I’m not the greatest at spotting this stuff, but it does look a bit string hoppy in places - it looks like the ‘pecking’ motion.
You could try more pick sticking out???
To my ear it sounds just shy of about 120bpm. If you want to rule out string hopping you need to bump up the tempo to the point where string hopping is practially impossible (150 + bpm?) if your picking totally breaks down at those speeds then you can assume that string hopping is to blame and/or its that the motion is right for you.
I like that you have made the left hand simple, but I still think that you need to work at blazing away on single string and the start to add the string changes once established. Its not very exciting, and I doing it myself to help me break the current plateu.
Maybe try and gett the g string blazing and then switch to the b string after a good number of bars and then switch back. Then start shortening the amount of bars between switching strings.
I can get a single string up to about 150 BPM. String change gets sloppy above 120. Here is 136 attempt at changing between G and D strings
You can slow the speed down by clicking on the gear icon in the video.
I’m not sure what is going on, other than it is out of control.
I can’t reliably play 16th notes at 120 in my regular playing. Usually 16ths at 72 is reliable for me. I could play faster when I was younger, when I was able to sit down and play. I could probably play faster sitting down, but my right shoulder doesn’t like that.
Try to imagine that the guitar strings are 20% closer to the guitar body, 20% closer to the pickups, and 20% closer to each other. Really hard to get at the tiny, crowded strings!
I mostly just practice guitar and go to the gym. I want to make progress.
I can pick this now 152 BPM. To improve, I did not practice this at all! I used the Lacrosse ball to relieve tension and did Greg Irwin exercises.
I’ve identified a big cause of my guitar struggles as unwanted tension that needs to be released.
Sweet! Good job! Keep pushing that tempo though, you need to let you hands feel what is like to go faster - as fast as your goal tempo.
Would be great to see what you did here - I have only recently realised the extent of the tension I hold in my arms, shoulders and back.
If doing this really helped, then it makes sense to make it a permanent part of your warm up routine.
Interesting thread; I have been trying to “change” my picking mechanic for quite some time and “thought” that I had the wrist picking thing in the bag, but as I looked at my most recent attempt I noticed that while there was “some” wrist" motion going on there, it was mostly a blend between my usual elbow thing with a bit of forearm and a little bit of wrist, not what I really wanted to see/hear.
Anyways, I read through Troy’s instructions (again) and then watched a bunch of classic “wrist pickers” because, well that’s what I think I need to get to the next level in my playing.
What I noticed was the same thing you are complaining about, my knuckles rubbing against the strings, and my picking hand crashing into the volume knob… plus, on video it doesn’t look like that wrist deviation that is being described, not really. No pain for me, though so that’s good… Also your description of where it “felt” like the strings should be was kind of the same sort of sensation I was going through, so no you aren’t insane… hahaha It just means that something isn’t jiving…
So I took a good look at what I was doing, and what Troy and Al Dimeola and others are doing and instead of worrying about the pickslant, exact wrist motion, this angle and that angle etc etc I instead decided to create conditions so that literally the only motion I could do is wrist deviation… So many variables, and so many options - the hand/wrist/elbow is capable of so much… You know, set myself up so that I could at least practice the motion free of that “this is getting me nowhere” feeling
Don’t laugh, but I noticed 2 things; 1) Even though I was 'trying" to wrist pick, I was positioned for my same old elbow/arm picking. 2) Because of this positioning, I would revert back to an elbow/arm powered mechanic once the tempo picked up, which is what I have done any ways for years. Pick one way at slower tempos, then another way at faster tempos. I think many guitarists are guilty of this…
So Photo 1
This is kind of my “habit” positioning and after a lot of CTC reading and viewing I feel like it’s at least partially the culprit behind why learning a new picking mechanic seems to result in me reverting to the old one, regardless of slant, pick grip, etc etc. Now I had previously made the change of making sure my forearm was resting on the guitar body, which helped me out quite a bit. String tracking was kind of an issue… (Notice the big space under my wrist?)
Photo 2
had me practicing for a few days with my wrist just below the joint basically glued to the guitar body, and as well the forearm still resting also. This made a massive difference in that now my knuckles cleared the strings and I stopped hitting the volume knob. Splaying my pick hand out in similar fashion to Troy’s when I play (Extending the middle finger knuckle) really seems to help with clearance and ease of play… (Not pictured, sorry)
Photo 3
This is what happens when I put my picking arm down, ready to play. I wouldn’t say it’s a “natural” posture, but something I learned and turned into a habit many years ago and now for a little while at least, it takes a conscious effort to make sure that I don’t just revert to that. I mean, I guess my old positioning habit is there if I want it, right?
Photo 4
Now this is something that Troy might want to chime in on; I found that with my wrist and forearm anchored to the guitar body (like photo 2) I had to do a “string hop” to get off of the Low E to the other strings. Also, it seemed like I had an upward pickslant, and this whole picking thing was still a LOT of work. A downward pick slant just didn’t seem to be an option so again I took a good long hard look at what I didn’t change, and what do you know - mu elbow, and the angle of my arm in reference to the strings was still the same as I always had it for my good 'ole Arm/Elbow picking. So I made an effort to try an extreme change, and align my forearm’s position with that of the strings (They closely follow the same “line” if that makes any sense?) my wrist now kind of rests on the back of the saddles on the bridge, and I can easily get the pickslant I want while avoiding string hopping. I also still have access to the old arm/elbow motion if I want it, and I think with a few months of obsessive practice I can get this wrist thing into my playing. Now I probably don’t need to make such, ummm BIG changes to “physically” achieve the picking mechanic I desire, but there is some weird mental attachment to 'how I have always done it" that is really, really hard to overcome. I’m thinking I can get more subtle later, what I need now is the change…
Now, that’s just my experience and I may be doing something wrong and I still may yet have to revise what I am doing to really achieve what I am looking for but one thing is for sure, I am much, much closer than I was… I hope this helps in some way… Good luck! (And of course, any thoughts or insights into my thoughts are completely welcome… And if I am totally off-base, for Heaven’s sake please tell me!)
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Cheers buddy, that was really interesting, the finger twisters at the end are quite difficult to get coordinated! I’m gonna try and do these before and during practice to see if they help!