Has anyone had to work really hard at picking on the bass strings? More specifically the 2 lowest strings?
Is it actually harder, or ist it just in my head? Is it purely the fact that the wound strings are bigger thus harder to pick through?
I’m using 2WPS, I suppose that this problem isn’t attributed to any particular mechanic. I have tried adjusting edge picking, played harder and softer, but it is very inconsistent.
I’m trying to get this lick up to speed - this is one of the few times it actually went okay (albeit at around 80% tempo of the piece), but if I push it any further it falls down on the lower strings. I’ll see if I can record a fail video tonight with a better angle on the picking hand.
I’m no expert but i think I see what’s happening…,or more accurately not happening.
Your forearm seems to be anchored to the upper bout of the guitar and when you move to the lower strings your not allowing it to slide backwards. As a result I believe your wrist/forearm is making a backwards (toward your body) rotation and it is changing your pick angle to an exaggerated uwps stance.
Allow your forearm to physically move along the guitar as you track to the lower strings and see if that feels more comfortable.
Many thanks! It has been a lot of hard work, which is now starting to paying off and getting a MAB lick up to tempo would be a massive milestone. I have been trying to get my picking sorted for such a long time and I’m starting to get desperate!!!
This is right on. This is one of the main reasons things can sometimes “feel different” on lower strings versus higher ones.
However I wouldn’t say exaggerated, though, since nothing about @PickingApprentice’s form is particularly extreme. Nor is the amount of radial deviation that happens on the low strings as a result of this tracking issue strictly prohibitive, so much as simply different from what you may be doing on the upper strings. Look at Molly Tuttle or David Grier, and you’ll see they play with a radial offset (i.e. “thumbward wrist bend”) all the time.
But if it’s enough to throw you, then sure, some elbow or arm tracking is in order. Generally speaking, most players use a combination of arm/elbow tracking and wrist tracking to traverse the strings. It’s usually wrist for smaller distances, like two- and three-string repeating patterns, and some amount of arm creeps in when you have to go farther.
For simplicty, just relocate a little higher, maybe an inch or so, and try two-string patterns on the low strings. If things feel more natural, then there you go.
Hi Troy, thanks for the input. Do you mean to relocate on general setup and maintain my current movements? Or do you mean relocate as part of the string tracking movement when approaching the lower strings?
Also, by ‘higher’, do you mean vertically from the floor, rightangle from the strings or by pulling my arm backward as suggested by @Gtrjunior. I suppose any could work?
I just mean, instead of trying to play a six-string line where you have to track while you’re playing, a simpler test would be just to slide the whole setup an inch or so up the body and try just a two-string pattern on the bass strings. If it feels better because your wrist is no longer deviated, or deviated less, then you know that’s your solution. You just have to figure out how to do it while playing.
You can check out Teemu’s interview in the examples where plays the sixes patterns. For example:
