Four Essential Motion Mechanics for Picking

[@plaidman67]

How the Hell you came up with a way to play like that AND be able to break it down and logically explain it, I'll never understand. That is remarkable and your videos are absolutely top class. Most people that can play like that don't have the ability to convey what they're actually doing. It's like there is a shutoff between the creative and logical portions of their brain (I am unfortunately like that). Thanks for taking the time and effort to show us these things. I'm determined to be a decent player some day and your videos will probably be majorly responsible for it if I do. Cheers!

[@joshmuz9018]

Look at how OCD he was in figuring this all out over decades of breaking down in his 10 part series. That's how he can explain it so well

[@TheAgentAssassin]

wizard level guitar teaching

[@Fearzero]

Much better than sleeve of wizard level.

[@darrenboden3643]

You probably dont give a shit but does anybody know of a method to log back into an Instagram account..? I stupidly forgot the password. I would love any help you can offer me!

[@blakebjorn1396]

@Darren Boden Instablaster :)

[@darrenboden3643]

@Blake Bjorn i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and im waiting for the hacking stuff now. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@darrenboden3643]

@Blake Bjorn It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thanks so much you saved my ass!

[@rustyshackleford4743]

Great explanations, Troy. It's been a few months since I watched the "Get Down for the Upstroke" episode, and I'm finally feeling completely comfortable using both downward and upward pick slanting. My picking is no longer holding me up. In most cases it's my fretting hand that needs to get a little faster! So thanks a bunch. And by the way, I've told several people to check out your series and they thanked me for recommending it. And I told them not to thank the messenger lol. So you're helping a lot of people out

[@troygrady]

Rusty Shackleford Awesome, glad to hear you're seeing results. That's really what it's all about. Ultimately we'd all love to get to a point where technique is not a thing we need to think about quite as much as we currently do!

[@superalvedon97]

Rusty Shackleford When doing patterns like the PG overlaping sixthes starting with a downstroke, do you upwardpickslant all the time or only when it´s time to switch strings?

[@swifty1321]

For how much work you've put into studying Guitarists picking techniques and how good all your teaching and videos are you deserve way more than 176k subscribers...thank you 👍🏼👌🏻

[@AmineKouki]

Dear Troy, I discovered your channel only a couple of days ago and it is already helping me progress! It is amazing how TWPS becomes the obvious way to go once you learn about it! I still need a lot of practice to integrate it in my picking technique and minimize the slating angle. But I am already enjoying practicing more than ever! Thank you and your team for this amazing work of investigation and for giving us the chance to better play the music that we love! Please keep doing what you're doing.

[@bootlegapples]

BIG thumbs up!You actually address the hand's mechanics where everybody else just prescribes exercises and skips the most fundamental part completely.

[@drewjohnson4794]

200 plus bpm 16th notes "I sometimes use this as a warm-up" Troy Grady \w/ Man you're at the top of my go-to list when I need guitar instruction.

[@xpaddy01]

Aside from the mechanics demo and explanation, there’s that piece/improv at the beginning and end, which is just gorgeous! It reminds me a little of that piece Carl Miner plays in your second interview of him.

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Brilliant explanations, as always, Troy. During my studies I found the MAB position to be essentially the gypsy jazz position but with anchored fingers. If you do the MAB position and take your fingers away it'll turn into the gypsy jazz forearm rotation. At least it does when I do it :) The braced fingers hold back the forearm movement and constrict it to smaller movements which makes it seem like it's coming from the elbow. Could be wrong of course but that's what it feels like.

[@severalpaperclips]

Ben! Your ideas about the role of picking hand wrist bend on your channel have really complemented my exploration of Troy's ideas. What you're saying here about MAB has largely been my interpretation lately as well. It seems like MAB is essentially doing gypsy jazz but with the entire "rotation assembly" repositioned above the strings by an "inward" forearm rotation. And as you say, the bracing fingers seem to serve as a kind of buffer to help rebound/regulate the rotational picking motion and keep it small. Even if this isn't exactly what MAB does, I find that for me it's been an effective upward pickslanting approach in my recent experiments.

