Picking technique progress diary by zhang (formely known as Need Advise on Picking Technique)

Technique Critique
#1

Hey fellow CtC fans!

So it’s time to get some doubts cleared about my picking in general. I’ve uploaded a video of me doing some shred stuff.

Okay so, I got up to this speed nearly 10 years ago. It felt great for a while but…it feels very forced and it limits me to only do the minor runs. In fact what you’re seeing is what i have only been playing this whole time because other songs and phrases wasn’t possible (or sounded terrible) with this current technique. Stuff like the chorus riff for Born by Nevermore.

I think I’m using way too much forearm for my own good. I’ve tried using solely my wrist but I’m not able to get that nice aggressive tone like how Petucci and Loomis have. So therefore I’ve begun using my forearm. I lock in my thumb so that the strings or my pick don’t cause me to have them bouncing off.

My short term goals at the moment is to achieve this speed and tone but having my picking hand as relaxed as possible.

Really appreciate any advice you guys have. Thank you! :slight_smile:

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#2

I don’t know if I really have any advice, but that sounded damn good!

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#3

Hey dude that stuff sounds great. Looks like you’ve got a lot of UWPS stuff down solid, assuming I’m seeing things correctly here. There’s still a lot you can do with that position so I’d suggest checking out some of the UWPS material from the pickslanting primer if you want to see some other musical ideas you might not have thought about yet.

Stuff from Loomis and Petrucci involve other types of movements such as 2WPS and Crosspicking so you might want to check out the material from Andy Wood and Teemu perhaps.

As far as being relaxed while keeping the tone, I dunno dude it all sounds pretty good. I think the UWPS position kind of lends itself to tense posture in general (I’m the same way) because lots of people sorta hug the guitar when they use that setup.

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#4

I thought what I was doing was more DWPS. Then again it might be the camera angle, I dont have like something to really dig into the right hand picking view and that was the best I could come up with.

Its really surprising that I’ve got down UWPS cuz I have tons of problems with ascending licks and runs which requires a good command of UWPS, not DWPS. I used to start with a downstroke, but that doesnt make sense since you need an upstroke to go to the next string. Either that or its 2WPS or economy picking (which im the worst at) Starting with an upstroke works but it’ll get all wonky in note definition on the way up.

All of this sounds great, just need to find a solution to let it become second nature instead of making it feel like a strenuous workout when its time to bust out the chops and im a happy guitarist.

Ive tried out the Yngwie method that @Troy pointed about how he picks like he’s turning a doorknob or something. Ive tried that for a couple of weeks. It feels very unnatural and trying to get into it felt like I was heading nowhere. But it seems like Yngwie went places with that and I was just…stuck with those crummy runs. :confused:

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#5

Maybe the angle is playing tricks on me but it looks like a UWPS. Maybe one of the keener eyes from the forum can confirm.

When you alternate pick a run that uses an even number of notes per string, do you find it easier to switch strings when you start the run from a downstroke or an upstroke? What about if you start from an odd number of notes per string?

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#6

I really don’t know tbh. But what I can confirm is that it is much more inconsistent when I do an odd number and that forces my thumb to sorta unbind for a while, creating a disruption in passages like the one in the video.

But…i dunno It’s kinda like how you have good days and bad days? So I will sound like a beast for a minute, then sound like a total goose when I’m playing the same thing later on. I have a hard time maintaining that consistency in my playing without all that quacking yknow.

#7

This looks and sounds great! As @element0s has pointed out you are using a typical uwps setup with a pronated forearm. And most players who do this also use either wrist deviation or elbow as their motion mechanic. So everything you are doing here is what we would expect and looks great. I recommend no changes.

To be clear, pickslanting is not about what the pick looks like in the air, i.e. whether or not it “looks slanted”. It is about whether its motion follows a slanted pathway. In upward pickslanting, this slanted pathway causes upstrokes to be trapped and downstrokes to be escaped. When you play a downstroke, are you escaping? When you play an upstroke are you trapped? If so, then you are using upward pickslanting!

More that that you’d have to check out more the stuff on the platform, especially the live broadcast on picking motion, which is currently our best introduction to how the arm setups and the motions work together.

But in general, looks great, keep up the good work!

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#8

omg yeah that…actually sounds about right :hushed:

Maybe I had doubts cuz my previous guitar teacher kept stressing that I was only going to limit myself further if I used whatever I was doing. I’m under a different teacher now but back in the day I had lot of homework which involved me learning Technical Difficulties from Paul Gilbert and Erotomania from Dream Theater and I had many problems with those songs using my current technique. I still can’t really play those songs but for some reason and experimenting with feel I have what I have now, which is…great I guess? xD

But this coming from you is a big relief. At least I know I’m doing something right haha.

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#9

Don’t you just hate it when someone says “I really want to work on my picking” and then proceeds to rip it up?!??!? :wink: great playing dude!

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#10

Thank you so much :slight_smile:

#11

So I took a peek at the anti-gravity chapter, and damn was it so inspiring! 2 way pick slanting really sounded so magical yet modern and this gave me some motivation to try out scalar stuff tonight :3

I think im still utilizing UWPS? But I have been doing these runs for years now, just that I did the switch of thumb position after the downstroke.

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