Martin Miller's 21st-Century Picking Mechanics

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Martin Miller's futuristic blend of pickslanting and crosspicking gives him cyborg-like alternate picking ability.
You can find both our interviews with Martin Miller here: troygrady.com/interviews/

[@BenEller]

Another incredible video!!!! Thank you all so much, as always, you're truly changing the face of guitar instruction.

[@troygrady]

+Ben Eller As usual you are too kind. ...but don't let that stop you!

[@eojinlie2787]

@@troygrady l

[@KingTabor]

Ben your lessons are gold as well

[@izaiahcaleb1212]

instablaster

[@Arttu1Logic]

Fact🔥

[@louiehawthorn]

“The sheer lack of mistakes in the vast majority of the examples Martin played is a testament to the wide margin of error that his technique clearly has.” Excellent description. Thanks, Troy.

[@SirPrizeMF]

Holy crap, I've been practicing this for about two hours now and my playing has improved more than it has over the last 5 years. This shit is amazing. Thanks for these videos!

[@WilliamTanaka]

plus he is a composer, producer, improviser, sings,... All with excelency.

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

Been a huge fan or Martin's for years now this was so cool to see

[@ViciousPandas]

holy shite balls i know you

[@briann8911]

Unbelievable technique!!! Been practicing it for 4 weeks, and it really allows for near-impossible mechanics. I can now pick the end of the cliffs of dover intro without using finger-picking; just amazing.

[@StevenMartinGuitar]

Very interesting and a true testament to how phenomenonal Martin is! It would be awesome to watch something similar with Guthrie!

[@nickv.7181]

Thanks for introducing me to Martin's playing! Hey Troy, I'd love to see Rick Graham under the scrutiny of the magnet cam.

[@YaoEspirito]

Hopefully by now you've encountered some of his band vids where they tackle Queen and Pink Floyd material. Insane.

[@TobyKBTY]

YESSSSS! He may not be as known as these awesome fellows you usually frequent, but I really hope you can go into the details behind Rick Graham's playing. He is INSANE as well

[@briann8911]

Love it. Its interviews like this, and of course your magnet, that give me more insight than any other picking tutorials. His method works beautifully on two-note per string sequences.

[@Kwert]

These videos have been invaluable for me in developing my picking technique, and approaching practicing exercises and licks from a completely different perspective. Cannot thank you enough for the work you're doing here!

[@jonatanguitar]

This was nothing short of incredible to watch, thank you Troy for a fantastic video! Those arpeggios from The Glass Prison are incredibly hard to play. The first time I heard them I was blown away. Rewinded and listened over and over. After a while I actually thought John Petrucci played them somewhat, well, not sloppy, but almost a bit behind the beat on certain passages. I double checked with live performances and Petrucci plays the arpeggios differently, sometimes with some sweep picking involved - and not very tight at all (we can lower the playback speed on youtube to 0,5x). You can hardly blame him, it's so fast. But the fact remains, Martin Miller is able to pick every note and through these techniques (that he is aware of) he plays the arpeggios more accurate than the original artist. A true guitar technique engineer I would say. See the problem - apply techniques - solve the problem. Incredible.

[@troygrady]

+Jonatan OTW Great comment. If I can add anything it's that I don't really believe so much in "hard" any more. It was "hard" to cure Polio before we knew what caused it, because we were essentially trying things that had no reason to work in the first place. The same would be true trying to play Yngwie with no knowledge of techniques like pickslanting. When you see someone like Martin, who can play these kinds of lines all day long with very little effort and a very high expectation of accuracy, what this really means is that he's found a way of doing it that makes them easy. All we have to do is figure out what it is!

[@jonatanguitar]

+Troy Grady Very true! Thanks again.

[@severalpaperclips]

+Troy Grady Yet we still live in a musical world where the dominant culture says "just keep practicing until you figure it out." Boggles my mind how so many guitarists (and even instructors) adhere to tenets that would be rejected by instructors in virtually any other domain. "You want to learn to program in Java? Just keep typing until you figure it out..." "You want to learn violin? Here's you're instrument, go experiment on your own until you find a technique that feels right to you..." "You want to learn to box? There's the ring, get to learnin'..."

[@jonatanguitar]

+severalpaperclips Sad but true. Let's do our best by trying to change that, Troy's videos is a huge step in the right direction for guitar education.