[@troygrady]

BenHigginsOfficial Hey Ben! Just seeing this now -- sorry for the delay, we've been swamped. I know exactly what you're referring to and I've done this as well. But it's not entirely clear to me that this is what Mike is doing. The pickstrokes themselves don't really look rotational under the shredcam, and there's definitely elbow movement happening in the wide angle shots. I have some cool outtake footage from the interview I did with him where he discusses this. I'll send you a note with a link and you can take a look and see what you think!

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

***** No worries, I imagine it's hard to keep up... who knows what Mike is really doing, he's a demon ! I'll be real interested to see what your research has turned up re: elbow v non elbow involvement and whether it can help settle the argument once and for all. I've always said to people the wrist isn't disconnected from the arm, the muscles run all the way up to the elbow joint so it's impossible not to involve the entire brachioradialis muscle / it's just the visible, noticebale degree that differs I guess. Keep up the great work :)

[@troygrady]

BenHigginsOfficial Footage in your message queue! Re: rotational movements, there's actually a really simple test for this. It's only the radius -- the top bone -- that moves, and you can feel this just by placing your hand on it. The other one, the ulna, never moves, even you do an aggressive doorknob style-rotation in mid air, it's surprisingly stationary. However I did not gratuitously grope the talent in interviews so I can't say for sure if that's what's happening. Note also that the bent wrist / downward slouch is downward pickslanting, and Mike is an upward pickslanter. When I rotate upwards, radius rotation ceases, even if the motion mechanic feels the same. So it may be that one-way upward pickslanting licks are simply not rotational by nature, and two-way pickslanting licks, like repeating sixes and so forth, actually use two different but related motion mechanics.

[@DChunk]

+Troy Grady mike actually said in one interview that he's really fine tuned his technoque, and that his technique doesn't actually come from the elbow to prevent overuse injuries

[@metalvisionsongcontest7055]

The 70s to 90s only gave us guitar gods to worship. We could admire what they were doing, but didn't know how to do it ourselves. Now we finally have a messenger, in other words, our first guitar saint. 😊

[@expressyourselfist]

WOW! I liked how the guitar pick was stopping on lower string during single string legato during slow motion recording at 2:01, that was something new for me to see.

[@Acekorv]

expressyourselfist rest stroke right?

[@frankie.d1127]

Would love to hear a composition by you sometime!

[@Julio3dc]

Hey ***** thanks again for feeding our junkieness to your high educational videos. You make me practice again like I did when I was a teenager. I think that something you haven't talk about yet is the "pick holding" you tend to hold the pick away from the tip of the pick, that could possibly focus the energy of movements more efficiently. Please keep enlightening us! Thank you so much for your pristine work.

[@troygrady]

Good question! This is not a subject I have thought too much about. It's clear that different players grip different amounts of pick, and that even among players who use a fingertip type grip that I do, there are probably important differences in approach. I'm not the authority on this subject and I think your observations may be as good as mine!

[@bobgure]

+Troy Grady I think it's an essential subject for me, as I'm still looking for the most comfortable/functional spot to grip and having difficulty with angling to get a smooth, less impeded "slice'' through the string on my problematic trailing edge upstrokes ( i.e. getting 'trapped'). I noticed in this video that it appears that you're holding the pick in what appears to almost perpendicular to the indiv. string. Can you clarify the angle that you find the most efficient? Thanks! Great, priceless analysis as usual from you, Troy.

[@arielpuig7302]

Man! This was the class I was looking for!! I had been surfing the web for about two weeks and any great master was able to explain the picking technique beter than you. Thanks for exist! you save thousands of my hours trying to figure out what picking technique I'm gonna use. I WILL BECOME a great guitarist and I will always say: "Watch Troy Grady videos, he explain picking techniques bether than anyone"

[@littlechocolate09]

Every time I see troy play it's like art. Just the way he moves his hand and fingers Is artistical .

[@nicotricks]

Finally understood how to alternate picking works and why I was so slow lol thanks man your vids are awesome!

[@sduke39]

Just found your channel and I'm impressed. Evan an old blues guy like me can use some more speed and accuracy.

[@champanyhill]

I started to pic Batio style 7 weeks ago and have seen massive improvements in speed and confidence. Muting is a little tricky as most of it is shifted to the fretting hand but it's getting cleaner everyday. I hit a brick wall for years using a palm planting technique. I must just not be wired to play that way expect for slower speeds and chugging. The strange thing is that since picking Batio style, other picking techniques have improved! 🤔 Thank you so much for your videos!!

