Is this a thing? (tab included)

Playing Technique
#1

First question: Is this a thing that has a name?

Second Question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing. Should I put time into getting this fast or is it poor technique and should be abandoned?

In an attempt to develop some melodic patterns along 3 note per string scales, I’ve stumbled onto this thing. I guess I’m kind of mixing downward pickslanting with what appears to be an economy move, but I’m not sure injecting the economy move actually facilitates speed, so I wanted to ask here before I put any length of time into developing it.

So it’s alternate picked descending melodic pattern. When I transition to the next string, since I’m going to it on upstroke, I just follow through as if it were an economy transition, but then I need to escape the string so I can double back on the former string to repeat the melody and continue moving down the scale.

Here is a tab of the first three strings:
E|–15–14–12–14–12------12----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|----------------------------15------15–13–15–13–12–13–12------12----------------------------------
G|--------------------------------------------------------------------------14------14–12–14–12–11–12–11
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m finding it weird doubling back because the economy move really seems to stops the downward pickslanting momentum. My impression is that this is bad form, and should be abandoned.

What do you think?

1 Like
#2

So this isn’t a thing?

#3

Not really sure what you’re asking here. Are you asking what’s the best way to play this? If you need any kind of continuous back and forth between strings you can do hybrid, you can do alternate, some people like Marshall Harrisonwill do a sweep and then fingers. You could do a sweep and then alternate.

Lots of ways. Simplest is probably pure alternate, either by trying to make the string changes or using swiping for some of them.

“Bad form” is not how I would describe any of these. In fact you will rarely hear me use loaded terms like ‘bad’ to describe mechanics. If you are still learning a movement and it’s not quite working, ‘bad’ doesn’t really tell you anything about why. You can film yourself and take a look, or you can get a lesson with someone who knows what the correct movement is supposed to look like.

But for every method outlined here there is probably some player out there somewhere who does it really well.

2 Likes
#4

Uncle Ben has you covered with that lick!

https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/a7b965c1e65346df73266102c7b8e5ed/5C1329B4/t51.2885-15/e35/21984586_516604188691486_615954776181440512_n.jpg

3 Likes
#5

Ben is the best! And because I have to type 20 characters, I’ll just copy and paste: Ben is the best!

1 Like
#6

Yes, I suppose. If there is a more efficient way of playing this kind of melodic pattern I suppose I’d like to know. Also, not knowing what swiping is, and wondering if perhaps the string transition in this melodic patter may be stringhopping, I posted for others to comment.

When I transition from one string to another in this pattern, and have to double back to the previous string, I’m abandoning the dwps angle and coming at the string with a flatter approach kind of like economy picking. That seems to make it harder to double back to the previous string, though, and it seems this is likely bad form if I’m looking to accelerate the speed of playing this.

#7

I will try and apply this to the melodic pattern and see if it works. I don’t do any hammer-on transitions, so it may be a good time to integrate that into my playing.

#8

We’ve spent a lot of time on this topic of continuous 1nps alternate picking lately and have outlined two of the most common approaches that players use for this. One is a pure wrist method like what you’re seeing here:

Another uses a combination of wrist and forearm like you are seeing here:

The actual hand movements are the same ones players use for two way pickslanting. The difference is you’re just making them continuously. And again these are just two possible approaches - there are lots of little tweaks and variations, so you can consider these as examples of two general categories of methods.

Depending upon whatever picking motion you’re using currently, one of these may be more similar and potentially gettable sooner for you.

Again just two of potentially many options for this.

1 Like
#9

So he’s basically playing outside the strings during the string changes. Is this what’s known as cross picking, like people do with arpeggios sometimes>?