I remember watching these videos, before CtC came along, and trying to get to grips with the techniques. Needless to say I did get very far at all!
I reckoned I’d post these videos for anyone who hasn’t seen them and for further discussion.
Wrist motion + scalpel (finger) motion = circular picking… though it better be called ‘quasielliptical picking’ ))
Have you ever tried this technique? My thumb joint isn’t really designed for this type of movement, although it seems to work well for some people. It’s an interesting one for sure.
Yep. I experimanted with scalpel technique (although for that mometn I didn’t know how it’s called and I didn’t suppose that someone use it). It was more for fun than for practical purpose. I remember that I didn’t like the sound, and I had to use pick with sharp end or else I had to use much motion to stroke. I guess maximum speed was about 150 or 160 bpm.
— updated —
something like that
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Sounds good to me, although I can tell some of your pick strokes aren’t as consistent as they are in your other vids when you’re using your normal grip. Still 150+ Bpm is impressive.
Yeah, this thing is just not mine. I don’t like how it feels.
Yeah, in hindsight, or post-CTC “red pill”, these kinds of terms seem so silly, but it’s cool being able to watch and understand in real motion-based terms if you just ignore the player’s own descriptions. I’d happily see phases like scalpel picking placed in the bin of superceded lingo thanks to @Troy.
Honestly I don’t have a problem with naming a technique something simple, particularly if it’s a shorthand for something really unwieldy, like “pronated forearm rotation with thumb MP / CMC flexion and extension” or whatever. Ok, sure, try something pithy. It’s not a substitute for knowing why certain movements work or do not work in certain situations, but it does make the discourse easier. As they say on the internet, why can’t we have both?
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I’d be up for terms that are short so long as they’re a bit more relevant and less buzzwordy, leaving fewer questions. Like, when people talk about circle picking, I (and maybe I’m just not super-intuitive) have no idea in what axis this supposed circle is happening. EG, when people say “EJ Fives”, you know exactly what they mean rather than calling it “two pairs of two notes with a single note that sweeps down to initiate a new group” 
Yeah, “circle picking” has been a vague word salad for about as long as it’s been used. If someone can nail down exactly what they want this term to mean, and why it’s useful, I’m fine with that. But the term has so much baggage at this point it seems unlikely.
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I recently discovered scalpel picking on my own (I kind of thought I invented it ahha) but I use it as a way to give my other picking techniques a rest when applicable. Tremelo picking for me makes my wrist very tired.
Yours sounds good here and with practice I think you can make it more fluid. I can’t pick this fast with scalpel picking…yet.
I always took his stuff with a LARGE gain of salt. He refers to ‘sarod’ picking as being based on what John McLaughlin does…clearly his optics are off. John is a UWPS with wrist deviation? This is essentially just DWPS, rotational movement and a bit of finger movement thrown in.
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These videos were made long before CTC terminology though. It’s a good effort at trying to explain something in his own terminology. He probably used John’s background in Indian music as a means to link his picking style to that of sarod players.
Bit of trivia; Apparently John used to make his own picks from the lids of food packages.
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