[@ultrafloss492]

Wow, really nice break down of the different techniques. I always imagine the last part of the movement when you open a lock and you feel the pressure from the springs. It's a combination of a 'loose' wrist /push-pull with the fingers method. Whenever I need to accent a certain note I use a sort of 'whipping' motion, called the 'moeler technique', which I learned in my drumming days. However I rarely brace my picking hand and never really gave it much attention but I'll incorporate that now as well in my routine. Thanks for the video and inspiration! Edit: actually thank you for all your work because it is incredible!!!!!

[@5urg3x]

Troy: It should never completely be garbage Me: 😞

[@thehonkening1]

lmao

[@iraskal1706]

great playing along with your insight thank you again

[@nokomisnichols]

Your playing is very fluid and precise. You have very good technique.

[@Rockstarguitarstudio]

Keep up the good work, Troy! Enjoyed the latest episode, as usual. The download packs are very well put together, but I'm glad that you also post them on KZbin. Much easier to stream them to the TV, than sit at a computer. Looking forward to the next one.

[@danhall716]

Troy, I'm happy to see you give mention to the "fingers locked to the body and movement coming from the elbow" picking technique, as it seems to be the only way I can pick fast LoL...I always just assumed my technique sucked, and I've been striving for wrist-only technique for years, but I just can't limit the motion to only the wrist at higher speeds.

[@MrJimzovich]

A long time ago I used to mainly rely on circle picking after reading about it in a Roy Buchanan interview in Guitar Player. Apparently McLaughlin uses it too, or did at one time. It's great for single string work, and changing strings is easy, but I couldn't skip strings using the technique. I also found it less amenable to picking dynamics, although the angle of the pick across the string, combined with the bent position of the thumb, was great for pinch harmonics. The motion, when you begin to learn circle picking, is similar to the one you use for writing, but as you become more proficient it evolves into the kind of motion Troy describes. The angle of the pick reduces movement because the leading edge contacts the string on the upstroke and the opposite edge contacts it on the upstroke. It's a bit like cross picking in that string changes can be effected with a simple alternating motion.

[@SpawnofHastur]

The finger movement style, from my experimentation with it, is very conducive to crosspicking because the pick naturally moves through a curved path since the fulcrum of the pickstroke is the big knuckle of the index finger. The guy who first really used it extensively to my knowledge, Chuck Wayne, was an economy picker, but if you can get the hang of moving your pick from your large index knuckle, you can also use it to play alternating single note per string arpeggios quite easily. The technique is also super handy for anyone who is interested in hybrid picking extensively - Pasquale Grasso, whose lineage of teachers comes directly from Chuck Wayne - is known for his ability to play insane jazz piano style block chords on guitar because his picking style leaves the wrist in place while picking, which lets him hybrid pick with a lot of consistency. He also burns like crazy on the single note lines, too. Just some of my observations, and I hope that they may help put the use of finger motion to move a guitar pick into some context for you. :)

[@noisyneil]

hi troy. unless i'm mistaken, the information you present on benson's technique is mostly to do with the fact that he only pick slants one way. having experimented with it somewhat, i find the most fascinating element is his hand position. it scoops from below, and the result is that the motion mechanic is wrist flexion and extension, which is anatomically a very easy movement to control and bring up to speed. the string tracking movement is simply an adjustment of where in the natural arc of the wrist you decided to start the movement. an added benefit is that this movement has a wider diameter of movement from its axis, which results in the pick striking the strings at roughly the same distance from the bridge. it's very efficient, rather unique, and i'd love it if you managed to film him doing it one day.

[@bluenewt67]

Troy, you do an amazing job on these vids and a great service to any serious student of guitar. Thank you!

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

Lovely bit at the end Troy!

[@bryankipp8094]

All i can think of is an ynwie interview comparing picking to tennis. You hit the ball And automatically go back to a neutral territory for the next hit. Genius stuff your doing Troy. I cant wait to see your analysis of Michael Angelo Batios techniques. Im sure that using a jazz 3 pick is an integral part of this technique.

[@kippjamesmusic]

Thanks Troy! Amazing Player, but even more amazing teacher! Just found your channel, subscribed etc. I can tell that YOU ARE GOING TO REVOLUTIONIZE MY PLAYING!!!

