Would love some advice! I can’t seem to move past 140bm!

Technique Critique
#1

Hey all, I have been desperately trying to figure out why I keep hitting my speed limit at just around 140bpm on a good day. I’ve watched the videos and tried some of the techniques here, but I’m just not sure I’m getting it right…it sure doesn’t feel like it.

I’ve been playing 30+ years and my legato is very strong…I can easily do a clean 220bpm or faster with my legato.
However my speedpicking is very weak and I’m worried I may have developed some bad habits that are going to be very hard for me to break.

I would truly appreciate if you guys would have a look at my videos here and give me any constructive feedback that can help me fix up my speedpicking game. All comments and critiques are welcome!

Links below…regular speed and slow motion.

Regular speed
https://share.icloud.com/photos/01__Gecm63wJBMydFk7KEvGqA
kinda sloppy, but you’ll get the idea

Slow motion
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0AHskdj5RCwY813LtoIaDk6tw
also kinda sloppy, but you’ll get the idea.

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#2

Sounds good I think, looks like it “feels natural” which is a plus. Any particular bad habits that you are concerned about? 2 things that I saw are:

  1. When you use your pinky as a guide / anchor, it looks like you need to take a moment to readjust and move it lower before you can start playing higher strings. This was one of the reasons why I stopped using my pinky as an anchor.

  2. There’s some economy picking in there, which if purposeful, is not a problem. I only bring this up because I used to not strictly alternate pick because I didn’t know better.

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#3

Thanks…the pinky anchor thing has been a major struggle for me.

#4

I was definitely motivated by Paul Gilbert to change it. I had started it when I heard John Petrucci talk about it, but it always felt even a little cumbersome for me (and a little more dependent on things like pickup rings, tune-o-matic makes it feel worse IMO). Seeing Gilbert do crazy string skips at speed without a pinky anchor made me try switching, and after maybe a couple weeks of somewhat “disoriented” feeling picking, it started to feel much better. It helped me to really “over anchor” the wrist, being very deliberate to place my wrist on the body of the guitar and pressing until I felt it was secure (@aliendough this description might help you too).

#5

Hi Jgabra, Mike from England here, I had a loo at your slowmo vid and I think there’s some of the old stringhopping going on there , unless I am very much mistaken. I notice on the downstrokes in particular ( as you ascend a string crossing, so for instance going from string 4 to 3 ) that you extend the wrist so that the pick climbs up and over the 3rd string way higher than it needs to.This movement is very inefficient ( have a look at Troy’s vids on this ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xho69iDSnQ
I suffer the same affliction and am working on it ! Try the table tests. Interestingly , Michael Angelo Batio uses this flexion extension motion ( and noone can accuse him of being slow ! ) though I have tried it and find it horribly jerky. Troy’s got me concentrating on a fast tremelo, and I did manage about 220 bpm or so but only for a beat or 2 ! I look forward to taking that trem and working the correct action into string crossing. Good luck !

#6

Forgot to add that Michael Angelo Batio doesn’t string hop, rather that by changing the set up of his arm and wrist to the strings, he gets to use the flexion-extension motion as the back and forth of his alternate picking