Relaxing into "Correct" form

Playing Technique
#1

Wondering how universal this is - but this is something I’ve done for a long time and picked up from a Vai interview. I forgot about it for a long time as well, but it kind of triggered some memories from being a teenager and working on cleaning things up.

To start out here this is not contradicting the start with speed idea - originally as a teenager, I just straight up tried to tremolo pick as fast as possible off the bat - which I did not try to build up at all, I followed the start fast approach naturally and drilled the hell out of it trying to get the physical limit even faster by doing chromatic patterns with a metronome.

When I think of starting slow and “gaining speed”, though, it means something a bit different.

This came a little later in terms of cleaning up technique and “working up” to speed on more complex picking patterns.

Basically - I’ll start a picking pattern slow, too slow to have the form right and there’s clear tension. I’ll repeat it, but when I do this I close my eyes and focus explicitly on relaxing my picking hand/arm as I repeat it and do some meditative breathing to help with the relaxation.

When I do this, typically my picking form will fall into a more “correct” and I’ll start speeding up as a function of relaxing.

I’ve been finding that even more effective now that I’ve drilled in different escape mechanics to try for different runs. I’ll start stiffly applying rotation or some escape and work on relaxing into a less tense form or motion, and typically get good results where the speed at which I can play cleanly is increasing towards my faster picking motion.

Curious if anyone else uses this to internalize clean picking patterns?

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#2

when you dial in more of a louder attack is it relaxed or tensed when you start slow? i would be better off relaxed, then tense, but who knows really i think everybody is different, and different plectrum picking approaches will work better for others. you can see this in the gypsy jazz community of players, look at how dorado schmitt and his son amati schmitt pick (of course this is bireli lagrene here, but if you find videos of amati he is a spitting image of how his dad picks probably due to hereditary genes) compared to say stochelo rosenberg. both sound amazing, but both are clearly different. both even may utilize rest stroke, but again both body mechanics of the motions are different.

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#3

More relaxed results in harder attack for me when strictly wrist picking - although the tension might be increasing at the elbow, it feels like I’m using my elbow to throw my wrist back and forth sometimes. For forearm or elbow, it’s hard to tell. My dynamics aren’t as good with only elbow, and forearm rotation picking is newer to me - I’ve been working on DBX forearm while working on Paul Gilbert style runs and it’s been pretty nice so far in preventing tension. I think I finally have some sense of the form @Tom_Gilroy describes as his mode 1, I need to film it up close and dissect it a bit but feels like mainly forearm rotation with a wrist flick, so I think also extension and flexion are happening.

For that one, the attack is already kind of aggressive and there isn’t a great way to make it more fluid, if I need it more fluid I’ll either switch to a more Andy Wood all wrist movement or my trusty pronated DSX.

The Andy Wood all wrist motion is pretty much the only one I feel like I have the full dynamic range with but I cannot do ascending scalar runs with it very well, I know Andy incorporates a forearm escape with it, it’s kind of getting there for me just drilling in some sixes with an escape motion trying the different escape combinations, but not quite clicking.

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#4

I’ll chime in on this topic; (Of course, keep in mind that I am a chump who can’t really play, so it’s just an opinion lol)

I was never able to get my picking hand truly under control. Sure, there’s some stuff that’s pretty successful but after talking a bit with Tom Gilroy (Tom rules!) I believe heart and soul that before any other issue (pickslant, escape, motion etc), the root of any challenges I encounter with the picking hand is tension. I have spent a paltry two weeks trying my damndest to “reset” and while there is much to be done, the initial effort is bearing fruit.

To be fair; I am a long standing member of the cult of the metronome. Also, I am a practice lunatic. I will put in all kinds of time in an effort to “solve” an issue. Buuuuut I am slowly learning that these kinds of “drilling” habits don’t really work for me…

Trying to get that balance of only the required amount of tension is kind of my objective now if that makes sense…

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#5

Do you utilize fragments like these two? Basically flip flopped usx escape maneuvers.

Screenshot 2022-12-31 at 13-34-07 Edit Untitled Soundslice
Screenshot 2022-12-31 at 13-34-07 Edit Untitled Soundslice944×359 23.8 KB

Don’t say you are a chump, you have great playing, forget what kind of negativity anyone has said to you. I have heard your playing, it sounds nice. I think to an extent if we all desire to go faster than we are, which in my thoughts most here are already at their natural peak (maybe some new players are more frequent here I am unsure), it will require tension. I think we all have a genetic limit, and to go beyond it will require tension. However if you want to just rebuild your technique with less tension that is definitely possible, but you might be going the same speed or just a bit slower until you are more fluent with the new motions then your speed will be back to where it was with the older form until it settles in.

I also think a drum track would probably be better than a metronome, but if all you have access to in the moment is a metronome it is better than nothing. But trying to drill speed I think can be a bit silly sometimes, and shouldn’t really be more than 10 minutes, as well as it shouldn’t be done but maybe 2 or 3 times a week so your body doesn’t adapt to practicing speed frequently.