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Alternate Picking Overview – Lesson 73

Dominik Gräber

Hot Topic Tourer
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  • Nov 11, 2019
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    i cant figure out how to move the pick yet, when im going at fast speeds like 110 bpm with sixteenths, i feel a loot of tension in my forearms and biceps, i don't know what im doing wrong, or maybe its because i don't have resistence to play at that speed yet
    It May be because you are trying too hard to Play at high speed. I have that a Lot and for me it usually means I have to Go Back and practice whatever it is slower First. I think once you gained that Speed, muscle memory and right movement you'll fly over the Strings with ease
     
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    Pieris

    Music Theory Bragger
    Mar 20, 2020
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    Well my speed is really satisfying for me and i believe i play pretty fast but i think when i play fast i also move my forearm. For me this is not a problem but as he said it is not right but i dont know how to achieve the right techinch. Any help??
     

    floul

    One Stringer
    Apr 27, 2020
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    I kind of have two ways for alternate picking:
    1st: with my wrist, my palm sits in the bridge, my forearm is still. Most of my movement is with my wrist. I am not really fast wit this one
    2nd: my palm does not sit on the bridge. It kind of brushes over it. Most of my movement comes from the forearm. I can get really fast with it but it doesnt feel relaxed or precise.

    I don't think any of those two is correct technique. Do I need to combine them or even create a smooth transition?
     

    Barricade

    Free Bird Player
    Aug 12, 2020
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    Hello,
    I'm trying to achieve this lesson but I'm not quiet sure if I have to put the palm of my hand on the bridge or not while going high speed?
    I usually tend to do it as it help mute the upper strings when I'm playing lower strings.
    Thank you!
     

    Rad Synner

    Sold-out Crowd Surfer
    Staff member
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  • Nov 11, 2019
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    In my exercises I have noticed that I am faster and cleaner when attacking the strings closer to the bridge, since the strings are more stable in that area. Is this a bad habit or is it valid? (excuse the bad english)
    I mean, as long as your hand is not in a weird position and you dont feel that it hurts you should be fine! A lot of people are picking in different ways so the key here is really about how your hand feels. As for picking, well yes, depending on where you pick, your sound will be different. The only thing I would add is that you would have to adapt when doing palm mutting as you will have to readjust your picking hands to leave space for the palm. If you are comfortable with switching in between those position in a fast way then you should be fine. But yeah in the end I would say its really about how you feel overall.
     
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    MjPlaysGuitar

    Garage band Groupie
    Sep 4, 2020
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    i cant figure out how to move the pick yet, when im going at fast speeds like 110 bpm with sixteenths, i feel a loot of tension in my forearms and biceps, i don't know what im doing wrong, or maybe its because i don't have resistence to play at that speed yet
    It's most likely because you are picking with your whole arm, try rotating just your wrist to pick.
     

    m1ke745

    New Student
    Apr 20, 2020
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    Tilting my pick and aligning it to my elbow made such a difference. I feel less resistance because there is less contact to the string as opposed to keeping the pick parallel to the string. This helped me get faster with the arpeggios. I won't be skipping videos any longer. The wrist rotation habit is so hard to get rid of, be patient. It's like learning to play all over again, seriously!
     
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