One week in and feeling very lost

Technique Critique
#1

Hi Guys,

I have been playing for about 23 years now. I was self-taught until about two years ago when I started taking lessons from Tom Hess. I learned some things I didn’t already know about theory and some picking techniques but overall I got tired of the cost and him talking himself and his program up all the time. Also, I stalled out and made no progress for a while.

I decided to spend some time working on just a few areas that are important to me. Writing better/more melodic solos and gaining some speed. I have started in looking through all the downslant material and it is really interesting. I feel like this pick slanting will actually enable me to gain some speed. I don’t necessarily want to be shredding all the time but I would like to have the ability to throw in some speed at will.

Now that I’m down this rabbit hole I’m seeing there is more to it than just one style and a lot of guys end up doing what works for them.

Where I am stuck now is three things (probably more).

First, Tom teaches directional picking. I spent a long time learning to integrate this into my playing for string changes. It works well but it tends to throw off my flow during faster runs because you sort of stop and sweep. With pickslanting and alternate picking this doesn’t seem to happen and string switching seems easier.

Second, I really don’t know if I am doing this correctly. I have been pushing it pretty hard for about a week and it doesn’t feel natural. I’m starting to doubt everything now (pick grip, pick angle, arm position, wrist position etc…). I don’t want to continue practicing this if I am doing it wrong!

Third, I can’t tell if I am downslanting, upslanting or both. Someone said it looked like a U-shape.

Here are a few videos. I need to figure out a better way to hold the camera but I’m hoping you guys can tell at least a bit from watching. They’re pretty sloppy but I am not trying to show you my best licks just how I am attempting this. It’s making me feel like I just started out again :slight_smile:

Single string regular speed:

Single string slow-motion:

The second set is on the 3rd and 4th string trying to show string switching:

Two strings regular speed:

Two strings slow-motion:

Thanks for reading all that and please let me know if you need more info. I feel so lost with all this right now!

#2

hey @mathervius, welcome and thanks for the videos :slight_smile:

After reading and watching I would suggest to take a step back and make a video where you do tremolo picking on a single string as fast as you can (or close to your max, but the idea is - go for it!). Your comment that you have been pushing, but feel stuck suggests to me that you may not be using an efficient movement.

Don’t get me wrong this is good playing, but the movements you show here look very controlled, and I don’t think they give a realistic idea of what it feels like to play “fast” (say 150bpm 16th notes and upwards).

So the next steps I’d suggest are:

  • try different pick grips / motions until you can do a fast tremolo on a single string. Don’t worry about anything except getting that speed going.
  • make a 5-10s clip of this fast tremolo including slow motion
  • we take a look together and check whether your “primary” fast motion is upstroke escape (USX), downstroke escape (DSX) or double escape (DBX)
  • after learning this we can start thinking about licks & riffs that will work well with your primary motion.

I’m also giving you a couple of links with related info that I hope will be useful, let us know if you have any questions :slight_smile:

“Start with speed” video

Advice on filming for getting the best pick+strings view:

Free resources on picking motions:

#3

Thank you for your feedback!

You are totally correct that it feels controlled. I can’t seem to figure out how to let go of that when I start to increase the speed.

I guess I don’t know how it should feel. It feels very tense right now and I’m pretty sure I need to relax at least more than I am.

I’m going to try and shoot a better video to show you guys after I work on my tremolo.

Just to be clear: I need to try different arm/wrist/hand positions until I find one that allows me to play a faster tremolo or am I missing the point completely? I really don’t want to have to re-learn how to play because a completely new position but I will push hard if that’s the case.

#4

It may not be as dramatic as you think. When you find a setup that works, it works instantly. In the sense that you should be immediately able to do fast tremolo on a single note. No need for months or years of gradual metronome work and all that.

But for now you can totally start with whatever grip and position you are already comfortable with. Just see if you can do that fast tremolo, and for now don’t worry about playing in time or synchronosong the fretting hand. You just want to check that the potential to pick fast is there. Counterintuitively, speed is the first step.

Cleaning it up comes later :slight_smile:

#5

Thank you for that encouragement! I don’t feel quite as bad now.

Going to get caffeinated and work on this!!

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#6

I’m in a similar position (just joined the site a couple weeks ago) and I was concerned that spending a bunch of time on new techniques/mechanics would result in me potentially creating the wrong habits but I’ve ended up spending a decent amount of time on a few different things and I think what’s happening is that I’m really just adding to my arsenal and I don’t feel trapped with whatever new thing I’ve been focusing on.

I can also support Tommo’s statement that when you find movements that work for you, it is surprisingly easy to apply single string.

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