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Alternate picking problem.

Nuk Longk

New Student
Nov 11, 2019
1
0
Hi, I've been playing for almost 10 years. I practice everyday for about 30mins to 1 hour. I was able to play alternate picking at some medium tempo but there used to so much string noises (hitting extra strings while switching), so I changed my picking grip and position. If I were to play on a single string, I can play up to a speed of 150BPM but when I play on multiple strings using alternate picking technique, my picking speed reduces to about 100BPM. Can anyone help me with this? What could be my problem.
 

Awex Came

Campfire Attention Holder
Legend
May 23, 2021
239
1
736
Hi, I've been playing for almost 10 years. I practice everyday for about 30mins to 1 hour. I was able to play alternate picking at some medium tempo but there used to so much string noises (hitting extra strings while switching), so I changed my picking grip and position. If I were to play on a single string, I can play up to a speed of 150BPM but when I play on multiple strings using alternate picking technique, my picking speed reduces to about 100BPM. Can anyone help me with this? What could be my problem.
I've been playing for almost 15 years and will still get tripped up every now and again when crossing strings and alternative picking. But that's because I don't practice as much as I should lol.

First, I would try small things like what size pick you're using, and the shape. Some people like Jazz III for fast stuff, I personally have been using the Dunlop sharp picks lately. But experimenting with gauge and shape is a decent place to start.

Second, look into Economy picking. This is the secret to a lot of shred. I'm not going to get into what it is in detail on here, there's lessons about it on the site and other places. But that'll help you go much faster when changing strings.
 

Calvin Phillips

Music Theory Bragger
Nov 11, 2019
2,588
1,988
Hi, I've been playing for almost 10 years. I practice everyday for about 30mins to 1 hour. I was able to play alternate picking at some medium tempo but there used to so much string noises (hitting extra strings while switching), so I changed my picking grip and position. If I were to play on a single string, I can play up to a speed of 150BPM but when I play on multiple strings using alternate picking technique, my picking speed reduces to about 100BPM. Can anyone help me with this? What could be my problem.
I was this when the school started 3 years ago. I suggest just slowing the tempo and picking it as single.notes before attempting triplets. Economy picking will also be easier if you switch strings.
 
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Jason Dunbar

Local Dive Bar Favorite
  • Apr 18, 2021
    31
    112
    Seattle
    18
    Try paying attention to the angle of your pick. It can get stuck down between the strings when switching which makes it next to impossible to gain speed. If you slant your pick up or down, you can make sure the pick is up above the strings when it's time to switch. Troy Grady's Cracking the Code series on YouTube really helped me with this.
     
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