[@apexwindowcleaningservices4457]

Uncle Ben from why you suck at guitar sent me here, several times. Thank you Uncle Ben and thank you for being a great reason to be sent here in the first place Troy. Totally amazing video series.

[@JuddOakes]

I am finally getting comfortable with downward pick slanting and utilizing the rotational mechanic it's getting more refined Per say and totally feels different compared to my standard upward pick slanting where I don't really rotate my forearm and have to use my elbow more I had to learn dwps because I like funk guitar so much It's odd that I did dwps while playing rhythm but it never seemed to work for single note stuff until now Thanks again

[@elderberry-hamster]

Watching Buckethead play in many live performances you will see his picking hand virtually locked except for his fingers directly clasping the pick. He manages to get insane speeds with a consistent attack. Amazing!

[@dante4d]

This dude is just a goldmine for me. I wondered about those things for a long time and now I stumbled upon those videos. That gypsy technique, that's what Zakk Wylde does. Still, how the hell do you guys make your bass strings not resonate or feedback while playing like that? That finger picking or circular picking, that's what Randy Rhoads did I'm pretty sure. I could not really see anyone doing that for a long time, just in this video. I heard the term 'circular picking' before, but never really seen anyone do it on video. Very nice!

[@Corey_G]

I was always told dont move the thumb joint back and forth when picking, and recently I saw Andy James doing that. Moving his thumb joint doing what he called "snap picking" at an incredible rate. Dont think it's gonna be a technique I'll invest to much into, but it is another avenue to explore if you're interested. It also is not Andy James only form or method of picking, but rather a specialized technique of his for certain situations. I have agonized over trying to figure out the seemingly effortless pickers same as you over the years too! I've looked at Yngwie, Al Dimeola, Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Michael Angelo Batio, Chris Impelliteri, Frank Gambale, and now Andy James. From what I've seen from your videos you have come up with the same conclusions and gains as I have, but also suffer the same inconsistencies at times. I'm hopeful we'll reach our quest one day... 😊👍👍👍 You are a great picker, but same as me fall just a bit short of these seemingly flawless hyper speed pickers, but definitely seem on the right path. Your technique is great, you are definitely onto something. It is also incredible that you are devoting the time for sharing this knowledge with others instead of just keeping it to yourself. If I knew nothing other than that about you I'd like you. Your animated videos are incredibly well done as well. Thank You so much for sharing your ideas and thoughts, I love them!!!

[@ValKitsakis]

Great lesson! Thanks Troy!

[@G-NutZ]

Troy, you will go down as a legend

[@sangyonglee635]

Wrist motion looks like michael angelo batio. Thanks for video.

[@protoplast.youtube]

THANK YOU!,....from Switzerland 🇨🇭

[@renovatr]

Holy shit Troy, that's pretty much all I can come up with after watching that.

[@uchihaitachidan]

Yngwie uses the finger picking combined with rotation picking when he skips strings using economy picking . i noticed that as he sweeps through two strings(economy picking) he uses his fingers to execute the sweep.

[@vadlasletta]

Loving the ej total guitar hat tip!

[@AlexCarter881]

Love your videos. Can you take a look at tremolo picking and techniques that players use? I'm not just talking about the Van Halen lick you did that only covers a single string. I'm talking more like Dying Fetus or Decapitated that uses a couple strings, but one string at a time (if that makes sense).

[@markbraxton1289]

Troy your very helpful thankyou so much...we get plenty of good information on the fretting hand...but not the most important hand to me..the motor or driving force behind specialized guitar playing....80% of importance in guitar playing comes from the picking hand .i have heard this often by top guitarist's we have in the world today ..

[@jameslabs1]

What Munsell was to "color" Troy is to "picking mechanics." Thanks Troy

[@troygrady]

Not worthy but thank you!

[@HansAaraas]

Great video lesson. Thanks man.

[@EmotionalShredd]

Slash also does the finger movement for alternate picking

[@GrooveDuude]

Craig Goldie is an awesome circular picker.

