Who of you guys can play that signature P. Metheny lick with alternate picking as Martin Miller does in the vid Troy made?
How hard i try i just can’t do it…it’s so damn difficult.
@Troy, can you do it?
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Hi!
We’ve done a bunch of work on continuous one note per string alternate picking, so yes I’m getting reasonably handy with three string roll patterns - forward, backward, circular, etc. I would try to reset your mind in terms of thinking about it being “hard”. It’s really just that there are specific motions involved and you can’t just choose any motion and expect it to work.
For Martin’s motion specifically, we don’t have a tutorial by me yet because I haven’t worked on it. However we have another interview with Martin coming up where we talk about the technique and get a nice closeup look at it.
For our own tutorials, we have two different approaches that have outlined. One is a “wrist-only” approach:
https://troygrady.com/channels/talking-the-code/crosspicking-with-the-wrist/
We don’t have any public excerpts of that, but this video here shows what the technique looks like close up in slow motion:
Then we have another tutorial on a compound “wrist and forearm” approach:
https://troygrady.com/channels/talking-the-code/crosspicking-with-the-wrist-and-forearm/
We do have a public excerpt of it here, and I do talk about the motion a little bit:
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Thnx for the answer and all the info Troy.
The thing is, i can play most things he does (not always at Martin’s top speed), but somehow this Metheny lick with alternate picking i can’t get to work at a reasonable speed.
Well, Martin has an exeptional picking technique which in my opinion is the cleanest i have seen sofar, but i’ll keep working on it…
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That’s awesome about the new M.M. interview!!! He was the one that got me started on double-escaped mechanics… specifically with the finger.
And yes… I agree with you on the 3 string roll patterns. . It’s more of a mental challenge than it is a physical challenge. And boy, do I feel mentally challenged when I attempt it 
That may very well be! But that wasn’t what I meant. For me it was definitely a physical challenge, and a relatively straightforward one given the right information. I just don’t want people to think a thing is “hard” if it the real problem just that nobody ever told them how to do it.
Well now it sounds like you’re ahead of all us. Put up some clips!
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Troy, that is an incomplete quote of what i said. I also said “not at his top speed” which is a very important difference.
To be clear, what i mean is that can play most of it at lower, but for me still at acceptable speed, but that Metheny lick i somehow can’t play at even a for me acceptable lower speed.
Also i said that Martin for me has the most clean alternate picking out there, so for me he is one of the best there is!
I already put a few clips on the forum. For instance one where i play that riff off Al di Meola’s Suite Golden Dawn, which is not so easy.
Yes I know! Sorry if I implied otherwise. To be clear, I still thank that’s pretty good, which is what I meant. I think a lot of people would have trouble with a lot of things Martin plays, even at lower speeds.
Yes, Martin is unbelievable for sure!
But, look at youreself Troy, you also can play a lot of these things.
I play guitar for 30 plus years now, so i have a pretty good technique. Al di Meola was one of my heroes so i practiced a looooot on alternate picking.
Martin can do some things at high speed i have nobody seen doing it that clean, and that Metheny lick with alternate picking realy is a bitch for me to get it up to an acceptable speed!