Yes. As far as I know, you HAVE to use upward pick slanting to JIGGLE pick. The Count is doing what I do, and that’s anchoring the big meaty muscle portion of your thumb. Watch that video again where I discuss how I pick fast, and you’ll see a part where I discuss using an anchor point.
Thanks Troy! It’s actually a car mount for a sat nav. Does the job quite well! Quite limited in how you can position it though.
Yes the angles could be improved. If the wide shots are usable I could easily film a few more close ups and attempt a better angle if you want?
And yes I exported it with Photos, didn’t realise that was a problem, I’ll use your method in future.
As for speed, the max I can hit with my normal technique is around 160 sixteenth trips but that’s a real push. With the hyper technique, like I said it’s hard to slow it down (riding a bike comparison again!) and it probably kicks in around the 190 mark (again if I was playing subdivisions of 16th note triplets!) so there’s a gap between 160 and 190 I can’t really hit. Hope that all made some sort of sense!
Nice - very similar to the original “shredcam” mount we hacked up back in the day. It worked well, but only on guitars with an upper horn. Thankfully no one pulled out a Flying V. If you have a moment to do another few takes with a more spacious closeup view, that would be awesome.
Re: tempo, in the earlier clips you had done two passes at the technique, a more relaxed one and a more tense one. The “relaxed” pass, if we can call it that, is the one that clocked in around 18-19 notes per second. And the more tense pass was the super fast one into the 20s. Just so I understand you, are you saying you feel these are both the same movement, and the 18nps or so you actually can’t slow down any more than that?
In terms of sixteenths note tempos (for simplicity), 18nps is 270bpm so that would mean there’s a gap of 30bpm between that and the technique you’re saying you use to hit 240bpm (160 sixteenth note triplets). Which technique is that, and is that also elbow, or something else?
Yeah it’s a good low budget alternative for anyone who doesn’t quite have the funds to build a magnet. I’ll try and get a bit more footage to you today (someone is using the sat nav right now but they should be home again soon! Should probably just buy my own!)
All the hyper picking movements feel the same. The ‘warp speed’ ones in the 20 regions are just more tense and with smaller movements. The muscles being used feel the same though. I don’t think I could slow down the movement much more.
My more regular tempo is still elbow, but it feels different so maybe it’s a different set of muscles, then for slow to medium tempos I go back to wrist again. The three levels of picking Martello was describing sums it up pretty well actually!
Edit: just quickly filmed this. Nothing special but shows my more normal technique
Thanks for the table description, Fry.
@TheCount Do you upward pickslant when playing normal also?
@milehighshred I watched the video again and I understand. My Brachioradialis isn’t very big, or it doesn’t poke out in a flex much. Which is strange because all of the muscles on the top of my forearm (seen below) are huge. I get the spasm going, but it is isolated to the elbow region. It’s not transferring to the hand much at all. Maybe I need to build my Brachioradialis up a little.
I’m usually a two way guy, so yes, I upward slant when I need to. But I can do either slant in normal playing.
It’s also worth pointing out none of my arm muscles are particularly big. I don’t work out (I should though!) I’m a scrawny goth instead Haha! So not sure how much muscle size actually effects it (this is starting to sound a bit dirty! Haha!)
That’s where the movement is supposed to come from - the elbow. Your hand acts as a pivot point, which is why the meaty part of your thumb needs to be on the body of the guitar.
Remember that part of the video where I showed how sloppy I am without an anchor point?
Your hand/wrist is just what allows the pick to be in its proper place while the elbow moves everything super fast.
Yes, I remember. I understand what you are saying in the video. What I was saying is, when I hold my arm out, the spasm is happening in my elbow, but my hand isn’t flapping. It’s feels like when I pull back the wrist to make it happen, that pull back is holding my hand still. The spasm isn’t happening loose wristed. I will experiment with it here and there when I practice. Maybe something will transfer to the hand. Thanks, John
Speaking personally my hand doesn’t move AT ALL to my knowledge. The whole thing is with a locked wrist, the movement comes entirely from my elbow. No part of my arm past that moves at all!
Another camera test. Super dark but I think the angle is pretty good. The bottom two strings aren’t really in shot but I won’t use them for any of the examples I send over anyway. I’ll record some slow motion stuff tomorrow afternoon!
My wrist isn’t THAT loose. Not really loose at all really. It can still pivot though.
This is one reason why I preach the metronome so much. Working up to the point where you must commence the jiggling seems to offer more learned control over what’s happening.
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Well, I hope your are happy to know that you are the reason I am metronoming now. That and the fact that I solo with no regard to the beat most of the time. LMAO
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This is the orientation you want:
In this “landscape” view, you get much more view of the hand / pick, and even some of the forearm. The camera is centered between the G and D strings, and the phone is as close to the fretboard as possible without hitting the strings. The further you pull back from the hand, the wider the view is, and the more wrist / forearm becomes visible, which can be helpful for understand the forearm component.
Edit: I actually did not do a good job centering the camera here! But we do occasionally vary the center point if we know the player will be playing mostly on the upper strings, or the lower ones. That’s playing with fire though, because you never know what someone is going to play. Usually, right down the middle is the best all-purpose framing.
I’m not sure I can actually get a landscape view with the sat nav mount. I’ve been trying for a while but it doesn’t seem to want to go. The spongy bits that hold it in place either cover the camera, or the camera just falls out. Since I’ll probably only play examples on the G string (since the only thing you want to analyse is the hyper picking stuff, that can only be on one string) is the portrait stuff usable at all?
Actually now that I’ve said that, I did manage to get this. Is this anything like what you’re after? Excuse the mood lighting! Ha!
That looks pretty good! Similar to the test shot of Andy. Can you pull farther back or are you constrained by the mount?
The camera is bent maximum, so can’t really get it any further back I’m afraid.
That shot was done portrait I think but with the ‘selfie’ setting on the phone. I tried it with my Dad’s phone but it seems you can’t use the front facing camera with the slow motion setting. Obviously the front camera is more centralised which makes it perfect for getting the right angle.
Aha, gotcha. And there’s some part of the mount that prevents you from going any lower down toward the strings?
We may be able to send you a Magnet for your troubles. You’re in the UK right? What part?