Need analysis on my alternate picking

After seeing the awesome video’s on Cracking the Code, I wondered if my picking
technique is ok. I just started trying to learn two way pick slanting and I hope you can give me some feedback on what I do wrong (or right) and how to improve it.

Thanks for your time and feedback in advance! :slight_smile:

Greetings from the Netherlands

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Hi! Thanks for posting. This sounds pretty good to me. The synchronization between the hands sounds on target and that’s important.

What picking motion are you trying to use? And how does this motion feel to you? Can you go faster than this while maintaining a feeling of smoothness and easyness, or is this the limit? In general, let us know more about what kind of help you’re looking for.

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Hi Troy! :slight_smile:

Thank you very much for taking the time to watch the clip and to reply (and thank you for your awesome work!)

The picking motion I try to use comes from the wrist (and thumb), this feels most comfortable. After a warmup I can play litle bit faster but I tense up after a short period. At this tempo (from the video) it feels fine.

I posted a new video where I think I have a problem at higher speeds; my thumb movement changes when I speed up (this occurs while moving between two strings, inside picking)
My question is: is it okay that my thumb movement changes (like in the video) at higher speeds, so I can continue practicing this movement? At higher speeds it feels like running with shoelaces that don’t stay tied :wink:

If you’re getting the results you want, then everything is “ok”! There are no rules beyond that. If you tell me you have some kind of speed limit that’s very low, and it’s interfering with your ability to play smoothly, or if you tell me there are lines you can’t play because they’re too complicated, those are problems. But until then, I wouldn’t worry about it.

FYI the camera angle you’re using in your video is great. And including the slow motion in addition to regular speed video is great, because motion smoothness is easier to see and hear with regular speed video. Slow motion is useful for seeing details like if the pick is really getting over the strings or not. But just keep in mind that you really need to film in 120fps for that. Slowing down 25fps or 30fps video doesn’t really show any more detail. So for example I can’t really tell in this clip if you’re hitting strings you’re not supposed to be hitting (swiping), or specifically what kind of motion you’re really using.

But again, none of those things really matter as long as the resulkts you are getting sound good to you and feel smooth. Those are the two main ways you can evaluate your own playing.