[@briann8911]

Nice breakdown. Just a little theory. The further away the pick itself is from the joints doing the movement, the easier it is to get fast linear speed. Which is why the speedsters often use the elbow... and why you found the finger method the toughest to get speed. However, the elbow method is sloppy for any articulation, which is why I abandon it completely, and basically hate it. I can now get the extreme speed from finger method alone, however... I have to use extremely small pick motions. This can work, but involves using a very extreme version of economy picking... always using sweeps if possible. But also, when doing alternate picking string switches, the small motions require the slant/curve to be at a higher angle, so that the tiny motion can clear the top of the string. I've been following your videos, and practicing this... and I'm getting there. Im at about 150 beats per minute (16th notes) using this for 2 note per string (minor pen scale). I hope to get this up to 200... since it is the weakest link in my playing quickly.

[@inquisitor4635]

A biomechanical kinematic chain would start with a slight movement starting at the elbow, then moving into a slight movement of the wrist up and down, then added with the slight forearm rotation, followed by a slight movement of the fingers. Kind of like how a bullwhip is cracked from the end you are holding it all the way to its tip. All the micro-movements starting from the larger more proximal joint leading down a chain to each successive joint, the elbow then to the wrist, until reaching the smallest finger joints. Having to place the palm on the strings to mute would introduce another factor to consider as that interrupts the mechanics of the kinematic chain slightly. But this type of mechanics relates often to enhanced power, speed an accuracy in sports. But perhaps may negatively impact precision in something with fine motor mechanics as right hand guitar technique. So then isolating one of the movement of that chain where you are neuromuscularly the most comfortable and effective being the best option.

[@martisrobi]

I would love to see you breakdown KIKO LOUREIRO from Mega Death alternate picking!!

[@DieDeej]

Great video! To me it seems as if Yngwie uses the finger movement pretty much

[@carlosmatos9848]

Circular picking has been the bane of my existence. I've pretty much used it my whole guitar playing life for precision and riffs that need to be articulate but I can't go much past 120bpm with it. I've had to retrain myself to do rotational picking in order to get to 150+bpm

[@elephantricity]

I feel like alternate picking from the elbow will always be faster. Even when I start from the forearm wrist mechanic, If I want to start to strech into the super fast shred zone, my elbow just naturally moves to accomodate the faster speed.

[@Magic_Battlegrounds]

Sounds like we will have an interesting conversation Monday

[@troygrady]

The elbow technique, or at least what I'm calling "elbow" here, works surprisingly well. More so than I would have thought. Certainly Batio and Cooley use variants of elbow and I can tell you those guys have fluidity with that all day long. I think elbow mechanics, while somewhat out of fashion at the moment, may deserve another look!

[@severalpaperclips]

***** I'm not sure what other people experience, but I find when I do upward pickslanting, it's almost impossible for me to do so without having my elbow go very "Vinnie Moore" (unless I employ a very Batio-eque exaggerated forearm bridge). In contrast, with downward pickslanting, I can pick from the forearm rotation with near-total relaxation and seemingly unlimited endurance. Experimenting with all this stuff is a blast. Your videos have completely re-invigorated my guitar practice. The surprise is how much I'm feeling the workout in my left forearm after practice nowadays. My newfound alternate picking speed (and control!) has me not only playing faster during practice, but putting in more practice hours than I remember ever doing before. Keep up the great work.

[@stepitupandgo67]

amazing how much contact he makes with his right middle finger with the high e string...seems like that could make some noise...but doesn't seem to...

[@ajw22928]

troy your system is genius

[@monsterzero1965]

Thank you for showing us you can play before you speak!!

[@markmather782]

Hi Troy, suggestion....use a white pick. It’s easier to see against the dark pickups.

[@troygrady]

Actually red is the best! White picks on white pickguards is tough. This is an old video, we’re pretty much red all the way these days for our own stuff.

[@FCValle]

My picking technique relies mostly on that one you with just the two fingers you demonstrated, I think it could improve your technique if your hand were not so angular in relation to the strings. For my experience, that technique works best if your picking motion is close to parallel to the strings, but the pick itself can be angular. At least that's how I do it. It's not so good for string changes though... Nice video, keep it up!

[@fuzzfizz]

4:25 missed one note and starts the whole lick upstroke on the down beat. Still amazing.

