this Is a video of my picking →
I need someone to help me figure out why I am having trouble reaching higher speeds
I have incorporated the idea of primary plus secondary motion into my elbow DSX motion and that helped me break my past speed limits but now I have a new speed limit which has bothered me for months now!
Can you post a vid of you just trem picking at your fastest speed? Would help figure out what’s capping it.
Of course here you go – >
So it looks like you have a pretty good trem going, but the secondary motion you’re trying to implement in the first video is not compatible with that primary motion (in my opinion). You seem to go from a very DSX elbow position to a very USX angle (for lack of a better term). You can make this work at lower speeds, but I don’t think it would scale well with faster speeds, as the change in hand position is very drastic.
Thanks for the reply! What can I implement to help with this drastic switch and should I be using a different USX motion for the secondary?
I don’t use DSX elbow as a primary motion so I wouldn’t be the best to ask (hopefully those that do will chime in and give some pointers), but from what I’ve seen and used at times, is swiping and some pull-offs.
Hi @speckcoco, welcome to the forum!
Have you seen this yet? I think it’s what you’re looking for.
The example with Vinnie Moore and MAB should be helpful since they are elbow players (though MAB is ambiguous at times). It’s a really subtle wrist or forearm rotation that can help you get the USX just in the places where you need it.
It looks like you already have the start of this going. Maybe you need to concentrate on phrases that stay on just 2 strings to help zero in on it.
Hope that helps, good luck, and again, welcome!
I would say the switch looks too drastic!
Typically a DSX elbow motion has quite a shallow escape path so in theory it shouldn’t require too much rotation to produce an USX motion. I’d echo what Joe suggests and say to try experiment with a more subtle wrist/forearm rotation until you find what works for you 
Here’s a video of Vinnie Moore with a somewhat side on view to try and demonstrate what I mean:
Also the interview with Brendon Small on the site may be worth a watch!
Thanks everyone for the replies!!!
I will try to hone in to this idea of making my movements more shallow because this is the most natural alteranate picking technique to me. I have tried wrist and forarm picking and I only go snail speeds with those for some reason. Also thanks for the article and video suggestions Ill make sure to look at those too.
Cool. Not sure what type of access you have but there is also a really good interview on here with Bill Hall.
He’s primarily an elbow player but he has some other motions as well that he uses when needed.
Having elbow engagement is perfectly fine imo. I think you should try bursts of speed in between moderately slow reps. Find the speed where things start to fall apart a little playing 16th notes. Start by playing 8th notes at that tempo to feel it out. Start adding bursts of 16ths occasionally. I also think you should use smaller chunks of patterns to isolate the problem areas. Such as taking the traditional “Paul Gilbert Lick” and turning it into only 4 notes:
--------------9------------9
—9-10-12—9-10-12
4 notes means you will reset on each grouping. Once you feel good with that start the lick on the top note and do the same thing. This will be much more difficult because it will start with the string cross but it will also isolate the problem area. Once this one feels comfortable try combining the two. It’s easier to chunk in smaller groups and easier to play them to the click to find out what speed feels wobbly, which is where you’ll need to live for while.
Like the others pointed out, the problem seems to be the very drastic change between two wildly different hand/arm setups in the middle of a phrase.
Paradoxically, it is your good theoretical understanding of secondary motion that’s holding you back
You should be able to access an upstroke (or double escape) with very little modification of your “primary” setup.
Since your primary DSX motion is already great, the recommendation here would be to try some phrases that have a lot of DSX string changes and only a couple of isolated upstroke changes here and there. Just try to go for it and play them fast from your primary setup, without doing these big shifts in harm position. You may surprise yourself
Thanks for reinforcing these new ideas while simultainiously clearing them up. I have already incorporated this idea a few days ago and I have already seen instant benefits!
Quick update I really shortened my elbow movements and I can tremolo noticebly faster now!