Martin Miller on Alternate Picking Anything

THE MAGNET CAMERA MOUNT IS NOW ON KICKSTARTER! Film your own playing just like we did with Martin! www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
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The amazing Martin Miller can alternate pick anything, right? So it's surprising when we take a picking pattern that Martin plays very well and render it temporarily unplayable just by changing the *fretting*. And this reveals a core truth of expert-level picking technique: picking and fretting motions are memorized together. What looks like a continuous motion in the picking hand is actually more like a sequence of flipbook images of both hands operating simultaneously. Change one of them, and they can sometimes both stop working - at least for the moment. Watch the complete Martin Miller mechanics workshop here! troygrady.com/interviews/marti...

[@espjoshua]

The fact that he was vulnerable enough to try something on camera that he didn't necessarily "have down" yet, and work through it in front of everyone is incredibly impressive to me.

[@troygrady]

Martin is the best!

[@bassheadjazz2708]

Guitarists afraid to be vulnerable keeps the instrument in the box that was established in the 80s, where technique and speed created this idiom of sweeps and pentatonic 3 note per string runs that EVERYONE does to excess. Thats what i like about your comment on Martin, and what Troy is doing for guitar. In a way, by revealing how mechanical and repetitive alot of this stuff is, people create more unique and fresh ways of combining notes that are outside the vocabulary of your average metal shred/fusion player when its established as a "beginners guide" to speed and runs. Now we all know where this vocabulary comes from , and how played out and trite it is.

[@kennydunk]

True

[@fugginchuggin5604]

@@troygrady damn right! this is probaly the coolest thing.

[@Pughhead]

"vulnerable" lmao this isn't therapy, he's just playing guitar

[@RudyAyoub]

I love these videos so much. Martin is a god

[@zokalyx]

oh my god look guys who's here lol

[@juny5563]

The Sheet Music's guy

[@RudyAyoub]

lol

[@freddiemercury4552]

There you are

[@iganpparamarta8813]

But you play Glass Prison faster than him (and Petrucci)

[@cryptoskywalker1714]

This is something I've wondered how many people struggle with. It sounds like everyone does. It's one of the reasons I think guitar is one of the most difficult instruments. You can be amazingly great at one aspect of guitar, and still suck at something you're not familiar with. Once you're good at guitar, you learn things you're not used to playing much quicker, but you still have to learn it, and then it's not like riding a bike. You can't just learn something, and then not play it for years, and then suddenly access it at will. It's a never ending journey working on your guitar skills.

[@rainofficial1924]

First learned alternate, then sucked at rapid downstrokes, then sweep, then tremolo, then some shredding patterns, then some handpicking styles, then this. I think about what will be next. Btw did anybody noticed he sometimes used alternate picking combined with middle finger finger. What the hell?!

[@gusreece4713]

@@rainofficial1924 Hybrid Picking

[@meadish]

@@rainofficial1924 Practice funk to mastery level and then merge it with your other techniques. Get that groove that most shredders lack, and the reason why their audience is always predominantly male. Chicks wanna dance. Learn how to move people's butts, and then you can sneak in your virtuosity runs while still making some money and not only generating the interest of other shredders. Just my two cents, naturally, in the end, we should all do what makes us happy.

[@ikbendusan]

@@meadish > implying chicks want to listen to anything but reggaeton

[@roba1899]

Martin Miller is an excellent player .. I truly hope Troy will be able to get Guthrie Govan at some point.

[@zackcoffmanguitar]

Rob A or Rick graham

[@bingefeller]

I don't think Guthrie is interested in this level of analysis of his technique.

[@TechMetalRules]

From all the footage I've seen, Guthrie seems to tend upward-slanting with two-way where needed. He also seems to do a bit of cross-picking when the speeds aren't blazing. Interestingly, I've got two instructional books written by Guthrie some time ago, with a section where he talks about arpeggiating chords using alternate picking. He doesn't get into the mechanics the way Troy does but it seems cross-picking is what he was getting at.

[@russellward4624]

Rob A dude!!! He’s got to make it happen!

[@axe2rock]

Yeah, guthrie and rick graham would be awesome!

