I have a dilemma. My downstroke escape form feels so much better than my upstroke escape form. I can play faster and more accurately with the pick slanted upwards. This has got me thinking of playing even note per string lines like 6nps stuff like this: upward pick slanting the first 5 notes and then doing a downward pickslanted escape motion and reverting back to the upward pickslant on the next string… Do of any you guys play like this? Or should I just practise my upstroke escape form so it’s as good as the other, better one? Downward pickslanting all the time here makes more sense on paper since you don’t need to worry about escape angle at all during the lick.
If you look at DSX players like Andy James or John McLaughlin, they will always start even-numbered patterns like this on an upstroke, precisely so they can simplify it as much as possible. McLaughlin even uses a rotational movement as a helper motion to play certain things where it’s necessary, but he doesn’t here, which is good evidence that if you can find a way to not use one, you should. Especially when it’s as simple as reversing the pickstrokes.
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Ohh yeah, I forgot about this option. I’ve been avoiding starting on upstrokes for a long time now, my brain just isn’t wired that way, at least yet. Gonna give it a go!
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This takes some getting used to, but is absolutely doable. What worked for me was doing tremolo lines with aggressive accents.