ViciousHead technique feedback

Technique Critique
#1

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I didn’t get back sooner, I’ve had a busy weekend of gigs.

I think a lot of my issues comes from the fact that I feel like I’m doing something “wrong” if I’m not DWPS. It’s hard to explain but I start a lot of my faster lines with upstrokes because I tend to prefer being “inside the string”. When I start anything on a downstroke, I use economy picking to get to the next string. I always wonder if I’m doing it wrong or if there’s some better way to pick. When I do try to use dwps, I wonder if I’m slanting enough etc. It’s so hard to know if you are practicing something properly and not just repeating mistakes.

Sadly, there are no teachers near where I live that are versed in this kind of stuff.

I will post a link to a song from my album if thats ok. This isnt a live take but I played along to track (not miming, we just had no way to capture the audio at the same time). Maybe this will reveal something about my picking that someone here can help with.

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My last hope - Advice needed
#2

I can pick well for the most part but have to take shortcuts like economy picking or legato in certain situations. I feel like I could be doing it more efficiently.

Live work is what bothers me most. My picking is inconsistent, some gigs are great others are mediocre. Tension seems to be a huge part of that and I’m always left wondering if there’s a better way to do all of this more consistently.

#3

I moved these last two posts to “Technique Critique”, using all-powerful forum admin features. Discourse for the win.

Briefly, this looks and sounds great to me, so I’m not sure what the issues might be. You’re using a supinated forearm approach, with an aggressively deviated and extended wrist. In plain English, let’s call this the “Albert Lee” approach. If you check out his interview on the platform, you’ll see the similarity between your setup and his right away. In particular, you should check out the difference between downward pickslanting and crosspicking, because this may explain some of the confusion over unpredictability that you’re experiencing:

https://troygrady.com/interviews/albert-lee/analysis-chapter-4-the-compound-curve/

Watch through to chapters 4, 5, and 6 particularly. It looks like you may already be doing both of these. The two techniques have different capabilities and feels, and what you think of us unpredictable may simply be confusion from not knowing when you’re switching between them.

To get at anything deeper, we’d need a more specific example of something that you think feels incorrect, filmed in a way that we can see what’s going on. Specifically, we’d more of a “straight down the strings” Cracking the Code-style camera angle. Try to choose a very specific example of something that you have trouble with, and that at least somewhat reliably feels ‘wrong’ to you most times when you play it.

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#4

One factor that might be contributing to the feeling of tension you talk about is the amount of bend in the elbow in your picking arm. In addition to the muscular contraction involved in having such an acute bend, that posture also presses the bicep against your forearm, which might lead to a feeling of constriction. However, what you’re doing with your wrist seems adapted to work with your current arm position, so trying for a more relaxed elbow position (e.g. by positioning the guitar lower on your body, or sitting with it resting on your left leg instead of your right) might throw your picking out of whack at first.

But when I tried mimicking what you do with your wrist and the approach angle of your arm, I definitely felt tension right away in my upper arm (which might lead to tension further down as well over the course of a practice session).

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#5

I’ve got a question. Is there anything you’re trying to play you feel is coming out incorrectly?

When you say it’s hard to know if you’re practicing something correctly, I think a good question to ask yourself is if you made the music sound the way you intended.

Lovely people on the internet sometimes tell me the way I pick is “wrong”. Yet, I can play what I want, and make it sound the way I want. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll stick with my “incorrect” style of speed picking.

You certainly pick somewhat different than I would do, and that isn’t necessarily bad. I would feel far too cramped having the guitar positioned the same way you do.

I like what @Troy said in regards to you posting a video of something you have difficulty playing. Is that a possibility?

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#6

I’ve tried lowering the guitar and it was a disaster for my left arm and my right. I started resting the guitar on my left leg during practice a few months ago as a means to making it feel more natural when playing live.

A couple of weeks ago I brought my strap height up a couple of inches and it has gone a long way towards helping me relax. I have paid any attention to this kind of stuff before. I always just assumed people were just physically gifted, and while that’s probably still true, knowing there are systems out there that can make things easier gives me some hope.

I will post some videos in the next few days from a better angle and up closer. Hopefully some of you guys will be able to help me see something else.

I really appreciate the reply.

#7

Yes, I will post some videos in the coming days.

Thanks for your reply. I definitely feel my technique is really odd too.

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#8

Hahahahahaha, Dude you sound great. lmao. Here is my 2 cents:

If you aren’t playing as well live, I would practice standing up in live position. Anytime I practice or prepare for live performance it’s in the standing playing position. Start standing when you have a show coming up. Unless you don’t stand live… Prepare for the show in the same position you are going to perform in.

I’m self taught. The most important thing I kept in mind is this. All joints are most comfortable and relaxed in the CENTER of their movement range. If you have tension or any kind of muscle discomfort, try to adjust your joint posture to the CENTER of the movement range. That is about a 90 degree L for the elbow. Straight Wrist.

I starting out playing with a huge bend in my fret wrist and developed bursitis. I had to change posture to a straighter wrist and it took a while for me to adjust. It was either that or permanently damage my tendons and not be able to play guitar anymore. My fret callouses even had to be remade in a different spot from the position correction.

So if there is tension from the elbow and wrist angle like @Frylock was mentioning, just go ahead and try to correct it man, you’ll get used to it.

And lastly, if it sounds good, it’s good. Don’t obsess about what pick rules are. Does it sound good?

Later
-Hankwie :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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