[@MartinMillerGuitar]

Gotta agree with you, that has been bugging me for ages. Some people are lucky to just stumble across things, while others need specific guidance. Citing famous players as examples cause they claim to be self-taught is silly, because they are exceptions to the rule. If someone struggles with picking it's not because they lack the requirements to do it, but it's because they're using the wrong mechanics. An instrumemt like the violin or piano is largely figured out and standartized, which is why music schools and colleges are having a much higher success rate when it comes to bringing forth virtuoso players. Hell, that even goes for classical guitar!

[@Effectivemusicpractice]

Troy you did it again! Thank you for for introducing me to this amazing player. And thank you Martin for sharing your secret sauce.

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Fantastic. These videos have changed my life, Troy. Thank you for all of your work!

[@yoitsmegabe]

These categories sound like bizarre insults: "Eric is a downwar pick slanter" hahaha great video man!

[@superjorgebros]

Hshahhahaha true

[@lwilso20]

And like Martin, I never once put thought into "picking technique" up until a few years ago. 7 years of trial and error gave me a very similar picking style to his. I started out playing bluegrass with some older people when I was about 13. That's where my crosspicking abilities came from. I also spent a lot of time playing acoustic guitar and arpeggiating notes. I actually learned to arpeggiate notes before I ever started strumming chords. I never put much thought into inside vs outside picking, economy vs alternate, etc. I just played it the way it was easiest to play. It takes a lot more energy to play this way, but it's what is easier for me. Nice video. Thought I was the only weirdo.

[@vonmilash823]

it's interesting at 2:10 the way troy's fingers end up under the strings. it was the old MAB video that got me experimenting with three finger anchoring to enable a DPS (upwards escape) that basically lead me actually tucking my fingers under the strings to develop an inward/outward motion. i can now DPS/UPS without anchoring... but every once in a while i'll feel my fingers grabbing the bottom sidewall of the tray-style bridge of my tele. I'm naturally an UPS and can now just as easily DPS (Thanks to Troy and MAB), but the Andy Wood vids got me "re-embracing" my UPS mechanics for many things. I guess it's "keep everything on and the table and do whatever works."

[@KyleS.1987]

Been a fan of this dude since the Petrucci Forum was a thing. An amazing player and a good dude.

[@bmann792]

Not one time was the pick grip discussed - how tight he’s grasping the pick itself. Some people hold it very stiff and drive the pick through the strings but others let it move around a bit. This makes a huge impact in picking speed and articulation.

[@RoaryTime]

Beautiful video! This type of content is paving the way towards mastery. Sending love!

[@LemonheadFr]

i'm happy to discover I've been doing that MP motion forever without knowing it was a thing

[@Andreorsel]

Very important to mention is his use of the whole arm for string placement, like Steve Morse does. It is the combination of the whole thing together: Shoulder, arm, wrist, fingers.

[@davidschonberger8609]

Man, that is just kick ass! I'll be joining Cracking the Code today. Thanks, Troy!

[@CharafB1]

simply amazing, thanks for these videos Troy, the best chanel on youtube

[@Dynamitarian]

Great musicians as always, Troy. 1) I hope there will be studio albums with great compositions, that will deploy fully Martin Miller's or Marshall Harrison's great talents. 2) I feel that one day you will be interviewing Yngwie himself!!! A cycle will close.

[@SkyscraperGuitars]

Fantastic look into his mechanics. Great work as always Troy.

[@AwesomeOf]

your videos are awesome! This Channel is so underrated it really deserves to be more recognised

[@JoseMartinez-oe5jj]

The production of this video is top notch. Very fine and instructional. Thanks

[@thegamingguy1]

Holy cow, that was one in depth video! Awesome content!

[@shredgd5]

Incredible and astonishing! Fantastic job in making this video!

[@arielmst]

How good can a video be? This is a real content creation masterpiece!

[@Bmxmusikian]

Sick! I came up with this concept a few weeks ago as an idea, just not practiced it much yet, and miller is amazing at it! Im blown away

[@Benbutlermusic]

Excellent video once again Troy! I can't tell you how many players I have turned on to your videos. And Martin so such an incredible player. This video affirms what I have been thinking about all of this… that mastery of cross picking is really where it's at. And this is because it removes the limitation of adhering to pick slanting rules and allows you to be ready for practically any melodic passage. Between Martin, Steve Morse, Albert Lee and the bluegrass players I think it's obvious that getting cross picking up to a high speed reaps the most rewards.

