Speed limit position

Technique Critique
#1

It’s been a long time since I practice tremolo picking, but this is the first time I’m recording my self the CTC way.

I noticed strange movements in my hands while watching the slow motion part (bouncing??). That happens when I get fast, but in my opinion, my hands move that way because I tense the forearm (the part just after the wrist). AND I strongly believe that this tension happens because I cant move the pick back and forth any faster, it doesn’t matter what I try, so the body tenses the arm as a reaction.

When I’m warmed up I can reach like 145bpm @ 6s, but just short bursts.

Is this an arm position issue? What’s the real problem here? It seems that there is something VERY wrong in the way I pick. Sometimes I feel that I need a reset in my whole picking technique.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sBuqx4npdfY991jASsyRqP1jNQ5HuN41/view

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#2

That’s pretty fast! Not many guitarists can do that I believe! But if you want to go even faster here we have some experts in hyper-picking like @milehighshred and @TheCount who may have some insights!

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#3

The problem is that things get messy long before that, too much tension, which makes the speed useless. May be I should focus on excessive tension, use more elbow movement, change the movement…I dont know.

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#4

The only thing I noticed is that it seems you pick very hard and with the pick going very deep below the strings. Maybe you can try to reduce that a bit? By the way I am a fan of picking hard, but when it gets too much it may bring tension/injury

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#5

Hey @lgarcia,

I agree with tommo, it seems like you are picking very hard. I find that when things start to work for me and some speed is happening, that is usually when I pick not too hard at all. It’s not so much that I try to play especially soft, I just try not to force it, and that works well for me. I know everybody’s different, so it might not do anything for you, but you might as well give it a try.

Another thing I notice is that the sound is very different when I pick not so hard, and I have to say that I like it better. The notes come out clearer, even though I don’t hit them so hard.

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#6

Thanks for the shoutout @tommo!
Sorry for the delay in watching this, been ill over the past few days.
It’d be good to have a front on view of the arm to work on which muscles you’re using, but it’s actually pretty good!
The other comments of hard picking I’d agree with, personally I find it hard to build up a lot of speed if I’m digging into the strings as much as you are. As for arm tension, that’s how I get the max speed thing going, so no harm in that!

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#7

Thanks for taking time to answer guys.

So looks like It,s common Sense that I’m using too much pick on the strings and playing too hard. I think that this habit was developed with years of practicing this way. But I find that playing too soft makes the pick attack weak when I increase the speed. When I watch Paul Gilbert picking fast, looks like he’s hitting the strings very hard so I went for that. Anyway, may be my pick attack just needs some adjustments.

As of the too much picking in the strings, It agree 100% with you