Seeking Feedback on Picking Motion and Technique

Technique Critique
#1

Aka, am I doing this correctly?

Hi everyone,

Looking for some feedback on my picking motion and technique. I’ve been working on some of the CTC material on and off for a year or so. But this is my first video on the forum, so please excuse the quality! Picking motion feels comfortable at fast speeds, but I seem to top at at about 160-170 bpm 16th notes. Looking for any advice on what I might improve.

This example is all USX, which seems to be my primary motion. But I also seem to use a secondary motion of sorts to clear strings in 3nps scales. I seem to top out at about 130-140pbm with that sort of motion. Happy to shoot an upload an example of that if it would be helpful.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

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#2

Looking good, only comment I have is that while you’re accenting your picking (which is great), as you speed up, the notes later in the grouping (3rd and 4th notes) start to get quieter, and I think a few are outright missing. It could be that at the faster speed your accents are too pronounced which is throwing off the picking for subsequent notes?

#3

That’s a super helpful insight and suggestion - I’ll try and work on that element of accenting these note groupings.

Thanks - I appreciate your help!

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#4

Hey @Dfav301, thanks for posting!

From this video it’s not obvious if this is the case or not - and that may have implications for understanding the 160-70 speed limit you mentioned. I’ll also attach our recent primer section on speed testing, may be worth giving a shot to these to see what sort of numbers you get.

So let’s take a step back: can you film a video where you play tremolo on a single note as fast as you can? I’ll attach filming suggestions to get the best visibility of pick & string interaction :slight_smile:

One more comment:

A speed limit in this range (for scalar playing) suggests that there may be something inefficient about the motions you are using for the task. Let’s take a look at that tremolo and build things up from there :slight_smile:

#5

Thanks @tommo! I appreciate your feedback and I really like the idea of taking my picking apart in the way you’re suggesting in order to put it back together and ensure the most efficient motion, etc.

Here is a wide shot of my tremolo example:

Here is a close up of the same tremolo example:

Thanks in advance and looking forward to any thoughts!

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#8

Troy and I think this looks good :slight_smile:

It’s not super easy for me to see whether it’s DSX/USX or fully trapped, but you can test that!

Try to play a lick that only changes strings after downstrokes with this exact motion, possibly at this same speed. Then try only upstroke string changes. Possibly something where the fretting pattern is very simple so it does not get in the way.

Which option works best?

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#9

Thanks so much! I appreciate your thoughts!

USX motions definitely feel better and seem more efficient at these same speeds. I can shift to DSX as well, but the speed tops out a little bit slower.

I’m wondering if the limits I’m encountering are a hand sync issue, because at 160-170 bpm 16th notes it feels like my left hand can’t quite keep up with my right.