Tremelo picking, advice would be great

[Jesse_Jordan]

21 January 2021

Hi all hope that links ok.

Any advice would be welcomed. As you can see not too fast or smooth.

I’m experimenting with various techniques but this is pretty much how I pick as normal.

I’ve noticed since I started really focusing on practicing tremelo picking every day I’ve had some pain in my wrist in line with the outside of my pinky which I suspect indicates problems with my technique, perhaps an over reliance on deviation rather than flexion or perhaps something else I can be advised on.

Many thanks in advance.

[tommo]

Hey Jesse thanks for filming and great work so far! This is a good starting point

@Jesse_Jordan

I’ve noticed since I started really focusing on practicing tremelo picking every day I’ve had some pain in my wrist in line with the outside of my pinky which I suspect indicates problems with my technique, perhaps an over reliance on deviation rather than flexion or perhaps something else I can be advised on.

We are not doctors in here but an obvious advice is to avoid stuff that hurts So maybe let the “wrist picking” rest for a few days and try something different, like keeping the wrist still and using the elbow joint to generate the motion.

Few comments that maybe help:

• don’t think of tremolo as something you have to “practice” for long period of time. It’s just a test that you can do for a few seconds every now and then, to make sure the motion you are using has the potential to go fast. Did you do a lot of this for long periods?

• maybe one of the reasons why you don’t feel smooth, apart from the fact that the movement may be new to you, could be the low edge picking. This lesson in particular may be of interest to you. You’ll see that Kim makes 2 attempts at tremolo, the first one with a very flat pick that gets quite stuck on the strings, the second one has more edge and the pick slides on the string more easily:

https://troygrady.com/primer/testing-your-motions/chapter-8-beginner-tremolo/

EDIT: notice how she also changed the pick grip between takes 1 and 2, another variable you can experiment with.

Let us know how it goes

[gotmixes]

@tommo

We are not doctors in here but an obvious advice is to avoid stuff that hurts

Reminds me of the old one-liner: “So I went to the doctor and said, ‘Doc, every time I lift my arm over my head, it hurts.’ He said, ‘Well then, don’t do that!’”

I’m really not the expert in this department. Maybe I’ll just second what was said before about checking out the other motions. For me, the elbow one was always pretty easy, at least for the single string tremolo.

Are you using some tension isometrically (in opposite directions) to stabilize things or keep your motions small and controlled? Somehow I get the feeling that you locate the pick stroke and then clamp down. I could be wrong about this. If that’s true and Tommo is right about the edge picking, what you could be doing is using pick resistance as a “brake” to keep your motion small and then using tension to set boundaries on the outer travel of the motion. That means the whole thing is a balancing act, depending on how much the pick grabs the string on a given stroke, and you’re stuck micromanaging it, which makes you tense up more or slow down to be more deliberate with each stroke. I think it’s more a matter of finding a fluid motion (even away from the guitar) and bringing that to the guitar, and then refining excess travel or whatever (sort of using “loose, fast and wild” as a starting point). I see a lot on this board about finding the most natural one first, developing that to get a feel for speed, and then working in the other motions.

[Dissonant_Timbres]

1. Trem pick with the loosest grip that still has control of the pick and string changes.
2. Don’t death grip the pick or lock your wrist tight this is how pain occurs. don’t tense your shoulder or elbow either.
3. Mix in a bit of finger with wrist picking this is how you get endurance so you can do the black metal-esque endless trem picking.
4. Focus on making the notes even and the timing as well so you can pulse the trem picking in time. (mandolin players are a great inspiration for this.)
5. Remember trem picking is our “bowing” the musical goal is a fluid sustained sound where it creates the illusion of one long note. Just as an orchestral string player would bow fast or slow, fast pulsing vs slow pulsing trem picking create different effects and colors.

[Rot]

@Dissonant_Timbres

• Trem pick with the loosest grip that still has control of the pick and string changes.
• Don’t death grip the pick or lock your wrist tight this is how pain occurs. don’t tense your shoulder or elbow either.
• Mix in a bit of finger with wrist picking this is how you get endurance so you can do the black metal-esque endless trem picking.
• Focus on making the notes even and the timing as well so you can pulse the trem picking in time. (mandolin players are a great inspiration for this.)

THIS <3

Meanwhile look at this:

tremolo example

I intentionally chose octave instead of single note as to exaggerate the movement.
Notice the bend in wrist.
Make your forearm rotate rather than using pendulum motion. It will be much faster and less exhausting.