Had to rework picking technique from scratch, running into obstacles

Description

I've been playing guitar for about 26 years, mostly thrash and death metal, and had fallen into the habit of locking my picking wrist and using elbow motion for everything. In terms of pick angle, I almost exclusively would angle the tip toward the floor, so string changes were easier after a downpick. A few years back, I developed tendonitis in my picking arm due to my crappy playing method, and have been reworking my picking technique since then. I'm running into some problems. I still angle the pick tip toward the floor, which is most comfortable for me. My inner forearm is generally flat against the guitar body, with my pivot point being the bone on the inside of the wrist nearest the thumb. I mostly use my wrist, but end up incorporating increasing elbow movement at higher speeds. Regardless, this is largely working fine for me, and I can get good speeds with decent accuracy on the low strings, and with no elbow pain. However, when I start playing higher strings, that anchoring and pivot point no longer work, since the height of the bridge/strings means that the arc of my pick no longer reaches the strings. I end up twisting my forearm to account for this and to anchor some fingers against the guitar body, which throws the whole thing off. Picking becomes stilted and follows more of a curved arc than a straight line. Secondly, and probably related, I'm having trouble with two-note-per-string lines. Due to my picking angle, I generally start these with an up-pick so that I'm free to change strings after every other note. However, I start to lose proper rhythm at higher speeds, and things start to feel like they're almost in a swing pattern. I've spent the last three years trying out different picking positions and am finally at the point where I need to admit that I've hit a ceiling. What can you all recommend to help me push past this barrier? Thanks in advance for the help.

Lesson Category

Upward Pickslanting

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Status

Closed on Aug 19, 2025 11:30 PM

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