# How would you play this Frank Gambale exercises?
**URL:** https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229
**Category:** Playing Technique
**Created:** [May 15, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229 "2026-05-15T20:19:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@alfonsodelag](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/alfonsodelag)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/1 "2026-05-15T20:19:28Z")
Hello! I was wondering if you can tell me more feedback about how would you play these licks?? Like I’d like to know the Pick Direction notation.. like where would you use D or U
and
this one:
and finally this one:
Can you tell me what D - U pattern would you use for each?
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### Author:  [@AustinK](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/AustinK)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/2 "2026-05-15T22:05:19Z")
There is the analysis portion of his playing in the interview section; I am sure Troy goes over Frank’s system that can be applied to these licks. But his motion is trapped so he uses sweeping/economy for his string changes
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### Author:  [@steve506](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/steve506)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/3 "2026-05-15T23:08:45Z")
Gambale is so proficient that he can play the same stuff 300 different ways but one convenient pattern I’ve found in his videos and transcriptions is squeezing an “outside” picking string change to change directions.
Something like this:
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### Author:  [@Scottulus](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/Scottulus)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/4 "2026-05-16T04:39:26Z")
Frank goes in whatever direction as odd NPS, but whenever he changes direction it’s even NPS. That’s a hallmark of his speed picking system.
For that particular little bunch of notes, perhaps an added chromatic note, or maybe sacrifice one picked note for a hammer-on/pulloff to facilitate the directional change? Hybrid pluck is an option also…
He can also do double escape on top of his two directional economy/sweep so some of his exercises/examples, well he makes it look a lot easier than it is!
Hopefully that’s helpful.
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### Author:  [@tommo](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/tommo)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2026, 8:31am UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/5 "2026-05-16T08:31:15Z")
This is highly technique dependent.
Example: if I wanted to do these with strict DSX alternate motion (without sweeps) I would start the 2nps pentas on an upstroke, and do strategic legato on the 3nps stuff to avoid upstroke string changes.
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### Author:  [@eric\_divers](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/eric_divers)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/6 "2026-05-16T13:17:43Z")
(side note: shouldn’t we call it tactical legato? I’m so sorry)
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### Author:  [@steve506](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/steve506)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/7 "2026-05-16T15:48:47Z")
(Legato for defense purposes!)
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### Author:  [@alfonsodelag](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/alfonsodelag)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/8 "2026-05-16T21:12:00Z")
What do you mean with NPS?
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### Author:  [@lukasgraesslin](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/lukasgraesslin)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/9 "2026-05-16T21:16:26Z")
nps = notes per string
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### Author:  [@Scott\_Blundo](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/Scott_Blundo)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/10 "2026-05-17T18:18:00Z")
There’s footage of Frank playing this and he alternate picks. 7:02 [https://youtu.be/\_ajHJpcqfYg?t=421&si=f7zLr8VdeaMykcgZ](https://youtu.be/_ajHJpcqfYg?t=421&si=f7zLr8VdeaMykcgZ)
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### Author:  [@eric\_divers](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/eric_divers)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/11 "2026-05-17T18:50:27Z")
He’s playing it slowly enough in that clip that you could do it with all downpicking if you want to, so I don’t think that clip in isolation is a good indicator of how he plays it up to speed (if he does so at all).
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### Author:  [@Scottulus](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/Scottulus)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/12 "2026-05-18T16:49:39Z")
Ahh yes, the good 'ole “chop builder video”. Cool stuff, but a lot of those examples I think are a “basic” introduction to picking, and as mentioned don’t seem to get up to a tempo where the real picking difficulties present themselves.
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### Author:  [@kgk](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/kgk)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/13 "2026-05-18T18:07:25Z")
> [@eric\_divers](#):
>
> so I don’t think that clip in isolation is a good indicator of how he plays it up to speed (if he does so at all).
Does he play the same thing at every speed or does he change technique like most people do?
Changing technique seems to defeat the very point of a metronome!
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### Author:  [@steve506](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/steve506)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/how-would-you-play-this-frank-gambale-exercises/97229/14 "2026-05-19T22:28:19Z")
The Chopbuilder method is just a generic set of exercises. It doesn’t really reflect Frank’s actual playing style.
That said, he is the first to admit that for his speed picking stuff to be fruitful, you gotta get your alternate picking right. He does play alternate picking as well as the next guy (according to my primary accounts who studied with him at LAMA) but that level of genius pushed his technique to a limit where he needed an extra boost.