[@DavidDiMuzio]

One of my favorite musicians in the world. A master of the guitar.

[@stringbenderbb]

Did it. Not as clean as Martin and took me 20 min (with breaks) to dial in. But did it. I am 43 by the way and got most of my right hand technique from cracking the quote. Meaning built it up in the last years. IT IS NOT AN AGE THING! Thanks Troy!!!

[@mattgilbert7347]

Yeah but how long have you been playing?

[@stringbenderbb]

@@mattgilbert7347 27 years.

[@georgegordon8859]

Hey, out of interest, when you say "built it up in the last years" how many years are we talking about (roughly)? Cheers.

[@noobynoobytv4508]

@@georgegordon8859 Stringbender here writing from the pc of my son...but it is me. Generally i would say 2 years, but some techniques are harder to mantain (Alternate Picking), some easier (swybrid)I. Also started learning the bass pizicato rest/stroke technique… the same time....also took two years for being able to play something like Jaco Pastorius Kuru. But it is far easier to keep the chops than with Alternate Picking...Maybe because the fingers move in a more natural way. Even monster pickers like Ewan Dobson say About Alternate picking: The last to come, the first to go

[@faustoorieta]

dmn right it's not, everyone can learn it.

[@danielsantana5126]

I love Martin Miller's Ibanez Guitar. And I love his tone

[@KRayxKodessA]

Martin is ridiculously good.

[@MrMetalhorse]

Watching this makes me feel better about my skills with alternate picking. Watching someone in the level of Martin still have a bit of trouble with this is really inspiring. And you're right Troy, the guitar wasn't built for this kind of insanity. Haha.

[@interestingthings8598]

Mr. Metalhorse and knowing that Yngwie can’t pure alternate pick at all

[@MrMetalhorse]

@@interestingthings8598 sounds so crazy when you say it like that.

[@troygrady]

Lots of examples of pure alternate picking in Yngwie's work, like the big scale run from the "Trilogy" intro. Any time you're doing even numbers of notes per string that move across the strings in one direction, there is no way to sweep/economize that, and Yngwie will alt pick it.

[@interestingthings8598]

Troy Grady hi Troy; yes, I meant 3 notes per string and crossing strings at the same time, something like Batio, that is what I meant by “pure”, maybe I should have said purely; anyway I’m getting better and better without even consistent practice, all thanks to you!!

[@troygrady]

Well, if you use a 3nps fingering but you double up the notes on each string, now you're playing sixes like DiMeola, and you need pure alternate for that because again you can't sweep an even number in a continuous direction. Sweep / economy is great for a straight scale, but the minute you want to play something more interesting, now you need to know how to mix and match alternate and sweep. Options!

[@KSherwoodOps]

It’s crazy to me how fundamentally profound CTC’s categorizing and itemization of picking techniques is contrasted to how many people recognize it. Ive watched every video they’ve put out and they all pretty much negate every guitar how-to thats out there.

[@troygrady]

Thanks man! We're getting there... or trying!

[@SharpEdgeStandardOfficial]

Troy, your channel is beyond valuable because you're always turning other players on to new ideas AND players!! I love this guy's playing and his sound is just amazing! You're awesome Troy! Keep it up and Thank You!!

[@fromthethicket4370]

Crazy to see such an amazing player have to work on something seemingly simple. It really highlights the importance of hand mechanics and need to apply that knowledge strategically when writing licks and playing . I love this channel.

[@bobchurunkle9921]

Stunning and inspiring, i struggled with picking for most of the 42 years ive practiced for so been a legato player mostly but watching Martin Miller and other top players is really good for my beginner picking technique, thanks Troy again, hooked to your interviews and the dissection and explanation of what ive been overlooking for all these years, 👍🎸🎸🎸

[@chipperhippo]

Martin is so articulate, and such a great resource as far as online teaching. His videos are fantastic for developing actionable practice routines.

[@sonatedaquiTFM]

the first clean tone you play... it's one of the best I've heard dude, u nailed it

[@lordviewer7305]

You have gathered many awesome and diverse players already Troy. Your site is like no other. Keep it up.

[@imacashew.]