[@64siskat96]

great eyes

[@64siskat96]

i mean ears

[@infinitesentient3545]

It feels like since I'm only trying alternate picking after 20+ years of playing that it just isn't going to happen. I'm so locked into economy picking. I'm still trying but it almost feels like starting from scratch as a guitarist. Thanks very much for your videos :)

[@PedroMirandaGuitar]

Troy, great stuff as always! I'm wondering and suggesting you, to cover and analyse the right hand technique of 2 great pickers...John Petrucci and Steve Morse. Thanks in advance!! Cheers!!

[@troygrady]

Pedro Miranda Thanks! And keep an eye out for an update coming soon - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by our next Masters in Mechanics release!

[@ishanneupane5227]

You are remarkable teacher 🖤🖤🖤

[@phillipmarshall8125]

Great lesson and you remind me of the Keebler elf

[@XSFlanger]

Great work. I would love to see a video explaining how to train left hand and hand sync in general. My left hand just does not follow :)

[@Corey_G]

Although we are primarily discussing physical mechanics of picking, I am currently also thinking about the mental framework. Meaning - I dont believe you can play what you cant hear. Im now breaking picking into smaller mental fragments. Example; I no longer think of straight 16th notes as trying to play 4 alternating notes per beat, but instead 2 down picks of eighth notes per beat without thinking about the up picks. Which still = 4 alternate picked notes per beat, but only thinking fitting in 2 downpicked 8th notes per beat for 16th notes. You can do the same for triplet 16ths, but make sure the timing of these are perfectly even.

[@severalpaperclips]

I'm not sure whether I'm saying the same thing you are, or the opposite, but I've been thinking of my fast picking as "controlled tremolo picking" broken into chunks of 4 notes, 6 notes, etc., depending on the timing of the phrase. I think of the picking chunks sort of like drum rudiments: through repetitive practice, each complete chunk is internalized as a first class entity in its own right. Another analogy is that it's like speaking a multi-syllable word: I don't consciously think about each syllable when I speak a word. As you say, in guitar playing, the caveat is to be mindful not to introduce unintended emphasis at any position in the chunk (especially careful about the first note of the chunk).

[@metaldad1967]

I love your break down of techniques. Was wondering how pick slanting, palm muting and wrist rotation would work in conjunction with each other. Seems simple I would imagine. I'm also curious about pick slanting and down picking. Would palm muting and down picking be simpler with pick slanting? Of course I'll try it out for myself but wanted your take on it if you haven't already covered this subject that is.

[@TemptedYouthMusic]

I also find it soo much easier to tremolo pick (with a pick) using my index finger and thumb instead of a closed fist like I see a lot of players doing. I feel it gives more movement and freedom

[@ubershredder1989]

can you do a breakdown of jason beckers alternate picking technique?! I am very familiar with your videos, Troy, but I can't seem to pin point Jason's technique, even though he is one of my biggest influences. He can play very fast and aggressively. However when you look at his picking hand, there seems to be a lot of movement around the thumb joint, even perhaps for every pick-stroke making me think that its cross picking, however, its hard to believe that he can achieve such speed and aggression using cross picking... please help. thanks

[@philpherr4413]

ubershredder1989 UP

[@javiermedina6303]

A complete breakdown of jason becker picking technique..now thats something i would pay for

[@interestingthings8598]

ubershredder1989 Jason used economy picking too, surprised?

[@shredgod6394]

Interesting Things Not a surprise at All. He did a lot of lines that would be impossible to alternate pick

[@LovingGoodContent]

Are we going to see a video on Marty Friedman's picking technique?

[@jordanwhittle8713]

"all over the fucking shop"

[@captainkangaroo4301]

Marty Friedman. Wasn’t that the guy who played Igor in Young Frankenstein? Oh, that was Marty Feldman. Never mind.

[@captainkangaroo4301]

Isn’t that wrist shaking movement sarod Picking?

