Anyone Else Notice a "Gap" In Your Picking Speed...?

[TSJMajesty]

...that's very much like when you're walking, then transition to running?

I swear I have that same thing trip me up in my alt-picking. If I jump over it, I'm fine, and can pick some 16th-note riffs at about 150bpm. But turn it down to ~90-110 range, and my picking is erratic.

Problem is, my left hand gets sloppy at about 135. So where my right hand is comfortable, my left isn't!

Anyone relate?

 

[the-trooper]

can pick some 16th-note riffs at about 150bpm.

Turn on DAW, display grid if it's off for some reason, record riff you can play at 150 but can't at 100. Record DI so peaks are clearly visible. Compare your precision against the grid.
Report back how it went.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Turn on DAW,... record riff

Um, I don't know how to use a DAW yet.

 

[maguchi]

Um, I don't know how to use a DAW yet.

You can do the same thing with a metronome and record yourself at those 2 speeds using any kind of recorder that you're able to, from tape to digital, and listen for peaks and unevenness by ear if you don't know how to use a DAW. Basically you can find a speed where you do it well and go either up or down in 2 bpm increments working on it to tighten up any gaps in your picking.

 

[TSJMajesty]

find a speed where you do it well and go either up or down in 2 bpm increments working on it to tighten up any gaps in your picking.

That's what I've been doing.

I was just wondering if it's all that common to experience.

 

[the-trooper]

listen for peaks and unevenness by ear

You could, but looking at it in DAW is way better because it accentuates mistakes (use common sense, we're not robots).

I wrote what I wrote because I'm yet to meet someone who claims he can play something faster than he can play the same thing slower, and actually do it.
You can, but the faster version is all mud and timing is all over the place, you just think you can because you can't hear how much you suck

Rule: if you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast.

 

[la szum]

What kind of rhythmic subdivisions are we talking here? I definitely find that even number
subdivisions (4ths, 8ths, 16ths) are easier for me to flow and adapt to than odd number
subdivisions (5s, 7s). Triplets are ubiquitous so those are not so bad for me.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Yes

 

[gonzoknife]

I suffer from this and imho it's simply a lack of control. It's easy to move the pick as fast as possible. That doesn't require a lot of control. Moving it exactly at tempo does.

Play slow and tap your foot with the metronome as you play. Be brutally honest with yourself about your accuracy at a tempo and don't go faster than you can play in time. As your accuracy improves gradually increase the metronome tempo. It may seem slow but be consistent and you'll see improvement.

 

[TSJMajesty]

What kind of rhythmic subdivisions are we talking here? I definitely find that even number
subdivisions (4ths, 8ths, 16ths) are easier for me to flow and adapt to than odd number
subdivisions (5s, 7s). Triplets are ubiquitous so those are not so bad for me.

It mostly doesn't matter, but triplets are harder, since I always place an accent every 3 notes, which means..., well, we know.

And I get the comment about not being able to play it fast if you can't play it slow, but that's simply not 100% true. There are things I can play, clean and accurate, at faster tempos, but if I slow them down to anywhere in this, what I call a 'transition tempo', I lose control.

I think it comes down to: My picking hand is comfortable at certain tempos, and I just need to work on the tempos where I'm not comfortable.

And, not in any way comparing myself to him, but one time even Jordan Rudess, in a video, had trouble playing a fast run at a tempo that was slower than the tempo they play the song at. He and Portnoy joked, "Most people have trouble playing stuff fast. We have trouble playing stuff slow!"

Edit: I found it. Cued up...


And I had the quote wrong, but whatever...

 

[la szum]

I have yet to meet a Drummer that does not hate Ballads with all their might.

Meanwhile, Singers seem to love them.

 

[Eagle]

I do economy picking on almost everything. I didn’t plan it that way, I never thought about it. The problem that has given me is there are some things that don’t flow as easily and I stutter over them. I didn’t even know why I found them difficult for years. I still don’t find strict alternate picking natural and put sweeps in it automatically. I sometimes practice grouping fours fives and sevens together rhythmically to overcome this. I also practice two and four notes per string to guarantee I can’t sweep it.

 

[Eagle]

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These are good to practice.

 

[metropolis_4]

I know exactly what you mean, I think it’s a pretty common thing. I even remember someone talking about it in a lesson or an instruction video somewhere.

There is a breakpoint somewhere where your technique subtly shifts and it’s always a little tricky when you’re playing right at your breakpoint

 

[TSJMajesty]

I know exactly what you mean, I think it’s a pretty common thing. I even remember someone talking about it in a lesson or an instruction video somewhere.

There is a breakpoint somewhere where your technique subtly shifts and it’s always a little tricky when you’re playing right at your breakpoint

Exactly. That's what I'm talking about. (I think. )

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

...that's very much like when you're walking, then transition to running?

I swear I have that same thing trip me up in my alt-picking. If I jump over it, I'm fine, and can pick some 16th-note riffs at about 150bpm. But turn it down to ~90-110 range, and my picking is erratic.

Problem is, my left hand gets sloppy at about 135. So where my right hand is comfortable, my left isn't!

Anyone relate?

Most all of us have that issue

I got a student that is finding out how uncomfortable start stop, off beat phasing and line with a bunch of 1NPS things are.

Fun starts at bar 20
And it's fairly mellow being 120 bpm

Phrasing over G7#9 HW scale

Phrasing over G7#9 HW scale

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