What you need to do is keep experimenting!

I’m going to give you the usual advice around here: try simply going as fast as you can, not holding back, not trying to control it, and film that.

You could also take the “speed test” to find out about what motions are your fastest.

(By the way, in order for YouTube videos to embed properly, simply paste the link on a single line with blank line before and after!)

#3

Thx for response! is it normal ti feel some little tension while doing correct motion, or i need to find move without tension at all

#4

So there are 2 things I see here

  1. your picking motion is really tensed up in the forearm
  2. Your picking motion is tiny so you end up not picking the string but just chewing it, not only bad for techinique but produces a bad sound coz your pick spends too much time goin’ through the string and chirping it. Basically you do a small up and down movement on each pickstroke coz of that.
    and yeah u use different motions each time I saw forearm rotation and elbow
#5

A little bit, perhaps? But the ultimate test is that the motion is fast and smooth. And – that it’s fast from the get go. No working up to speed. It can be sloppy, but not slow.

#6

yes when i start with speed it realy tensed up and no tension on low speed so do i need continue do it fast and try to relax or it mean that something wrong and i need change how i pick?[quote=“IamTheNobody, post:4, topic:40435”]
Your picking motion is tiny so you end up not picking the string but just chewing it, not only bad for techinique but produces a bad sound coz your pick spends too much time goin’ through the string and chirping it. Basically you do a small up and down movement on each pickstroke coz of that.
[/quote]
thx i will try bigger motion maybe it will fix tension problem

so what you suggest? just experimenting to find best motion or try to use one every time?

#7

i feel to much tension when i start with speed but i will try find the one Thx

#8

Depends on your goal, if you wanna just be playing fast I’d say forget the right hand and focus on the left. Sloppy right hand can be hidden with the left muting like many virtuoso’s do.
If you wanna do picking and be able to pick anything u gotta relearn from day 1 using correct wrist
And do not start with fast that’s not going to work you gotta do your research on picking coz there are a few things noone teaches without which you cant really develop speed the traditional way. I’ll say go to Intense Rock 2 and really listen! not watch listen the answer is there good luck)

#9

Thanks for sigining up! Did you take the table top tests? What are the numbers for each test? That’s the most important first step.

If the numbers are higher than your actual picking speed, then something about the picking technique is incorrect, and you should try to use motions that are more similar to the motions you use during the tests.

1 Like
#10

During tests I feels pretty much like when I play : Hand tense up around 170 bpm and I really can play only 2/3 bars in max speed with super tensions, so my results for test are :
Table tapping 200
Pan 190
Coin 195
Elbow 187
Credit card 185
(All with tension at that speed) so what I need to do?