How would one go about trying this style out for fun and maybe beginning to develop it? I’ve started watching some of Andres Nieri’s tutorials which have been helpful. Are there any tutorials for styles like Mancuso’s? My searches haven’t yielded any results. Just want to try for fun!
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Never seen this guy before, but holy smokes.
Even knowing nothing about his technique, I think I can safely recommend at least one classical teacher’s video that you might want to watch. Here’s Pepe Romero teaching tremolo technique:
I think this is applicable because Romero talks about playing with absolutely no effort beyond the bare minimum. If you read about tremolo, it’s all about that – effortless accuracy. And watching Matteo, I get that same feeling - a finger pluck, with as little effort as you need, and then nothing.
So, again emphasizing that I know diddly-squat about this, you could try practicing slow tremolo on your electric, on single string, to get a feeling of an “empty hand” – the whole hand, including your pinkie finger. Slow is important, if you start fast, you’ll likely tense up, and then you’re dead. But speed bursts are important too, of course.
Once you can do effortless finger work, you could try using it some simple 4-note arpeggios that you’d normally sweep, e.g a C-chord shape.
I’d also recommend the usual practice techniques: rhythmic variations (slow-fast and fast-slow), bursts, chaining, dynamic variations, etc – don’t get lost in those, just enough to explore this technique efficiently.
Cheers!
jz-the-pedantic-wanker (I’m going to adopt that as my official handle now)
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That was a really cool video I will def be practicing that
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There are other vídeos on tremolo technique which are great, but this one is the must-have foundation for them, IMO.
Awesome video on tremolo technique. While he does incorporate pretty much all his fingers on his picking hand, Matteo uses more of a picado technique for his hyper speed lines; alternating between the middle and index fingers using rest strokes.
Dude is an absolute savage. This is the first video I ever saw of him a few years ago ans you can really get a good look at his right hand technique and how he alternates between positions.
Edit: just for here’s one more when he was just a wee lad.
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Cool stuff! Might be better to just use index and middle for the really fast stuff because if you ever try Andre nieri’s style you have to hold the pick with your pinky and thus far for me, it limits my ring finger a bit; I can use it but not as efficiently. Will definitely watch that Picado video soon and report back on that
Great videos all. The tremolo video complements the picado video nicely, I think – all about efficient use of effort.
Hello everyone. Recently I looked into how Matteo was doing the fast, index middle finger pentatonic scale in his solo in Dona Lee at 1:31. When looking at his fingers in slow motion, for the most part it doesn’t look like he is flexing the distal interphalangeal or proximal interphalangeal joints, like a scratching motion, but rather flexing the palmar digital with both fingers almost extended, like a taping motion. I tried table testing each motion, and found the “tap” motion easier to execute at a tempo close to the pentatonic scale.
The pentatonic scale (at 1:31): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4GP9yXearA
The “Scratch” motion: https://youtu.be/1i2igWTiZVk
The “Tap” motion: https://youtu.be/SOHMJLbjTlU
When only playing with the middle and index finger on one string, the “scratch” motion seems to be the way, but when doing two notes per string while descending, it looks like the tap is executable with string tracking for changing strings, therefore resembling Matteo’s more extended finger look in the video. When showing a video to my brother of me executing “tap” motion while moving my hand, he said something along the lines of “What, your moonwalk?”, so if doesn’t already have a name given by other people, perhaps the “Moonwalk” motion seems kind of appropriate, due to the fingers moving somewhat like the actual moonwalk.
The “Moonwalk” motion: https://youtu.be/N0WGhADR8D0
Today I tried working on incorporating such motion (with some adjustments), and here are some of my attempts: (I specially liked the fifth and sixth ones showed in both videos)
Some attempts: https://youtu.be/zWDBzf7aykk
Some attempts (slow motion): https://youtu.be/HhsJpZNMvas
It seems to me that working on such motion is the way forward at least in that regard. Hope it helps.
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Cool ideas and concepts here Ernesto. So it seems like you are hitting the strings with the pads of your fingers instead of the tips. I can do the table tap motion all day but the string is a huge barrier once added.
Good luck with this. It certainly seems like a very efficient way to pick the strings.
Although I am not sure, but I am guessing that Matteo uses flatwound strings as they would cut down on the noise of him picking the strings with his nails. Maybe something to consider if you wished to progress the idea further?
I think I found something: When executing fast picado lines, two notes per string, fingers look flexed while ascending (index and middle, PIP and DIP joints) in Javier Conde’s technique as well as Matteo’s, in contrast to the two notes per string example in my previous post (although the middle finger still flexes a little in such post).
I was looking through Facebook and found this video from Online Flamenco (I haven’t bought the course and don’t know of it is mentioned in it) Free Picado Exercise - Ejercicio Gratis de Picado where that seems to be the case.
Also, it resemble’s, in terms of the flexion while not the hand position per se, Matteo’s white Christmas two note per string run at the beginning and, let’s say, the middle of the performance: White Christmas - Guitar Arrangement - Matteo Mancuso - YouTube
In short, for two note per string picado lines:
- While descending, extend the fingers (Matteo’s Donna Lee pentatonic run)
- While ascending, flex the fingers (Matteo’s White Christmas run)
I think the most apparent problem left is the two finger single string tremolo on Paul Gilbert’s sixes in this video (36s mark): Technical difficulties-Paul Gilbert (Matteo Mancuso) - YouTube
Maybe if someone or I ask him to record the lines (White Christmas and Donna Lee’s runs) and the Gilbert sixes with the Troy Grady style angle he’ll agree.
Two of my attempts of the White Christmas run:
Normal speed of my video (266bpm in the metronome): Matteo Mancuso's White Christmas run attempts - YouTube
Slow motion: Slow motion Matteo Mancuso's White Christmas run attempts - YouTube
You’re good at the picado! How does it sound on distorted electric?