TWPS Pentatonic 4s (2 notes per string)

Playing Technique
#1

Hi there,

New to the forum and the site! Just wondering if you are trying to do TWPS on a pentatonic 4s, where does the change from DWPS to UWPS occur? For example, if you start on a down stroke on high e. and you go (e) 8 - 5 (b) 8 - 5, are you hitting the 5 on the B-string with an upstroke DWPS and then changing the pick to an upward slant in the air before you hit the 5 on the e-string? Or is TWPS not used for this type of pattern? Any help would be much appreciated!

#2

That’s something I wondered aswell (I work on the Antigravity material at the moment and hope to be enlightened). With 3+ notes on one string, I try to gradually shift the slant. But with 2 notes and TWPS, I’m lost.

EDIT: The problem occurs when lines like the one you posted are embedded in longer licks which make the slant necessary. Strictly playing 2 notes per string wouldn’t require TWPS, if I’m correct.

#3

You could reconfigure the lick to stay in 1 slant - switching between pentatonic shapes.
So in your example, you would do something like
8-5 on both e and b strings
shift down and play 5-3 on e and B strings
shift up to 8-5 on the B string and continue in that fashion.

If you started an octave higher, you could stay on the e and b strings and go down the shapes.

Make any sense?

#4

Ya that actually makes sense, thank you!

#5

I posted something similar about this today also haha. If I’m doing the 2NPS, I’m personally gonna do

   U  D   D U      then position shift up one box   D U UD

e|-------------- 5 8
B| —5 8

Edit: I’m mainly a downward pickslanter so when I do slant upwards, it feels pretty severe but it does work better. But I’ve been using a small mirror on my desk (that I usually use to prevent looking down at my guitar for long practice sessions) to double check my upward slant angle, my thinking is that since it feels solid on the way down, I want around the same angle for the upward slant.

I’m not sure why I don’t see that many people doing this technique. The mindset makes perfect sense to me and seems simpler and more flexible than breaking up the scale with a repeating “3NPS followed by a single note” to get around the pentatonic scale. Maybe that’s just me though. The TWPS does seem to be just a little bit difficult to really reign in imo, I would think it would be well worth it though

Edit edit: I did a little bit of it at the end of this video I posted on the feedback forum

#6

Thanks for the reply Matt! Yeah it just seems quite inefficient to keep having to switch boxes like that, so ideally I would like to avoid playing the run like that. So I’ve been trying to get it down going (e) 8-5 (b) 8-5, (e) 5 (b) 8-5 (g) 7, (b) 8-5 (g) 7-5, etc. But I’m not having much luck speeding it up with two way pick slanting, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of people do that sort of lick using two way pick slanting. Maybe switching the pick slant in the air is just inefficient.

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#7

Also, I like the playing at the end of that vid, sounds nice

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#8

thanks man! I’ve worked on those 4’s before. but I changed my answer after looking at this vid.

So with that example you used - I would upward slant, then go - DUUD, UP UDU then repeat it. That’s probably the Gambale way

If you’re not crazy about that up, then really your only other option without changing your box is to alternate pick the last 4 notes. That’s what I used to do but I think the Gambale way is better

I’m running out the door but EG has some crazy economy licks in here

#9

Okay awesome man, I’ll check out that gamble video. Trying to be more flexible with the various picking techniques. And wow never heard of Eric Gales before, but this guy is great! Love how he’s all blues but gets those fast runs in there, that’s exactly what I want to do. Also the vibrato is wicked, would love to get mine that fast.

#10

Eric Gales is crazy! He’s the talk of the town in the blues community. Also side note, I dont remember exactly where, but if you look at the Gambale video Pt. 3, he talks about exactly this, the economy, 2NPS sequences of 4.

#11

What sort of speed are you looking to achieve?

Switching slants ia all I can do with this and I’m trying to incorporate DBX motions…

#12

Here’s a TWPSlanter for ya. It looks efficient to me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEK3BaZHmf4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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