Experimenting with a conventional pick grip and pronated forearm postion, resulting in DSX picking. The opposite of before (Supinated forearm, trailing edge picking.) I feel the sixteenths here in groups of eight notes (-two beats). I think this is steadier than when I made my first Unlocking the Tremolo video submission. The other way----Supinated forearm----FEELS much faster but I'm not sure it really is. That might be an illusion,

Uploaded: Dec 19, 2022 11:04 PM

The reverse of what I've been doing. On an acoustic guitar. I like the definition and muting. (Hate the squeak: this is why I put flatwounds on my electric guitars!)

Uploaded: Dec 16, 2022 8:30 PM

Two things. First an exercise from the Chris Brooks book "Alternate Picking Guitar Technique." This is four measures of sixteenth notes. I can play parts fast but not all parts together fast. One reason this is here is so that NEXT time you hear me play it, you should be able to say, "Ah, that's so much better!" ;o) Second, a shorter exercise from the same book, a simple ascending pattern. This crosses all six strings and is pretty fast. Not blazing but pretty danged fast for me. I switched back to my Telecaster (-to avoid the hitting-the-volume-knob issue I was having w my PRS SE Custom) and am making slight adjustments with hand position and also pick position. Right hand muting seems out the window with this approach. That worries me. But one thing at a time, right? ;o)

Uploaded: Dec 13, 2022 5:58 PM

Another video requested by Tommo. I have an issue with the volume knob on this guitar. (I accidentally turn it down while playing fast on the high E string.) Tommo was wondering if my hand now tends to recoil from the volume knob. This is why he wanted me to play on a guitar without a volume knob so close to the high E string. (I used an acoustic. See the "Acoustic 5-6-7" video.)

Uploaded: Nov 30, 2022 5:13 PM

Tommo requested a video of me playing this pattern on a guitar without a volume knob where the one is on my PRS guitar. Don't play this guitar much, and usually just to strum and sing. Take this very slow up and back.

Uploaded: Nov 30, 2022 5:07 PM

I've been working on this lick and am getting better at it, but I don't feel quite "there" yet. I repeat the notes on the B and high E strings a few times because that was the original trouble spot. Mainly, I think, due to the fingering, not the picking. Question: is this pick angle too steep? I think there is too much tension in my left (fretting) hand. I press down too hard on the strings. I've become mindful of this and the more I relax, the more fluid my playing becomes. I'm working on some licks and patterns designed for downward escape picking. By the way, I tried to switch to upward escape picking (or downward pickslanting) for an exercise I got from "Uncle" Ben Eller that uses DSX for a while and then switches to USX. I switched to a standard pick grip for the USX part and realized that I was doing DSX that way too! (That way is my default for rhythm playing.) No fricking wonder I've struggled so long----I was (mainly) an upward pickslanter all along but never realized it or knew what followed from that. Doh!

Uploaded: Nov 18, 2022 6:40 PM

I slightly changed my wrist position. It seems to make me more consistent. (With one caveat we'll come back to later.) The wrist motion is less of the hammering-a-nail motion and more beckoning someone to "come here." Or, when you're directing someone who is backing into a parking place that they still have room to come back. But not that exaggerated. Still having some trouble on the high E string (-hitting the volume knob and turning it down.). Tommo has suggested three ways to deal with that and I'll see which one works best for me. I think this is better than before. One concern I have is that it lacks punch. (It doesn't help that I keep accidentally killing the volume.) I guess it's hard to be smooth and punchy at the same time. At least, it is for me. For now, I care more about fast, fluid playing than dynamics. I want to get my grip together and solid before adjusting it to it.

Uploaded: Nov 4, 2022 11:46 PM

Troy pointed out the garage spikes problem in my "No Thumb Contact" video. Although I have much to work on, garage spikes are the sole focus here. The tremolo section sounds smoother than my last video, so I think improvement has been made. Also, there seems to be less inaccuracy of upstrokes (--carrying through the lower adjacent string). Two things I've noticed (-problems for another day but worth mentioning): 1) right hand muting is difficult (okay, practically impossible) with this hand position, and 2) when I play on the high E string, I often accidentally turn down the volume knob. Doh! I'll have to improve my left-hand muting. I tried several grip adjustments and this one seemed to produce the best result. It's tricky keeping the pick point spot on----too much variation and I'm back to the garage! ;o)

Uploaded: Nov 1, 2022 7:58 PM

In response to Troy's comments on my previous video. The mission: STOP touching the picked string with the side of my thumb. The method: something like Benson picking (as I worked on it a few years back.) Key features distinguishing this from my last video: 1) Supinated forearm; 2) "Banana" thumb (fully extended as when making the thumbs-up sign) 3) Pad-to-pad grip (near the tip of the index) I believe this is the fastest, smoothest picking motion I can attain. However, I detect three areas of concern. 1) Some upstrokes sometimes carry through the next-lower string, making an undesirable sound. 2) Initial strokes sometimes "catch" on the strings, making an undesirable sound. 3) I don't know if I can play this way slow----it seems to be 'full tilt and nothing but.' (There's no tension in playing this way but there's no sense of control, either. Perhaps that would come with sustained practice.) Question: Although this solves the problem of touching the picked string with the side of my thumb, is it creating more (other) trouble than it's worth? Do I work on this or ditch it?????

Uploaded: Oct 26, 2022 6:22 PM

Moving on from "Unlocking the Tremolo". I play on frets 5-6-7-8 of the G, B, and high E strings. I think of the rhythm as constant 16ths, but I divide the playing into groups of 4 notes, 2 notes, and 1 note. The goal is to maintain speed. The hardest part is the one-pickstroke-per-note section on each string. The high E string seems the most inconsistent. (The B string seems the smoothest.) But it is much better than it was a week ago. ;o) This isn't finished but I want to submit now in case I have somehow gone astray. As you suggested, I play some three-notes-per-string patterns, but they are nowhere near as fast as these. I have to work on getting triplets faster. As for licks, I'm working on a few Al di Meola and Strunz & Farrah licks found on this site. But they are not fast yet either. I'm making subtle adjustments to my pick grip. (Not the grip really but WHERE I grip the pick.) I'm trying to keep it from moving around at all. I want it steady and even in both directions. Sometimes it seems fine but other times it's choppy. Damn it! ;o)

Uploaded: Oct 22, 2022 8:01 PM

A follow-up video for Tommo. The goal was to create a pocket of air between the thumb and the strings so that the strings weren't muted by the thumb. (This was a problem with my previous video).

Uploaded: Oct 15, 2022 2:17 PM

Follow up video for Tommaso Tufarelli. He wanted me to push the tremolo, to increase the tempo.

Uploaded: Oct 12, 2022 8:31 PM

The past few days I've focused on DSX picking and everything feels better when I start with an upstroke. I don't know if this is faster than the video from 2 days ago, but it sure feels better, much more relaxed, and I feel I could do this for a longer time. I think I'm on the right path. ;o)

Uploaded: Oct 8, 2022 1:25 PM

Tremolo on the note C, played at 5th fret of the G string. Older player (turn 64 tomorrow) who focuses on songwriting but is frustrated with lack of success at playing fast. Inconsistency is a killer, but I can't figure out the cause of it. I've tried books, videos, pestering better players, different picks and grips, but nothing yields the smooth consistency I crave. It seems to me now that DSX + UWPS is the way forward for me, but I can't tell if what I THINK I'm doing is what I'm ACTUALLY doing. Please help! ;o)

Uploaded: Oct 6, 2022 2:34 PM