Here’s a video, I’ve tried slowing it down and speeding it up as well and I just get really inaccurate at higher speeds March 23, 2022 - YouTube
Here’s one more video, this is triplets at 170. I don’t swipe as much but it doesn’t feel like a movement i can speed up to triplets at 200 without sacrificing all accuracy and creating more tension. March 23, 2022 - YouTube
So one thing I see right off the bat in the first video is a lot of what looks like pure wrist translation to move across the strings. That in itself is a harder movement to both speed up, and to facilitate a double escape because by nature it’s not very fast on its own, and it tends to have a very straight linear path across the strings.
Now most people don’t physically actually use just pure wrist translation, because it’s pretty hard for most peoples wrists to move purely side to side that way, and indeed you have a slight bit of rotation in there, but maybe just not enough. I think a bit more rotation added in, in order to facilitate both added speed, and that shallow “u” shaped pick stroke needed for a double escape might be the ticket.
If you take a look at the other recent video posted by another user on this very topic, you can see that slight gyrating rotation that is employed to pull it off.
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Good advice, any other adjustments you’d try making just to see how it works?
I think along with that rotation, perhaps less of a pickslant in either direction. That will force the rotation towards more of a DBX motion, or so I believe it to be true.
Try focusing on songs or musical phrases you want to incorporate into your vocabulary (if not already), it can distract you away from thinking about picking movements while playing…which can help with smoothness in my experience.
Even going back to lock into a basic rhythm, then putting those fills in there can be surprisingly beneficial in making those crosspicking fills suddenly feel more effortless.
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Your most recent video suggests to me (again) that your pick point is an issue.
Here’s @Constare9 's screen cap, sorry for the darkness (tried to up it while editing:
Yours:
You can see that @Constare9 has a positive pick point (look at the part of the pick sticking out “behind” his thumb) and the point is somewhere near the start of his nail bed, definitely closer to the tip of his thumb than the joint. Your pick point is much closer to the joint than it is the tip of the thumb. You’re artificially shortening the “arc” that your picking motion is doing.
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Wdym by basic Rhythm? I have used these on some scales I’m learning in lesson and pentatonic patterns I’d like to use that require crosspicking
I’m messing with my pickpoint, I’ll post a video later. Still haven’t had the Epiphany.
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The basic rhythm (followed by interleaving crosspicking leads) is to offer a way to think more rhythmically and stop thinking about your hands as much…I have found I’ve made progress in my smoothness in crosspicking when locking it to a groove and not trying to micromanage my hands. Just an anecdotal piece of advice that has helped me…and may help you.
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Unhappy to report that changing my pickpoint isn’t really helping and in fact I’m finding I do more tense movements that aren’t able to speed up. My USX motion just does not use the pick that close to my fingernail and I don’t find it comfortable or like something I can stick too
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Curious what y’all might think of this, this is after experimenting with more supination and a higher “pick point”. I think this is the least swiping I’ve had as this tempo but still quite a bit. I think the pick point starts to drift towards my normal DWPS position as it goes on but it’s maybe something I could get used too. This is triplets around 190 bpm, didn’t use a metronome since like others said it’s distracting. Thank you for all the help. Best so far? - YouTube
Edit on second thought this is just as much swiping as before
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Sounded good to me, I think the notes are more consistent compared to previous videos. Curious to see where your pick point is in this one.
I’ll take another video. When I zoom in I do see swiping but the auditory quality is better
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Honestly I’m at the point where I think I’ll just have to resign to being a DWPS player. No matter what I try I can’t get my wrist extension enough. Here’s my possibly last video after changing my anchor and using a more positive pick point. March 25, 2022 - YouTube
Here’s a pentatonic pattern around 16ths at 145bpm, when I slow it down the downstrokes are very shallow, not swiping but articulation is unclear March 26, 2022 - YouTube
Don’t give up, that’s everyone’s first impulse. Just take a small step back. How well can you do just two strings? Can you play the below example without swiping? This example should be fairly easy until the last couple of bars which incorporates a string skip.
I’ll send a video after work, two strings without swiping is actually hard past my treshhold. I remember a while ago Troy said not to overly focus on just playing on one or two string to learn the movement but I’ll try this
This is good if it is hard past your threshold. But there is a different purpose in mind with this. Give it a try, it may help focus on certain aspects.
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Cool etude Fossegrim. I took a bit of a break from the 'ole "double escape thing because I kind of hit a wall. lol Think of it more as “giving up” on it hahaha BUT… then I read through a thread, see a glimmer of hope, re-watch some footage and check the replies to my posts to see if I missed something… Sure enough, I find that I am being a bit lazy on the upstroke, Is it possible to “half-way” string hop? Anyways I kind of exaggerated my upstrokes for a bit tonight, and then messed around with this 2 string etude of yours and then played a 16th note “roll” on a barrechord and sure enough, I gained a bit of BPM; my “comfortable starting point” went up a bit. Cool. I guess we’ll see what happens tomorrow hahaha
To the original poster; keep at it man! You got this! I can’t even pick at all and I get by lol
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