The further you go with technique in any discipline it becomes so fascinating

[@Hassan_Omer]

This is the coolest and most authentic channel about learning the mechanics of guitar picking. More power to Troy Grady and I hope to see Brett Garsed on this channel too!

[@shredgd5]

This "picking mechanics" series of videos is purely fantastic, it will make history!

[@Gregorypeckory]

Great player, great channel. Thanks for all the great things you do for the guitar community, Troy, not to mention, the hard work developing your own playing, which is impressive as hell!

[@troygrady]

Thanks Greg!

[@roborob767]

Man.. what a great player. You gained another fan, Martin.

[@erikceman5354]

Martin is a Monster

[@Free_Falastin2024]

Thanks for putting me on to Miller. What a phenomenal technique he has.

[@johnsmith-pw7oj]

holy shit, watching the great Martin struggle face pretty much hook me up instantly, this video is great, it reveals sooooo much

[@hartchillvibes]

Wow! Thanks for having him!

[@valerienatesmolina9769]

Thanks Troy for this great interview!

[@axe2rock]

Very nice video, really good insight on Martin's picking technique, kudos!

[@royyan29]

always good to watch martin miller. really a big fan of this guy

[@victoza9232]

0:35 Introducing the new Industrial-strength Martin Miller Signature Big Ass® capo. No job is too tough for this bad boy. In music stores everywhere.

[@HHJoshHH]

Martin Miller is awesome! Mana is my favorite song! Great job Martin and Troy! Killin it guys!

[@HansAaraas]

Tremendous player. His playing is so clean.

[@martinrosschou]

Amazing channel, so good I even watched the end of it.

[@troygrady]

Thanks Martin!

[@waltzguy14151]

I really like this guy. Kudos for being ego-less enough to try something he doesn't know on camera. Nice playing too. Phenomenal touch on the instrument.

[@israelcanova]

As always, I'm imensefully greatful for this video 🙏

[@GusDrax]

Excellent! Really great right hand technique.

[@NikolajChristensen]

This will be an interesting video. The string tracking is a somewhat overlooked aspect. Martin actually does it a lot than he thinks when doing the two string outside picking. Almost to the point where the tracking takes care of the full displacement of the center of the motion (so he is basically just tremolo picking one string).

[@valerienatesmolina9769]

Thanks Martin for this great video!

[@Soloist1983]

I've been at this for 2 years now, since going through the entire Troy Grady thing. I haven't kept up on the latest developments in the last year, but I've taught myself 2-way pickslanting, which totally blew my mind, concept-wise. Just a few days ago, I've found that adding a rotational component to the actual pickstroke (keeping the same 2-way pickslanting mechanic) you glide through the strings even easier, it gives my picking a more circular feel to it, reminscent of a figure-8, rather than just an up/down type mechanic. I call this idea the "quadrature phase rotation" as it keeps the same 2-way pickslanting idea but rotates the entire mechanic such that the tip of the pick is approaching the string at an angle about 20-30 degrees clockwise with respect to the top of the guitar forward; studying RF/Physics waveforms, quadrature was taking the entire wave function and rotating it by approximately 45 (obviously my idea is less than 45 degrees, but it's the same basic idea. Man, this picking stuff is so complex, I envy the people that figured this out automatically in their youth. It's taken me until almost age 40 to finally get to the point where I can actually play some of John Petrucci's scarier solos, and I can honestly say that this pickslanting stuff is what got me there. Before finding your stuff, I was doing 4hrs a day with a metronome for almost 4yrs and got absolutely nowhere.

[@paulyoung4781]

First time I've heard this man wow? Absolutely brilliant

[@brownsfan7753]

fantastic playing!!

[@shaunmcinnis566]

This is why I believe learning as many sequences as possible is a key factor.

[@fociz]

Fantastic video. Thank you.

[@rayberczik7251]

Whoa!! This guy is phenomenal !! Enough said.

[@lancegould]

That guy is a beast. Killer tone too.

[@johnhendricks1998]

Awesome playing

[@Strings-jg2to]

Beautiful. I love my AZ too.

[@edwardtalavera6449]

That would be great if you interviewed Anton Oparin. His alternate pucking is mesmerising.

