Another guitar advice thread...

[ratsapprentice]

So basically, I've been having trouble improving my trem picking, so I've tried slowing shit down to get my technique better rather than just playing as fast as I can.
I' having difficulty playing palm muted straight sixteenths evenly at slow tempos (100bpm-ish) without tensing up. I'm using 11-54's tuned to D standard, will tuning lower with that gauge or dropping the gauge a little be a good idea?

 

[AdamG94]

Maybe changing the tuning/string gauge will help a bit because of the lower tension, but in my opinion the best thing you can do is go and buy John Petrucci's Rock Discipline. That book improved my playing (specifically my picking) so much, I don't think I can recommend it enough.

Also a change in practice routine (or making a practice routine) focused on several aspects of picking would help, not just tremolo/alternate picking, since I find that when I'm going no-where with a particular aspect of my playing practicing another area and coming back to the skill you want improving yields benefits, as always though YMMV.

 

[Brandon E.]

No don't lower the tension. I think it's better to learn your picking technique on tight strings...it's harder, which is a good thing. Just keep it up

 

[Mm1066]

I know this might seem like lame advice, but if you are tensing at a tempo like 100BPM, you should try to find a tempo where you aren't tensing and then practice to that tempo using a metronome. Once you can manage that without the tension you can begin to nudge the tempo ever so slightly.

 

[Zack Uidl]

Practice building endurance at 80-90% of your max speed. Then work your way up. This allows you to focus on relaxing while not slowing things down too much. Endurance and relaxation are key to building speed

 

[ratsapprentice]

Cheers guys.
It's not working my way up to 100bpm , I can trem pick around 200bpm pretty comfortably.
I know it sounds retarded, but I sound like I've only just picked up an instrument for the first time when I try and play slowly.

 

[Mm1066]

Well, as my teachers say if you can't play something slowly you can't play it at all

 

[Zack Uidl]

In many cases, playing something slowly is actually more difficult than playing quickly. One of the reasons my colleagues, professors and I make our students gain control at various tempos and not just at the target tempo. You problem is more about confidence and control than it is technique. Basically, it is more of a mental issue than a technical issue.

You just are having a hard time internalizing and feeling a rhythm. Something that many, many people struggle with.

Email me and I can help you out more. It is hard to know exactly what to "prescribe" without knowing more. I would love to help you out more...

 

[jipchen]

In many cases, playing something slowly is actually more difficult than playing slowly.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Next level Inception guitar skillz

 

[Zack Uidl]

^Haha, exactly.

Sorry about the typo, I was typing really fast. I will edit that now.

Got your email too and will reply shortly.

 

[Uros]

^^try typing it at 80-90% of your typing speed, than build up from there

 

[Zack Uidl]

hahaha, you guys crack me up! lol.

 

[The Unavoidable]

I stepped up my trem picking alot by just writing songs with alot of 16th note patterns in a speed that's just a bit lower than my max tempo. Say my top speed is 180, then I'll write a song in 160/170 and just play it over and over.

So yeah, start short of your max tempo and do it until it becomes comfortable.

 

[guitarguru777]

Best advice given so far ..... Cant play it slow then no way you are going to play it fast. Playing guitar is simply muscle memory. You need to train you muscles to be able to play at that speed. Start slow, VERy slow and work your way up to tempo

 

[Rhys Llewellyn]

In many cases, playing something slowly is actually more difficult than playing quickly. One of the reasons my colleagues, professors and I make our students gain control at various tempos and not just at the target tempo. You problem is more about confidence and control than it is technique. Basically, it is more of a mental issue than a technical issue.

You just are having a hard time internalizing and feeling a rhythm. Something that many, many people struggle with.

Email me and I can help you out more. It is hard to know exactly what to "prescribe" without knowing more. I would love to help you out more...

In many cases?

I can't think of a single case where playing something slower on a guitar is harder than playing it fast.

 

[Zack Uidl]

This would be a huge pain to explain here with typing, but yes, it is true. There are definitely situations where people, especially with consistency issues, struggle more playing slowly rather than faster. I am swamped at the moment (student from Lebanon and Rhode Island in from out of town at the moment). If I end up getting time soon, I will try and explain in more detail.

 

[Rhys Llewellyn]

This would be a huge pain to explain here with typing, but yes, it is true. There are definitely situations where people, especially with consistency issues, struggle more playing slowly rather than faster. I am swamped at the moment (student from Lebanon and Rhode Island in from out of town at the moment). If I end up getting time soon, I will try and explain in more detail.

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything

I don't think you could convince me otherwise with a 20,000 word thesis on it though.

If a guitarist struggles with consistency, then he's only going to suck even more playing at a faster speed.

As the great John Petrucci put it... "Speed is just a by-product of accuracy".

 

[xFkx]

I think I know what Zack means

if you've trained properly since day 1, obviously playing something slower is easier

But i've seen countless guitarists (not excluding myself) tense up when they play fast, and it's the only way they can play so. If you slow down and try to play in a relaxed and controlled manner it all falls apart

 

[Rhys Llewellyn]

I think I know what Zack means

if you've trained properly since day 1, obviously playing something slower is easier

But i've seen countless guitarists (not excluding myself) tense up when they play fast, and it's the only way they can play so. If you slow down and try to play in a relaxed and controlled manner it all falls apart

I definitely used to suffer from what I call "Master of Puppets syndrome" where constant downstrokes at a tempo slightly over what most people would find comfortable used to make my picking arm tense up. If I slowed it down, my arm wouldn't tense up though, so yeah, I still can't see the point. Surely it's only the speed that makes your arm tense up?

That said, if your arm is tensing up from tremolo picking, as per the original post, then you're doing it very wrong. I can understand downstrokes, but alternate picking should come from the wrist and requires very little effort if done correctly.