Problem with "Escaping" when using DWPS

Playing Technique
#1

Hi! I’m struggling with my picking technique for years now, wasting hours on hours of time and seemingly getting nowhere. Now with CTC I’m hoping to finally start improving again.

It seems that my picking technique was some kind of sloppy crosspicking with a tendency to use UWPS for certain licks.

As a huge fan of Zakk Wylde and just to have a starting point I’ve begun playing with pure DWPS.
The thing is: I can’t find a way to move my wrist / arm in such a way that I keep escaping the strings enough at high speeds. When playing slow this works out quite good but still also then the movement feels unnatural. When I speed up I get to a point where I’m comfortable again but then my picking angle is to flat and I tend to string-hop or also swipe i think and everything gets “muddy”…

I will post a video as soon as I figure out how to properly film my right hand.

Maybe you guys have some insight on this and a few tips what there is for me to improve.

Cheers, David

#2

Hey David, thanks for posting! Yes I think sharing some video of your playing will be the best place to start. You can also browse through the #technique-critique threads to see the sorts of feedback others have gotten, there may be some stuff there similar enough to be helpful!

Another general suggestion would be to experiment with a few different positions / mechanics and post some detail about the results so we can see what you’ve tried, what might seem most promising to keep practicing, etc.

For filming your right hand, doesn’t have to be too complicated, easiest is probably to prop up your phone on a chair or something (and set to slow-mo if possible). Just make sure to sit near a window or lamp so we get a well-lit view.

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#3

I’m having this issue, too, though it is happening when I am doing two way pickslanting. It has gotten better the last couple weeks. To be honest, though, I only practice like 15 minutes a day.

I am finding I need to slow it down a bit and really accentuate the rotate on the last stroke before the next string. It’s slowly getting more natural.

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#4

So it appears that you got use to UWPS and now trying to do DWPS. It will take a bit of time to get comfortable with the opposite of what you are use to. The easiest thing for me is to do two way pick slanting where going up towards high e is UWPS and coming back down on the turn around is DWPS
you could do it with the randy rhodes overlapping zig zag pattern doing fingers 1,3,1 on one string then doing 3,1,3 then 1,3,1 on the next so you stay with a downstroke when you go to next string then just down 3,1,3 on last set and come back down which should be with DWPS so that the last note on the string is an upstroke. Little things like this might help you transition better and not so bad that you changing pickslant on every string change,

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#5

We are all in the same boat! But I have found some things that are starting to work for me. You will have to do the same. When I joined CTC a couple of months ago, I was using forearm motion and a lot of string hopping. Since then I use the technique more like @Troy. I watched his videos and tried to emulate what he is doing. I visualize what it feels like. What I have noticed is the UWPS is becoming more natural. It felt awkward at first. When I am doing 3 note per string runs, and at faster speed, the escape movement is very minimal and that to me is all it takes. It’s weird because some days I pick up the guitar and everything just falls into place, and others I’m all fumble fingers. I think that is normal. Remember, frustration is natural. It is what drives you. You want to breakthrough all the frustration. But I imagine even the greats have those days too. One of my biggest frustrations is starting a phrase on the first or sixth strings. The other strings I can fly through with no effort. I don’t know why! I only know i have to conquer this. And remember, it’s 90% mental, and 10% physical. @Troy does video for a reason. Visualizing is key. Seeing it over and over again puts it in your subconscious. I’ve heard it said that your subconscious cannot tell the difference between reality and imagination. You have to develop empowering paradigms. That is what I am working on these days for all aspects of my mind. Your brain is the most powerful computer in the world, yet we only use a small portion of it’s potential.

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