Pickslanting / three notes per string

Playing Technique
#1

Hello,
my name is Chris - I´m new here. (come from Lower Bavaria - sorry for my English…)
Playing since 30 years, but more in Folk and Blues style.
Didn´t care so much about alternate picking.
For me it was alway magic when someone, for example “Eric Johnson” was picking.
When I tried to pick (whithout using legato) some lines in sounds like sh…
I´ve tried it again and again for years, but always failed.
I wrote in the early ninties a little instrumental which started with a fast (120 bpm;maybe only for me) sextuplets line. I never could play this peace live, because I didn´t know how. The only thing I used was force, but it led to it, that my hand tensed and so loosing the speed…
At youtube I hoped to find help, but it was not so easy for me to find the right help and so I struggled with my bad technic and the help:joy:
Martin Miller and Claus Levin was one of the persons on youtube I looked at myselfe, but there was always something wrong, or something was missing: Pickslanting, the angle of the pick (upward and downward)
I found out that I´m using something like crosspicking and thats the reason why I never could reach the speed effortless…
At Troy Grady´s youtube channel I discovered Pickslanting.
I’m at the very beginning of Pickslanting and have a basic question:
How should I play this ease 3 notes per string run ?
bpm: 120; sextuplets

--------------------------------5-7-8--------------and again Upward PSlanting
-----------------------5-7-8-----------------------switching to Downward PSlanting
------------4-5-7----------------------------------Upward PSlanting
—4-5-7-------------------------------------------Upward PSlanting

Is this correct ?
Thanks for helping me !

Best regards,
Chris

3 Likes
#2

Hi Chris and welcome to CTC,

Others will chime in to help you, but the way I see it there is 2 options for that : economy and alternate (with 2 versions of alternate).

Economy (mini sweep d-d for changing string ascending)
------------------------d-u-d---------------------
------------------d-u-d---------------------------
------------d-u-d---------------------------------
------d-u-d---------------------------------------

This is quite straightforward, and suits with DWPS for changing strings.

Alternate picking v1 - starting on downstroke
------------------------u-d-u---------------------
------------------d-u-d---------------------------
------------u-d-u---------------------------------
------d-u-d---------------------------------------

Alternate picking v2 - starting on upstroke
------------------------d-u-d---------------
------------------u-d-u---------------------
------------d-u-d---------------------------
------u-d-u---------------------------------

Alternate v1 and v2 can be played either way with pickslant / crosspicking (those two notions may somewhat overlap here). In both cases you’ll have to deal with both inside and outside ascending string changes. It’s just the sequence that differs from v1 vs v2. For example in v1 the first string change is outside change.

Hope that helps.

2 Likes
#3

Hello! Looks like it’s the issue of pick slanting you’re asking about? If your last note of a string is a downstroke you need to be making an upward pick slanting movement and if your last note is an upstroke you need to be making a downward pick slanting movement to ensure you can make the string change easily. Whatever will leave your pick above the level of the strings. So in you’re pattern here:

Starting string: upward pickslant
next string: upward pickslant (change) downward pickslant
next string: downward pickslant (change) upward pickslant
next string: upward pickslant

Incidentally, this two way pick slanting, 3 note per string pattern isn’t one of the easier things to play. At 120 bpm it’s still a reasonably fast speed so you might be better with economy picking it if you’re new to this.

2 Likes
#4

The concept of 3NPS is simple, but the execution is tough. Since its an odd # of notes… you’ll be switching from outside to inside xfers. Switching back and forth is where you need an added mechanic… some people use forearm rotation for that switch.

One thing to mention is that 3 Note per string picking isn’t exactly easy for most guitarists. A lot of people have problems with it. Make sure that you are already fairly comfortable 4 and 2 NPS runs before starting this.

1 Like
#5

Do you guys prefer to cross pick this with one slant vs changing the slant as suggested above?

1 Like
#6

For 3nps runs - I have found the follow:

for Ascending runs - start with a upstroke
for Descending runs - start with a downstroke

That means a number of things for a 3nps 6 string run:

You’re mostly inside picking, 3 sets of inside picks and 2 sets of outside jumps for each run

Because your inside picking at the extremes - meaning the highest and lowest strings - your pick hand doesn’t have to move as far as it would starting with outside picking.

All these things means it sound much much smoother and easier at the higher speed 12nps+

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#7

I X-pick absolutely everything, and I love it.

However… I am in the minority here.

1 Like
#8

@tommo is a master of 3 nps playing.

3 Likes
#9

I think the first thing to do here is determine what your primary pick slant is. The right advise for you will be based off of what your natural tendency is.

1 Like
#10

How can I determine it?

#11
1 Like
#12

Thank you! TWPS still feels like a quite difficult technique to me, which requires constant maintenance.

2 Likes
#13

I think we need a ‘Masters of the CTC Forum’ section where we can post tommo’s superhuman picking.

4 Likes
#14

and @TheCount 's picking !!

2 Likes
#15

Maybe we can have a ‘pick-off’ between TheCount and John Taylor.

2 Likes
#16

Thanks @aliendough!

And @hamsterman, do you mean like this one :wink:

3 Likes
#17

Wow. Would be cool to have you both magnet-videod. Nice 8-string by the way.

2 Likes
#18

Thanks! There’s some magnet footage of me Troy might do something with. If he’d like a double interview with Mr Taylor, i’ll start booking a flight to NYC instantly! Haha!

1 Like
#19

Hello,
thank you so much for your advices.
My account was temporary closed - don´t know why - so I could not reply at once.
…also I had some gigs on the weekend…

@Gtrjunior: How can I determine what my natural primary pick slant is? I´ve tried to solve the run as Squeaks suggested it, but starting with an downstroke.
@shabtronic: … I will try to start with an upstroke and look which is easier. for me …
Generally I think I will not use sweeps at least untill I master the pickslanting technic.

Martin Miller was so kindly to look at a small video, where i recorded my picking technic.
he meant that it look more like crosspicking and said that i will have problems to bring it to hyperspeed, because the pick has further ways to go.

So now I made an very simple exercise that Martin shows in one of his online Lessons (with a student)
g ------------7-8-9---------------------------------
d ----7-8-9----------7-------------------------------

play it in a loop and as sextuplets to work on my basic speed: starting at 90 bpm until I reach 150 bpm.
After this I play the run with pickslanting, staring very slow maybe at 70 bpm and icrease the speed constant.
I don´t know if this is the right way to work on it ?

1 Like
#20

I’d check out Trou’s YouTube channel and watch everything related. He has it all spelled out. You’ll have to do some experimenting with the examples Troy uses. Start with single string tremolo picking.
If your down strokes get trapped inside the strings you are dwps-ing.
If your downstrokes get free from the strings you are uwps-ing.

1 Like