[@AdvShooter]

de mis guitarristas favoritos Martin Miller... saludos desde Mexico

[@nethbt]

Martin is simply one of the best all rounders today. Can play metal all the way to fingerstyle jazz. A true guitar god

[@simonpsychosis2812]

The first 32 seconds of this video is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

[@AaronBowley]

not only is his playing fantastic, the tone is as well!!!

[@gabrieloalgo]

I´m saving money for your course. I´m struggling to not spend that on another pedal... Killer videos!

[@Moodymongul]

Martin keeps playing the intro to Steve Morse's Tumeni notes! T'is a good picking primer ;)

[@toneseeker87]

Truly an inspiration. 🙏

[@ScottMartinD]

Unusual choice of guitar for that style of music.

[@tonyflorez703]

Man martin is a real beast !!

[@anthem3560]

beautiful player

[@hilaryhahn]

Love this video ...big thumb up and suscribe !!

[@marclevac412]

Very nice technic a real guitar player bravo

[@DeathBringer769]

I love how the title is "Alternate Picking Anything" but within the first few seconds of the video he's already using hybrid picking instead of jumping the pick down there with pure alternate, lol. Amazing video and amazing player though. Just was a funny thing to see that right away, haha ;)

[@kravvall4869]

Finally someone talking about this, who is really good. Was wondering if "good" players can just pump out different Rhythm that they haven't learned in exactly that way.

[@enigma-g5549]

Good stuff!

[@user-er3zw8ti9c]

Amazing!

[@Ghaos]

Troy, please mass produce the Magnet.

[@flamen89]

martin miller is the absolute man!

[@woobi4739]

great video

[@telecasteroil]

Just realized he points his pointer finger like I do Alot of teachers said I should have tucked it in! I've realized that we all learn from wherever we are comfortable.

[@gw2031]

I love this guy , technique for days but he plays real music,beautiful songs, screaming solos and never forgets the most important lesson,,its all to entertain !

[@songmule]

Studying IS enjoyment in my book.

[@silviomp]

Awesome!!

[@frankiethewolf7712]

Thank you!

[@neuk01642]

Dear God! His hands are mesmeric!

[@ItsMe-qq4lg]

Michael Angelo's speed picking is insane

[@meprobinson]

I get so much out of this series. Thanks!

[@bingefeller]

Martin is really awesome, his technique is spot on. BTW, when will the Joe Stump interview be up?

[@izzate7]

I’m trying to work out this Stephen Taranto luck where this two string outside picking mechanic is prevalent. It’s so hard to get clean and fast like Martin and Stephen can.

[@Nedwin]

Martin is awesome!! If I may request, please get Andreas Oberg to analyze his picking technique.

[@apocalypse299]

Finally I see someone else using a stubby picks. Was always afraid they'll stop production if no one well known uses them!!

[@patrickfouhy9102]

"alternate pick anything" video starts with hybrid picking. haha. :p

[@troygrady]

Touché!

[@patrickfouhy9102]

Troy Grady fantastic video though, as usual. Love your stuff. You’re videos have helped me break through a lot barriers in my technique.

[@TruthSurge]

10:45 actually a lot of pulloffs going on there, not all alt picking but man he's got it sounding very equal so you can't really tell unless you slow it down and examine.

[@Arnytet1]

Amazing

[@MsDavo123]

I immensfully enjoyed it

[@troygrady]

Ha - thanks for watching the the whole thing!

[@MsDavo123]

Troy i love your show and plus Martin Miller is a gigantic virtuoso hahaha and i got to know about him first time thanks to your channel!🤗You are doing smth very important i hope someone will continue your legacy

[@agamhamzah2924]

Very interesting 🍁

[@TomatePasFraiche]

One thing that blew my mind about my own technique: I felt I was an even slower than other beginners at first and put that on the fact I'm a lefty that learned right away as a right handed (my parents asked my in order to buy my first guitar cause they were way cheaper) and I had an "open hand" picking technique not so far from what Martin does. Eventually I found I didn't have enough "tension" to go fast (that was wrong) and after a couple years I forced myself to learn picking with a closed fist and while I gained speed I always had to work extra for accuracy I thought. When I saw this video when it came out I saw Martin would reach speed without issues with his open hand and so I decided to try again and it turns out my brain has an easier time focusing on index and thumb movement when they are not as tightly squeezed and when my other fingers are out of the way, this instantly made my string skipping faster and more accurate and years later it made everything better. Thanks Troy for exposing all of that technical goodness to us for free!

