Increasing speed makes me revert to string hopping

Technique Critique
#1

So I’m trying to learn the “escaped” to “trapped” diagonal picking method so that I can improve my alternate picking. Traditionally, I have been a Metallica downstroke only player - and when I play downstroke music I use a upward pick slant and a downward escape motion on the low E pedal… but then chords or notes on the A string or D string are played with the U shaped “double escape” or “string hopping” method.

When I learned alternate picking, I would play on one string, alternate pick rapidly using my fingers (not wrist), and play from the trapped position on one side of the string to the trapped position on the other side of the string.

Now that I’m trying to play alternate picking at an angle into the guitar using my wrist and forearm, I am only able to pick this way at a slow speed - and it feels very forced. When I speed up I go back to either trapped/trapped or the U shaped string hopping using just my fingers as opposed to my wrist.

Any suggestions on improving my practice so that I can learn proper alternate picking? Thank you!

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#2

Hey @Dan-Ibanez welcome to the forum!

One thing I noticed is that around 0:50-0:51 you insert a sort of “fast gallop” in between the downpicked notes. I think one of your upstrokes accidentally caught the string… but the good news is, that could be the fast&diagonal picking motion you are looking for!

More generally, our typical suggestion for getting started with fast picking & escape motion is to just try and pick fast on something very simple. Could be tremolo of a single note on a single string, or it could be a simple lick covering two strings, like:

---------7-7-7-7--
-5-5-5-5----------

(if you start the above with a dwonstroke, this would be a upstroke-escape lick).

Unfortunately it does not seem possible to learn something slowly and then speed it up - so the slow repetitions at the start of your video won’t really help you to find a motion that works at higher speed.

Finally here’s our short guide to filming your picking for effective analysis :slight_smile:

#3

Hi Tommo,

unless you know that the motion you practice will work in “crank mode”. I have a similar problem to the one @Dan-Ibanez described. I know I have a fast USX-deviation movement. After practicing/warming up for a while, slow or even better alternating between slow and then some fast repetitions, I can activate it.
If I just pick up the guitar and try to tremolo pick fast, some mix of old suboptimal approaches to supinated tremolo shows up. It includes a strong flexion/extension ingredient and so I practically start “knocking” on the strings, without picking a string. So alternating between slow “I know they work”-motions and some fast “I try to not change anything”-motions works as long as you know the motion will eventually work on higher speeds.

So @Dan-Ibanez, I’d recommend experimenting with your target motion at +150bpm sixteenth speeds for maybe just 4-5 notes to make sure you find something that works, altering setup and pick grip and then do repetitions with that exact motion at lower speed. Then include short faster periods.

for instance set you metronome to 144, play 3 beats 8th notes and then 1 beat sixteenth notes. make absolutely sure to not tense up or revert back to your known-not-working motion.

I guess this is something that cures a problem that only people, playing with a defect picking motion vor a long time, have.

@Dan-Ibanez to be honest I couldn’t see a lot in your video. the interesting part is
a) in the dark
b) blocked by your left hand for a big part of the video

Keep going, but be ready for a lot of work and regular frustration because of that damn hand not doing what you want it to do :wink:

thomas

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#4

Thanks. I’ll retry some of these approaches and make a new video!

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