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Posted by: Patrik Berg Dec 6 2011, 02:03 AM

 IMG_0509.MOV ( 34.05MB ) : 220
any advise on how to relax your picking hand while doing alt picking or any kind of picking would be great, I just videoed myself playing Muris Varijics Alternate Workout, I can only manage 80% speed atm moment as I only learnt it yesterday but at the end of it my right hand is all cramped up

Posted by: Nihilist1 Dec 6 2011, 07:52 AM

Oh man. We have been tackling this one a lot on the forums recently, and I have personally been fighting this issue. So far, Stylus Picks have helped me, but I have a couple questions for you.

#1: Do you stretch and warm-up before you play? If not start doing so, immediately.
#2: What muscle group are you primarily using when you Alternate Pick? Use only your wrist and/or fingers.
#3: Are you breathing when you AP(Alternate Pick) at higher speeds? If not, this could contribute to a lot of tension. Trust me on this.

The only other advice I can think of, is to tell you to slow back down. I know it sucks not being able to play fast, but take your speed advancement slowly, and you won't have to worry about any muscle/tension problems in the future. Also, look into stylus picks. They have helped me a lot, and now I don't really tense up at all.

Styluspick.com

Here is a link to a similar thread I started recently. Almost all the information you could ever need about how to not tense up is in here.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=41757&hl=

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Dec 6 2011, 08:37 AM

Even if it may sound like 'I can't believe there's no magic involved!' it all goes down to slowing down and playing as relaxed and clean as possible. Nihilist1's observations are very good and I really think you should give yourself time and treat things with patience practice and focus at the important elements. Don't set unrealistic goals, as you would get pretty frustrated if they would not be reached as planned, so increment small amounts on the metronome - if you would manage to increase 5-7 BPM/ week for the things you practice, it would be a very nice progress! Of course, we're here to assist you, so don't shy away from asking anything

Posted by: Nihilist1 Dec 6 2011, 09:12 AM

Somehow, I forgot to mention this gem of an article.

http://www.cyberfret.com/power-practicing/masochist-guitarists.php

Good Luck!

EDIT: somehow, I messed up on one of the links in my previous post.

http://www.styluspick.com/

Posted by: zoom Dec 6 2011, 09:23 AM

I been tackling this one myself and found out it's a bit harder than I thought. Flaming Muris he always makes it look easy and this one I thought ha only 130bpm I might be able to do that. Fast forward six months 100bpm. Still, this sounds good at any temp and this stuff is really useful.
Nice paint on guitar btw

Posted by: Alex Feather Dec 6 2011, 08:00 PM

Hello!
My advice is to play with a metronome at a very slow tempo what you need to do is to get your muscle memory to remember the moves and get your hands synced together. The fastest players started out slow I know it's boring but you will be very surprised when it will pay off and it will! Just keep the tempo low and make sure that you are playing every note with a good dynamic, volume and attack and that every note is sounding clean! It also will help you develop your unique touch and tone! Trust me it works!

Posted by: Patrik Berg Dec 7 2011, 12:21 AM

thanks everyone for your great advice. rock on \m/@.@\m/

Posted by: Nihilist1 Dec 7 2011, 12:24 AM

\m/

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Dec 7 2011, 08:06 AM

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Dec 8 2011, 10:29 PM

Maybe a bit late, but here's my advice:

Anchoring the fingers to the pickguard will eventually slow you down when playing. You should work on having your hand floating and as relaxed as possible. It will take some time to adjust the picking technique, but it's perfectly doable, and better in the long run.

Posted by: Nihilist1 Dec 8 2011, 11:39 PM

Finally someone else who uses my old style! I have wanted to go back to this since I was never tense while doing it, but I have to ask, how did you get rid of unwanted string noise?

Posted by: Patrik Berg Dec 9 2011, 12:45 AM

I hear what you're saying Ivan, the video of my playing might not show it but I have been playing for a long time but using bad habits, I have to try to untrain them now. These guys use the picking you are talking about.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Dec 9 2011, 01:06 AM

This is a great question. "Anchoring" is a bit of a crutch. You might find yourself doing it now and then when your hand is getting tired but weaning your style away from it is crucial to get past a certain point.

As for string noise, this goes partially back to good palm muting. Placing your palm on the bridge and rotating it to cover the strings you are not playing is critical. Also, the left hand comes in to play when using HIGH GAIN to prevent unwanted noise. You can usually only mute below the string you are playing using your right hand mute. So the left hand has to mute above the strings you are playing. I'll try to cover this on Sat.

Todd

Posted by: Nihilist1 Dec 9 2011, 01:26 AM

Thanks Todd!

And yes, Patrik. I believe this is exactly the type of picking Ivan is speaking of. Don't let those guitarists fool you though, their Django style is incorrect. They should only be using their Index and middle fingers for fretting. It seems ridiculous, but due to a severe accident Django Reinhardt's right hand was damaged(I don't know if you know that, I am sorry if my post seems a bit arrogant)!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Dec 9 2011, 04:48 AM

Sure thing Happy to help!

I'm not quite sure what you are saying here in the second part of the post? Those guitarists? Which part are you saying is incorrect? Which is the arrogant part you were worried about?

Posted by: Nihilist1 Dec 9 2011, 04:51 AM

Gypsy Jazz(the guitar part anyway), is only supposed to be played with the index and middle finger(on the fretting hand). I felt as if someone might take my post as arrogant by pointing out the flaws of the musicians in the video.

Sorry for the confusion.