Martin Miller on Alternate Picking Anything

[@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

[@ゾカリクゾ]

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)

[@DavidDiMuzio]

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

[@cryptoskywalker6000]

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

[@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.

[@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!!

[@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!

[@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!

[@danielsantana5126]

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

[@chipperhippo]

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

[@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.

[@shredgd5]

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

[@sonatedaquiTFM]

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

[@KRayxKodessA]

Martin is ridiculously good.

[@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, 👍🎸🎸🎸

[@nuclearkibbles]

I love it when i see someone i admire so much have such a human moment of figuring out. It makes me feel so justified in my own playing.

[@imacashew.]

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

[@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.

[@roborob767]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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).

[@erikceman5354]

Martin is a Monster

[@lordviewer7305]

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

[@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.

[@nethbt]

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

[@edwardtalavera6449]

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

[@Free_Falastin2024]

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

[@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.

[@Moodymongul]

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

[@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!

[@shaunmcinnis566]

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

[@simonpsychosis2812]

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

[@johnsmith-pw7oj]

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

[@axe2rock]

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

[@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?

[@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 !

[@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.

[@HansAaraas]

Tremendous player. His playing is so clean.

[@royyan29]

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

[@MojoPapiFPV]

Fascinating to see how he's not even really aware of how drastically different it is when he's ripping on it than when he's playing slow, but you can SEE the difference in how much more efficient it is at speed and the "amplitude" of the pick is much lower at speed (the distance from the string needs to be much less in order to play at speed), and during the slowed down playing he allows the pick to move much more because there is time for that.

[@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?

[@paulyoung4781]

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

[@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

[@Ortemon]

Is he playing tumeni notes by Steve Morse?

[@yorulaney8563]

I thought the same

[@stringbenderbb]

Yes. In the first interview he does plenty of that.

[@Andreorsel]

Yes he does and without the swiping (hitting surrounding strings) like Steve does. Martin is just unreal when it comes to aperggio one note per string playing.

[@albinullanger7862]

@@Andreorsel you sure about that? Steve Morse is pretty much famous for his: Alternate picking.

[@Andreorsel]

@@albinullanger7862, sure he is famous for his alternate picking and he does it very well. But, he is swiping. Just go to the Troy Grady cracking the code website and subscribe as a member. Now you can watch all the video stuff Troy has made with close-ups and slowmo from Steve's picking. The swiping is obvious. It is nothing like sweeping. When he alternate picks for instance that aperrgio part on the low strings in Tumenie Notes he is not always jumping cleab over the strings but often also hits a string above or below togehter one that is suposed to be hit. Due to his superb damping technique you most if the time won't hear it because the ringing note is much louder then the dampened note which is just a very short plopping noise. Lot's if players do this without even knowing, it is all discussed and showed by Troy. Martin is one if the very few players that actually can play that kind of stuff without any swiping, which is just awesome!

[@gabrieloalgo]

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

[@HHJoshHH]

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

[@GusDrax]

Excellent! Really great right hand technique.

[@martinrosschou]

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

[@troygrady]

Thanks Martin!

[@valerienatesmolina9769]

Thanks Troy for this great interview!

[@JuanCarlosDelgadoB]

What is the name of the song at the intro?

[@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 ;)

[@hartmusicph]

Wow! Thanks for having him!

[@abhishekvoodoo]

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

[@mutantkoffee]

Is he saying at 8:27 that 3 reps per exercise, pattern, etc. its enough? Many guitarist are in the void of more is better so If he says that, that some serious insight, mature and fresh. Great player, great video.

[@troygrady]

He's just saying that at that specific moment he wasn't able to play it more than three times without screwing up. He was workshopping that phrase for the cameras. In general, however, I would caution against looking at picking motions like gym exercise - they're not the same, and "repetitions" is not what helps you acquire new types of coordination. Instead, it's change. If you're not feeling the "a-ha" moment of doing something right, then you need to change something about your form and try again. Definitely don't repeat things exactly the same if it's not working.

[@mutantkoffee]

@@troygrady great advice, so for example, doing exercises, or scales, etc during 10', you know like routines is worthless? Thanks.

[@MartinMillerGuitar]

@@mutantkoffee Troy just gave you some of the best technique advice I've ever read!

[@1kroz1]

Can you do interview with Julian Lage?

[@Ghaos]

Troy, please mass produce the Magnet.

[@shredgod6394]

I want to be able to sound jazzy like that. What scales and chords should I be starting with? Please not too much theory to confuse me I only know the very basics. Just some chord shape/names and some scales to look up

[@drewpeterson7]

Honestly, playing jazz with any degree of authority (as Martin is in various places here) is going to require at least a decent grasp of music theory.

