Seeing this discussion and the super accurate @Danish 's tab (thank you so much for this), I have a question that the anwser might be super obvious, but still here I am not knowing how to approach this.
Since founding out about CTC, I mostly paid attention to my right hand motions, not the picking strategies that come along with this school of thinking. This is wrong and I found out recently.
The thing is, how should I start practicing systems like Al’s for example? I am a primary DSX player using my elbow on “super” fast speeds, but I’ve never worked on picking strategies. Should I start practicing this solo segment really slow so I can see the little changes in pickstrokes (example on the attached photo), or should I just play it as fast as I can and “go for it”?
I think the answer is a bit complicated and I can try and give you my answer - maybe it also applies to the system you already have and which you are trying to expand.
So for me - long ago I learned about economy picking Down-Down to avoid jumping over the string when playing an ascending scale. This was - sort of - ingrained in my playing before learning about CTC.
Touching with the base of my thumb (where thumb joins the hand) was also a habit, mainly for dampening purposes. So this actually gave me a hand position that favored DSX but I had no idea about that, before CTC.
Then I saw Troys “Eric Johnson” course and I had to learn the USX and change my hand position to to mimic what Troy was showing on the instruction video. This hand position - what we used to call downward slant - favored USX. EJ also had a tendency to do Economy picking, so this was familar, but not with this - new to me - hand position. This was very awkward for me to change my picking hand position.It took a long time before I could play that way. Eventually, I learned to play, with the sland, the mini-sweeps necessary for the 5’s mechanic that EJ uses and the upstrokes escaping.
Fast forward to the Al DiMeola style and how I try to learn his lines. I try and position my hand, similar to AL’s with the base of the hand touching the strings. It is rather flat - that is how imagine him doing it anyway.
This also gives the muting - thing about it - this is something Al does all the time as well. I have read on the internet, that he did this at start because it wasn’t as loud and he was shy when practicing. Maybe so. It also makes the sound of the pick very precise - you can hear when the note starts since the others are so muted. Flat is a good position to slant either way momentarily - so that you get either USX or DSX for a bar or two.
So anyway - for me - it is a match of different styles that I’ve learned here through CTC and mixed with the systems that were already there, before learning about CTC.
The thing that is always a challenge is trying new stuff, new hand positions and accepting the awkwardness. Search for the feeling of ease.
Troy has that video about starting with speed -
Very thought provoking stuff! I tried that working the four-note AL DiMeola riff up to speed.
Just a small point - you can avoid Economy picking entirely for the solo, if you change just a few things. I thought it was worth mentioning, perhaps it is an even more “Al” to do it this way. You will still have to change direction a few times though to get either DSX or USX
