Hi guys,
Here’s the poptart lick performed at a slow tempo so you can have a look at my picking hand and tell me if I’m doing DWPS right:
Thanks in advance!
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Hi! Thanks for posting. Generally speaking, this looks fine to me.
Is this your fastest picking motion? If not, what motion is that? Generally speaking, harnessing speed and smoothness you already have is the fastest route to learning these techniques. It’s not about speed per se - it’s about getting these movements to happen smoothly, and speed is indicator of having solved some of these basic issues. No need to start specifically with downward pickslanting either. If you can do a uwps movement and it’s speedier, like elbow or wrist, I would give those a shot.
Again, nothing wrong with this movements, but critiquing a clip isn’t the same thing as critiquing someone’s progress in general, so I’m always trying to get a sense of what else has and has not worked.
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Thanks for the response Troy! I posted this shortly after I discovered CtC, found myself blown away by your in-depth analysis of picking technique, and immediately subscribed.
I was a bit unsure about the motion when I started as the slant felt unnatural and I wanted to get some quick feedback before I started putting in the long hours with the metronome, and so this is me just double-checking I’m doing things right at a very slow pace.
Since then I’ve watched many more interviews, worked on more exercises and heard you say how “the picking angle is exaggerated” to make the point and thereafter I found a more comfortable downward pickslant. Since then I’ve been getting great results.
This is not my fastest picking motion, I had previously played nothing but economy picking and I can comfortably play 3nps scale patterns at 180bpm using this technique. So I have the basic speed down that you talked about in the most recent “Talking the Code” here:
https://troygrady.com/channels/talking-the-code/introduction-to-picking-motion/
Right now, I’m working on getting the Poptarts lick up to 200bpm and I’m at a comfortable 165bpm and a messy 175. So I’m getting fast results and I’ll check in soon with another video to let you know how I’m getting along.
Keep up the great work Troy, since learning about pickslanting I’m no longer confined to legato and economy picking in my lead playing and it’s very motivating to know I’m on the right path to increasing my proficiency with the instrument.
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