[@JusTVIDSE]

If you want a broken wrist, sure

[@medieval_flail]

Elbow technique is easy and its what one of the Flight of the Bumblebee record setters uses, but its not that relaxed at say, 220 bpm and above. It is also a little clumsy, but it can certainly be refined. One of the biggest problems for me is that it doesnt work for downpicking/stroking at high speed and it doesnt work on chords, of which I am fully aware does not matter to many people. The arm (pronation/supination) rotation is similar in that it doesnt work well for downstroking, although it does work on at least 2 strings at once. Im not sure exactly how you are playing using rotation with your hand on the bridge, for me my palm rotates with the pick, meaning I cant rest it and it is forced to hover. This makes it bad for fast palm muted picking. The other two techniques that are used for tremolo picking are wrist only movements. These are flexion/extension and deviation. Flexion/extension has the most range and power but is also very hard to perform since your wrist has to be sideways, otherwise you would just be stabbing the string with the pick. Deviation has the most comfortable positioning, but it also dreadfully slow at first and is the most dangerous technique because, if done wrong, it can cause tendinitis, which I have. All these motions are shown here: getmgs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Wrist-Movement-Pic.gif

[@russwilson2305]

Troy! 7:11 Sarod Picking, I think. KZbin Pebber Brown. He will hurt most of us guitar players. I flinch at the mention of his name. But not because of Sarod. The man is relentless in every way. Kinda love the guy.

[@Makanator]

you ever think about covering an overview of steve vai's picking techniques? @troygrady

[@100roberthenry]

note the planting of the 3/4 fingers on guitar body too......i noticed this with michael batio....

[@jsbachguitar1]

My guess is when you set your fingers down beneath high E, you are shortening to tool. If you pick from the forearm, that is a longer tool (assuming you don't have anything else touching the guitar) than from your palm in the muting position and the fingers beneath high E is the smallest tool. To me, our hands, arms and fingers are evolutions tools for a homosapien. Other creatures in nature have different appendage lengths (or tools) for their survival. Watching creatures scratch an itch is a great way to see how short arm or leg length creates more speed. A cat is much faster than us and a bird much faster than a cat and so on. A way to judge this is by holding your arm out as far as you can and swing it back and forth in front of you, then flex the elbow at 90 degrees and swing it again...much faster. Really enjoy your videos. Thanks

[@davomontgomeryda3rd]

your technique is flawless, your speed is supernatural and your instructions are awesome... but what I want to know is can ye jam?

[@rrguitar1]

He's good but definitely not flawless. Sloppiness all over the place.. You can especially hear it when it's slowed down.

[@AllanFelipe]

Hi, Troy! There's another finger movement (almost like the last one) that beginners do a lot (but it's not in the direction of the straight line you played, it's opposite just like in the rotational movement, because you switched the angle of the line for the finger movement, right). It involves not just the thumb but a lot from the index finger too. It's like dragging the pick over the string in an arch movement. You didn't even mention it because of its extreme inefficiency, right?

[@Magic_Battlegrounds]

Best content so far!

[@rodrigonascimentogtr]

Hey Dude!! You need to know Edu Ardanuy, from Brazil! He uses (like nobody else) the last type of picking that you mentioned!!

[@genesiskeglar6372]

OK, so I feel a little relieved seeing that you acknowledge what is commonly called circular picking. That is what I naturally do and I have tried other methods that stabilize my index finger and thumb for the past few months and it just doesn't feel right. Only on tremolo can I stabilize my thumb and index and have my picking motion come from my elbow or forearm (wherever it comes from). I still like to try other things out, however. And it still makes me wonder if I lose a little bit of speed with all the fluidity of my index and thumb.

[@mathewreichardt3832]

Love that guitar

[@poonamchoubey2900]

God level explanation

[@shauntavakian6020]

Could you please make a cracking the code on John Sykes? That 87 WS album is possibly the most technical alternate picking non guitar centric album ever, and a helping hand on Still of the Night would be much appreciated!

[@andthebeatgoeson69]

Gibson Nighthawk!!

[@Chillnote]

Another mind-blowing video for me :)

[@CaribSurfKing1]

I see you are still anchoring/referencing with those 2 last fingers on the right hand, on the hgih E string, on the second technique

[@MrGiggs37]

Hi Troy!Great job as always!!!My question is:what pick(s) do you use?Isn't it a Dunlop jazz IIIXL?Oh! and also what strings gauge do you use? Love ya man!

[@Dooality]

Love that intro/outro. I was wondering what your opinion is on utilizing the shoulder and the elbow at the same time? This allows the pick to travel across the strings on a straight line. Conversely, what about elbow only? This is what I use, and it probably isn't ideal. The pick travels in an arc over the strings. At the low E, I'm closer to the neck, and by the high E I'm closer to the bridge. Like I said, probably not ideal but it's the most comfortable and articulate for me.