[@srdjanbosnjak7413]

+Ben Butler Exactlly.It just gives you total freedom. And one more thing.Tone.Alternate picked(cross picked)one note per string lines just sound more dynamic(better)in contrast to flat sound of sweep picking...despite what someone(even Troy)is saying

[@troygrady]

+Ben Butler There is no question that crosspicking adds another layer of superpowers to what we can do with picking. But Martin is also equally reliant on pickslanting, and uses both systems to varying degrees for different licks. The Glass Prison example we look at here is just one of those, which is very clearly a 2wps lick where pickslanting makes some of the crosspicked string changes easier. The many ways he tackles pentatonic licks in the interview is another good example. They are sometimes uwps, sometimes dwps, and often with a little crosspicking movement baked in. It's very hard to call them one or another. No question this makes summarizing and teaching what he's doing a little harder. But Martin himself is a pretty analytical guy so hopefully he'll be able to shed some more light on this as he becomes more conscious of these movements.

[@Keitsch77]

This video and Martin sharing this is sooooo awesome! Thank you

[@timbaisden6600]

This is so nice to see. Somewhere along my learning path I naturally became an MP extender, and before I saw this video I thought I was going to have to try to unlearn it in exchange for the other techniques you describe. It's nice to know that I accidentally developed a superpower that I can keep and now use to greater effect!

[@theelmagoo]

Love your content, it's been life changing as a guitarist! Might I suggest to go interview Wes Hauch as he's not only a staunch believer in what you've discovered, but he teaches it really well (and is one of the cleanest sounding shred monsters you'll hear..... like every not is just crisp and articulated so perfectly).

[@jz4901]

Fantastic video and observations of a phenomenal player. Thank you TG and team, regards! Jz

[@PlayFloyd_IN]

Wow! This is pure inspiration! Thanks Martin and Troy. :)

[@abhinashtechdeathchuck8855]

Thank you Mr troy for your awesome research and sharing with us....

[@Loutube2006]

Very enlightening video! Bravo! One factor maybe I just havn't heard is how tightly one holds the pick. It looks to me like Martin lightens up on how he holds the pick when applying more crosspicking.

[@NielsBeier]

Another great episode - thanks Troy!

[@GrooveDuude]

Brilliant. Another great discovery Troy. Funny you helped him discover his own technique! I always learn a lot from you and your guests.🖖🏼

[@RohannvanRensburg]

Again Troy, thanks for this. Not only is the presentation entertaining but the scientifically analytical angle you take from a mechanics standpoint is really appropriate and needed. And kudos for throwing Dream Theater in there :D. Would love your take on Jari Maenpaa's odd 4-string sweeps and the like in Wintersun, though it's probably something you've covered already.

[@jadeowenhamblyn4405]

He puts SO much work into these videos!

[@ari.martin]

Excelent video! Thanks Troy!!!

[@bulzah]

Guthrie Govan next !!!!

[@themanlikepaul]

That would be awesome.

[@jamesrockford2626]

please no

[@abrarjahinnafi1634]

That would be pointless.

[@vectoranonymous7867]

Guthrie picks a small fraction of his notes and his picking technique is really simple braced economy style. He's all left hand

[@FSMusic86]

James Rockford fuck you, he is the best guitarist

[@sigurdfyllingkarstad2694]

I'm a cross alternate picker too. And one thing that would be worth mentioning is how hard/soft to hold the pick. It makes a huge difference. And also how far back/forward on the pick one could/should hold to allow natural tilt (Or slant as you call it) I had to figure that out for myself. And yes it's a very individual thing, but a good starting point never hurt anyone. And again Troy, very entertaining video! 😉

[@rudicci]

Martin Miller is one of the greatest guitar players of this generation. One of my favorite episode(added to my Fav list) Amazing Job Troy.

[@FazSaber]

Martin's picking reminds me a lot of Kiko Loureiro's (ex-Angra guitarist/current Megadeth guiarist) I'm sure he does this 'Miller Picking'

[@luanreis3926]

+Paul Farrell I agree! Probably he does. Also, would be interesting to analyse the whole mechanics Kiko uses.

[@AlankritSinghBangMafia]

Ex angra?

[@FazSaber]

+Onkel Bin yer :s He's officially left Angry, hasn't he? The guitarist from Almah has replaced him right? I'm sure I remember Rafael posting a statement that Kiko has officially left since he's in Megadeth.

[@AlankritSinghBangMafia]

Paul Farrell :(, i thought angra took a break from touring, thats why he was able to make an album for megadeth.

[@FazSaber]

+Onkel Bin Nope :/ Kiko and Rafael were a great guitar team too.

[@MrKylederp]

Get Jason Richardson on here. Or Sims Cashion or Rick Graham

[@JoeWhettam]

I'd love a Rick Graham study. His sound is perfect.

[@benodell7906]

Yes!