[@shredgod6394]

Drew Peterson I understand the basics of intervals and building chords.

[@Athraminaurian]

Check out the bebop scales and learn to really make the changes. The best way to do that is transcribing.

[@troygrady]

I'll give you my hot take: altered dominant. Any of them. The diminished scale or the "altered" scale are the big choices. This is a gross oversimplification, but when most of us rock dudes hear great jazz players and wonder how they get "that sound", the sound they're referring to is the sound of an altered dominant chord, with a diminished or altered scale lick on top of it, resolving to the tonic chord.

[@shredgod6394]

Troy Grady Thanks dude!!

[@valerienatesmolina9769]

Thanks Martin for this great video!

[@anthonywens6387]

4:54 - 'These are lines, we're asking the pick to do a fairly 'complicated-mechanical-thing' in beat with the lick. Lovely.

[@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.

[@AdvShooter]

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

[@michaelcraig9449]

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

[@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.

[@anthem7777]

doesn't matter Martin could even make uke sound great

[@Strings-jg2to]

Beautiful. I love my AZ too.

[@AaronBowley]

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

[@frankiethewolf7712]

Thank you!

[@lancegould]

That guy is a beast. Killer tone too.

[@marclevac412]

Very nice technic a real guitar player bravo

[@rayberczik7251]

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

[@brownsfan7753]

fantastic playing!!

[@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.

[@fociz]

Fantastic video. Thank you.

[@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.

[@imacashew.]

2:19 And there you have it. You have to practice EVERYTHING. Every phrase you would regularly use with slight variations as you progress. Every time you change one note it will require more good ole fashioned practice.

[@valebliz]

And that's why pure shredding is a waste of time, you can't improv with it. Much more interesting to develop flexible systems like Gambale's.

[@israelcanova]

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

[@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

[@anthem7777]

beautiful player

[@johnhendricks1998]

Awesome playing

[@tman6495]

So there seems to be tons of topics on Alternate picking, pick slanting etc. But has anyone done a vid coordinating the fingering hand with all this pick hand knowledge. There I would think a formula to put both hands together to allow it to flow smoothly. Unless it's my chording/fingering hand that's lagging in speed!....lol

[@leemcdaid6537]

Troy, what frame rate are you recording your videos at? A jump to 120 fps would have your half speed videos super clear!

[@troygrady]

All the slow motion stuff is 120fps. We don't usually do 240fps because it's not necessary for most guitar playing movements in the 150-220bpm range. However we've used it for super fast players like John Taylor who are hitting 300bpm with certain types of motions.

[@leemcdaid6537]

@@troygrady Thanks for the clarification Troy... cheers!

[@JoaoGasparGuitar]

Congrats Troy !! Best in analyzing and helping guitar players !

[@MartinDee2000]

Unusual choice of guitar for that style of music.

[@bingefeller]

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

[@supermotorcat]

Not a huge fan of the Ibanez s-style, but the intonation seems amazing on that guitar.

[@jefferyong-ft1pq]

Its the AZ

[@yeesenchai]

Get Malmsteen on, I wanna see him alternate pick with his teeth

[@kennydunk]

I never could do that like even a little bit.

[@Nedwin]

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

[@ericquevedo8055]

Where do I get one of those fretboard phone holders?

[@ericksaulchangperez9388]

What blue pick is marty usin?

[@chrischoir3594]

thanks, what guitar does he play?

[@guitarkirby]

What song is at the very beginning of this?

[@mctwistx1248]

help with 3 note per string picking, my pick gets stuck between strings

[@cmd3668]

What is he using to record his hand??

[@GuitarUniverse2013]

What is the orange thing?

[@apocalypse299]

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

[@ModernGolfer]

What, in the drumming world, is called "Limb Independence". Or, in the case of the technique becoming difficult to play when changing the fretting, a LACK of limb independence. The body does a good job of hands / feet working together, and learns to do that proficiently. However, change an aspect of that (in this case, the fretting), and the body views that as a 'new task' that must now be learned. A good guess also is that even more subtle things like changing guitars will also affect limb independence, particular if there's a large difference in the playing characteristics of guitars. This proves two things: 1) Rote memorization of hand movements plays a larger part than, perhaps, previously understood and, 2) 'Mastery' may have as much to do with simple repetition and rote memorization as any 'inspired genius' in terms of playing.

[@songmule]

Studying IS enjoyment in my book.