Hey Troy,
Thank you so much for your work with picking technique. I am a 28 year-old metal guitarist from Toronto that was diagnosed with Focal Dystonia 3 years ago (my symptoms are very similar to Terry Syrek’s - he’s actually an old teacher and friend of mine). My condition progressed to the point where I completely lost the ability to use what was once my fretting (left) hand in a right-handed playing context. I tried training with a Dystonia specialist but felt like I wasn’t able to gain any real traction with my playing, going that route.
Just under two years ago I decided to relearn guitar as a left-handed player, which was terrifying, because I’d been playing for 14-15 years at this point and had a career teaching and playing with a band. But I dedicated myself to it, and now I’m proud to say that 23 months into this journey, I am at about 95% of my previous ability level, now as a lefty.
I have made rapid progress, I think in large part to the breakthroughs you have made with picking technique — developing awareness around pickslanting and swiping. I’ve been following your work very closely and am very grateful to the contributions you have made to the guitar technique world.
Here’s a video of me playing the solo from Ravenous by Arch Enemy:
This is a pretty good representation of where my picking abilities are currently at.
Thank you again,
Christian Andersen