Is it just a matter of repeating the phrase over and over until the last note on the top string in the case of - for example Descending Sixes (DU**D**-ROTATE-UDU) - sounds out clearly? I can’t think of a real way to target it and it seems like repetition at a comfortable speed with proper volume is the only way to go. Is it just one of those things that disappears over time?
A “push” is a term I came up with to describe when the pick doesn’t actually play a note, but just presses against the string. This isn’t always the cause of notes not sounding. Sometimes it’s the fretting finger lifting. Sometimes it’s the pick escaping over the top of the string without hitting it. Sometimes it’s the pick not really making a pickstroke on that note at all. The only way to know exactly what is going on is to film yourself up close.
I don’t know if there is some specific technique to address this. I suppose it would depend on why this is happening. I haven’t experienced this with repeating scale fragment type patterns. You could try barring the left hand to rule out fretting issues as the cause. Or you could try Teemu’s “hands separate” approach, where he mutes all the strings with the left hand and plays pickstrokes with the right hand. I personally never did that, but he says he gets good results that way.
Whatever you do, don’t spend hours repeating something that’s not working. If you’re not changing what you’re doing, you’re just burning in the wrong-ness!
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Thanks for the advice. I did film myself in slo-mo up close and found that there was an inconsistency in hitting the the last note of the high E string. I would either bounce off the high E and then perfectly hit the next three notes on the B string, or not hit the high E at all and kind of “ghost” it, but still hit the next three on the B just fine.
It’s funny, I’ve noticed over the past few days that every once in a while I will hear that final note on the high E. Sometimes things get cleaner over time? I’ve had this happen before.
The first thing I would try is heavily accenting the missed note.
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