[@troygrady]

That's what I call "string tracking" -- the method you use to move the picking activity across the strings. This is separate from the "motion mechanic", which is the method you use to generate the reciprocating motion of alternate picking. Clearly, some kind of string tracking always has to happen, or you'd only ever be able to play on a single string! The shoulder method you describe absolutely works fine, and you're correct, this allows you to keep the exact same arrangement of edge picking / pickslanting on every string. This is what Batio does, for example,

[@tonymazz1721]

I'm amazed at anyone who can alternate Pick like this. I just can't do it. No matter how many hours i practice. No matter how many different picks I try. No matter what elbow or wrist angle I use. Just can't do it. Tremolo picking on one string? No prob. But alternate picking triplets and switching strings? Just can't seem to get it. Guess I'm stuck playing like guys like Clapton, Hendrix, and Vaughn.

[@neonblack211]

2:39 Interesting here that while your pick is picking two notes your ring finger is hitting the high e string every second note like clockwork

[@KingTabor]

Hi Troy! Great video again! Are you somehow exaggerating the pick amplitude for showing better the angle etc? I mean, if the picking was at the plane of strings the moves could easily hit 2 even 3 strings. Tks!

[@joshuablay5954]

Hey Troy! Do you ever practice using the usual classical stance? Left leg raised and the guitar's curve resting on it? :) If so, does it affect your picking at all? :) Just curious! Can't seem to practice for extended periods of time with the stance your using in this video, my shoulders tend to get the pins and needles when doing so :( cheers, mate. Digging your lessons so much!

[@jcborges96]

I'm not Troy, or not at his level but, I absolutely practice with classical position(not even a classical player) but it's not perfect. I'm by the edge of my bed usually, but It works for me because when I'm standing I hold the guitar kinda high, and a lot of times in extreme passages I put my feet up on a monitor or whatever I can. I guess it won't help much doing it if your guitar is Slash style low.

[@Alextkirk]

Troy, I´m curious have you ever researched anything about Taubman techniques? I´m curious because your forearm rotation reminds me a lot a about something she preaches... and makes complete sense for me!

[@johnqpublic2013]

@ 2:55 notice how much distance you move the pick away from the string you are playing. Lessen this distance. You'll go even faster.

[@fabiohexa]

Thanks!

[@LarsBauer74]

Troy, first of all thank you for this video as well as all your other videos, all of the material you present has been very helpful in working on my picking technique. Regarding this video I have a question: do you incorporate all these different types of picking mechanics/movements into your practicing? Like as a means of further exploring different ways of developing picking technique? Or more in the sense that one mechanic works better for one particular kind of lick/phrase whereas another might work better for another phrase? I myself found that I have changed my picking mechanics several times back and forth during the past 15 years, rotational forearm/elbow .... currently I try to work on both of them just to figure out what works better for me....Maybe it does make sense to use both as opposed to deciding on ONE to use for everything. What is your opinion on that? Thanks, Lars

[@MrPorsche27]

Hey Troy, can you focus on the left hand (fretting hand) more next?

[@AlexRaven90]

I copy this question that I posted on another video...You are great Troy, I bought the Antigravity pack and it'is just incredible, top level material. I have a specific question: regarding Michael Angelo's "swipe" technique, I was thinking, why don't just use swipe with dwps while ascending and swipe with upws while descending? I mean, instead of using two way pickslanting. Can you give me some insights? I'm trying to master it and I have this problem!

[@juancabral1129]

Hey Troy you seem more efficient and cleaner with the Batio technique.... By the way great video.

[@troygrady]

It's true, the elbow method is nice and consistent. My guess is that the finger brace helps modulate the amount of pick on the string, so that it's consistent. But so far I've only really gotten it happening for single-string licks, and not articulate stuff, like the Antigravity lick, or the acoustic jazz clip on our channel. Also, there's no muting! So muted scale playing, which is a sound I like, is not on the table yet.

[@severalpaperclips]

***** Not specific to discussion of the elbow technique, but I've found that overall for me the bracing strategy is the key mechanic that unlocks everything else. I've experimented with many bracing strategies over the last couple of months, and when I found the one that works best for me, everything really clicked, especially for controlling how much pick I put on the high E string.