Up - Down picking instead of Down - Up

Playing Technique
#1

Hi,

I’m a big fan of 2 notes per string pentatonic playing. I’ve been playing for more than 15 years. Zakk Wylde was a big influence on me, then thanks to Troy, I’ve been evolving a bit into EJ direction.

I’ve got an awkward problem though, which seems to be my signature. When I do 2 notes per string pentatonic descending runs, I start with up-down instead of down-up. Because of this weird picking, I have to do upward pick slanting where normal players do downwards pick slanting, and vice versa.

@Troy and fellow players. Do you think I should try to fix this? I’ve tried t fix it but i couldn’t manage to do so, since I’ve been practicing like this for more than 15 years. Or should I continue doing what I do, just reversing the slanting directions?

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#2

What problem does it cause?

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#3

As someone who has been having a hard time getting my UWPS mechanic up to the same level as my DWPS then I’d say just to keep it as is.

I’m assuming that you feel equally comfortable in both slant orientations and it doesn’t cause problems for you in your playing.

If you end up playing more 3 nps then I imagine your familiarity with UWPS and DWPS would make it easier to learn 2WPS since the transition between them would be the only new element to learn.

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#4

I’m in the same boat as you, and so are a lot of other players and many of them don’t realize it and have no idea why their playing doesn’t work. So you’re actually in a good position right now! My advice would be to forget the notion of DWPS being “normal” just because a handful of your favourite guys use it. It’ll drive you bonkers and really mess with your self esteem as a player.

If you want to train yourself on DWPS, go for it. But UWPS can be just as useful and I would personally start by learning to do as much as you possibly can with that skill set if it’s already working out for you.

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#5

You have a pretty common problem… only difference between you and EJ is you prefer UWPS over DWPS.
There are plenty of players like that… who like to stick with their comfort position on 2NPS runs. Many times they’ll throw in a hammer-on at the top of circular patterns, rather than switch slants.

Ideally, its best to learn to pick all 4 variations for 2NPS stuff. (Asc Outside, Asc Inside, Desc Outside, Desc Inside. ) But if you don’t feel ‘limited’ by your current strategy… don’t worry about it.

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#6

I play with upws ps exclusively and I really don’t undestand the problem you are describing here. If you feel discouraged because of the way other’s play I think that’s a wrong aproach. As long as it works for you keep it up. The only thing you have to keep in mind is to reverse the picking structure of other dwps players.

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#7

Thanks a lot for the answers guys. It wasn’t before watching Troy’s vids I could realize why I was struggling for certain parts. Now at least I know the problem, and reversing all mechanics seems to help.
The only problem I see with thee approach is: with alternate picking down stroke accentuate notes, therefore in my ascending licks the wrong notes sounds to be accentuated yet it is ok, it creates a distinct sound.

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