NEW Steve Morse DWPS technique

Playing Technique
#1

So I interviewed Steve Morse today.

I asked him about having two distinct picking techniques, to which he replied “actually, there are three”…

He proceeded to show me a technique he’d been working on that goes “pick-hammer-pick”. It looked pretty well formed, and very different to either his elbow driven UWPS technique or the “flamingo” crosspicking thing.

I couldn’t get any CTC-style footage since it was a press interview situation, but when the video makes it onto YouTube I’ll be back to share it.

Exciting stuff!!

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#2

Please elaborate if you could

#3

Interesting. I’m guessing it’s something like, in a 3 NPS situation, he picks a note, hammers on to the next, and then picks the next.

#4

yeah seems that guy is still hungry :slight_smile:
i saw an interview on youtube whre he told that he even used sweeping on one of his recoreds (shortly after he broke his wrist) and showed that he’s experimenting with different pick holdings, cause he thinks the way he does it right now is not the fastest.
lokking forward to see that video :slight_smile:

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#5

Yore saying he’s using dwps? Then the down up hammer/pull could be done descending 3nps scales to sound cool. Also did he switch from his typical 3 fingered pick grip??

#6

The interview’s out at last! I really wish the footage was more extensive, or at a better angle, but here it is.

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#7

Cool video and interview Nick, many thanks for posting this mate!

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#8

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Steve is always inspiring-on so many levels.

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#9

Yeah, that and he suffers quite hard from his arthritis, so maybe he is going for a change in technique to spare the joints that are affected. I saw him in a workshop last september. He wore an orthosis on his right wrist and you could see that picking was kind of hard on him. He played none of the stuff that everyone in the room wanted to see. This might have also been due to the event. They gave away five 10 minute sessions for guitar players, that jammed with him for some minutes and he gave them some hints what to improve. so maybe he just didn’t want to show off, but I think he would have if there wouldn’t have been a problem, because of course all the spectators expected him to.

Nevertheless, if he has to change his technique due to health issues, this would show even more how hard he is willing to continue making top-notch music, as this would mean a lot of effort if your at that level and played the way you play for +40 years.

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#10

Thanks for sharing, quite interesting. It doesn’t look like DWPS to me, though, but rather as a form of crosspicking that is manly driven by forearm rotation. It’s a very short clip, but especially when he first shows his movement slowly, the rotation is very visible imho.

It would make sense, because just before that he says that his old way of playing (the “flamingo” style) is painful for him to do now. The flamingo style involves the wrist, and that’s probably what causes his pain. So, using a rotational mechanic, he could have an efficient technique without pain coming from the wrist.

It’s interesting, though, that this third technique uses a hammer on in between two picked notes. From all the we know, this should not be neccesary.