[@TruthSurge]

that's great but can he do a 5 note bend on that guitar and vibrato it? I think when the strings are heavier you can play better picking styles. Prob why you never see Holdsworth do much bending of strings. He has it set up for speed. great clean sound. so round and smooth without raspy high end but he's using that dbl in neck pos. he's amazing at picking. His timing was so spot on.

[@tonyqunta32]

I've read quite a few interviews from the 1970's to the 1990s where Holdsworth mentioned he used light gauge strings (9 to 42 D'addario) and why (he felt he got more 'connection' with the string). I presume he didn't do lots of bends because he chose not to.

[@TruthSurge]

@@tonyqunta32 obviously he chose not to. You never see one. If a guitarist loves to bend strings, you'll be seeing them do it a lot. Alan is one that almost never does it which to me is strange. But... each of us gets to live as we like and that's good. Lots of jazz players hardly ever bend strings. Most acoustic players don't and I attribute that to the size of the strings and the small fret sizes usually used on acoustics. They'd likely do MORE bending if it wasn't so impossible to do.

[@abhishekvoodoo]

Can a six string 1nps typical sweep pattern also be done using this technique?

[@michaelcraig9449]

Can you post up some tabs for this, as it is not easy stuff, thanks.

[@kennydunk]

Haha playing guitar is funny like that he says....hmm let me figure this out.....so true. So frustrating at times too haha. Great job love your content Troy picking is so important can make you sound great or sloppy.

[@Sandemose]

I would love to see a jazz guitarist like Lage Lund (his right hand technuiqe is fantastic) in a video like this.

[@ajsdesignlab9620]

I'm wondering if that guitar is an Ibanez Roadstar? Just curious as I used to have one and it looked very similar, although mine was dark red with black knobs.

[@anthem3560]

doesn't matter Martin could even make uke sound great

[@CarlosCepinha]

wow there are several bits where he plays the changes to the standard "my funny valentine", nice chromatic enclosures, etc... hints Misty at 10m. We need Wes Montgomery thumb tecnique :P that would be pure madness.

[@chrischoir3594]

thanks, what guitar does he play?

[@1kroz1]

Can you do interview with Julian Lage?

[@sullyluther5519]

I have no idea why anyone would down vote this video. One of the best in the business is giving us tips. How is that bad?

[@TechMetalRules]

You kind if mentioned it at the end, but just making sure, does this specific talk have tabs and lick breakdowns like the first interview?

[@troygrady]

Yep!

[@TechMetalRules]

@@troygrady Awesome, thanks! Oh, I have to ask... is there still an interview with Brendon Small in the works?

[@underaglassmoon6056]

I discovered pick-slanting and Troy not long ago, and although I am sold on it, it seems impossible for me to figure out on the spot the slanting. What if you are improvising ? How do you know how you should slant. Even learning tabs for a solo takes forever for me if you add the pickslanting orientation. How is this feasible ?

[@troygrady]

Generally speaking, when motions are fully learned, they're essentially memorized, so there is no more thinking. That's true in sports, and true in instrument technique. That's the focus of this this excerpt. Even phrases which seem similar on the surface can be slightly different enough to require a little "working out", as Martin demonstrates with the arpeggio figure on the top strings.

[@guitarfever898]

What should I say about his picking speed a woodpecker pecking a tree or a hummingbird flapping it's wings....a great guitarist who has mastered the legendary alternative picking😎😎

[@paulvinova]

@ 07:52 oooft, that sounded nice.

[@aleekazmi]

tumeni notes from steve morse. its somewhere in the first 1:00 of that song

[@LUckybones25]

What a monster!

[@troygrady]

Martin is the best!

[@GFJDean35]

What is the name of the tune starting around 10:27? I swear I recognize it

[@ElioChoufani]

Between you and me by Martin Miller himself