[@maaaaaap]

i have my doubts about Jason's teaching ability, but he is an insane player definitely

[@unfetteredaxes1032]

Cool ...you know SIMS!!!! Dats ma BOIII!!!

[@fernandomoreno7753]

@@unfetteredaxes1032 sims is everyones boi

[@ClayWilliams]

Wow what an amazing video! Thanks

[@oscarwagner4515]

Thanks man,great video!!!

[@shoreserenity]

amazing work Troy! It would be great to see more international players in the series ( of course when logistics allow ) One player comes to mind from Brazil: André Nieri - another monster.

[@archivaltransfer]

fascinating, great work very illustrative!

[@billdent3979]

Hi Troy, I didn't read the fine print and sent you a private message. Oops. In any case, the issue I was having being a cross/alternate picker for 30 years and always hitting the 'speed wall' has finally opened up. I had never consciously thought about pick slanting. Each technique you bring out in your videos adds to a versatile arsenal of possibilities. As one example, I worked out my diatonic descending fours just adding an upward pick slant on the 1st note of each group and that unlocked my right hand. It also makes it effortless to vary the accent on each beat. I could go on and on talking about how these techniques are so simple yet often elusive. Suffice it to say THANK YOU, Troy for sharing your mastery and passion, and giving me a key to something I've been trying to do for a long time!

[@tecnolover2642]

Great video. Thanks!

[@iraskal1706]

great lesson thank you troy and mark

[@sergioandres1135]

That lick at 10:00... Holy fucking fuck.

[@abnzg]

that's the main melody of "tumeni notes" by steve morse

[@motorcitysmitty]

An honor to study with such a gifted player and instructor that is Martin Miller!

[@FrankSteffenMueller]

Brutal gut!. Awesome. Thanks for sharing this. Very inspiring :)

[@pingshanluan8049]

Hi Troy. Big fan of both you and Martin. I am a subscriber of MiM. I watched this interview many times, and what I actually found was Martin's arm motion played a major role in his technique. His hand/finger movement is very small comparing to Steve Morse but he can still do cross picking. From what I saw, Martin uses his arm to compensate his hand/finger motion (Is this called tracking in MiM? I forgot.). I tried it and it was very effective to me. Gotta say, you have the greatest guitar video/lesson/tutorial ever!

[@AndreNieri]

One of a kind

[@dineshveliath]

Troy... as usual, excellent work...your contribution to the guitar community is immense. Having purchased both the 'Volcano' and ' Anti-Gravity'....

[@severalpaperclips]

+Dinesh Veliath Doesn't Antigravity kick so much ass it's ridiculous? Glad it came out within my lifetime.

[@dineshveliath]

+severalpaperclips : very true.... i remember back in the day...when i used to watch the likes of Yngwie , Marty shred to heaven and back....and wonder "how do these guys do it"?!! kudos to you Troy...u have removed the 'physical' block between creativity and expression

[@jerky2112]

You need to check out Dave Disanto of Vektor. He has a very unique picking style. It resembles "snap picking" or "circular picking" but it uses a LOT of thumb snapping.

[@Andreorsel]

Of all the players examined by Troy in my opinion Martin Miller has the best, most accurate picking technique. With all the other players there will always be some accidentally hitting strings above or below the one that should be picked only at higher speeds, but with Martin this is never the case! It has to be those extra small finger movements (thumb and index) which makes it so unbelievable accurate at those blistering speeds. I'm everytime in awe watching it happen. Just, WOW!

[@sadzidsmajkic6181]

It's so strange to se this motion. It looks like pick is moving too away from the strings in unefficent way. They always tell you in order to be able to shred high speed you need to make your movements as small and as economical as possible. Great video!

[@MartinMaat]

On a more primitive level I can relate to this. I started playing when I was 15 without any guidance from anyone yet I developed pretty good alternate picking skills. I could (still can, it's like riding a bike) quickly run the major scale up and down in different ways and people were easily impressed by it. Unfortunately I lacked the ear or talent to play anything else so I ended up with a nice tone and the ability to play along with simple music using single notes but never developed a broader understanding of music. I think had I been better in understanding the musical language, I would have developed my playing further and the fingers and picking would have followed. That just falls into place automatically if it is the most effective way to play something, it becomes like walking. Finger movements get linked to musical phrases in your control system after being repeated a number of times. Typical in this regard is Yngwie, when asked about his right hand technique his answer was "I don't know, I never looked. I just knew what I wanted to hear". I never knew what I wanted to hear, I just went through the motions and sometimes I was like "O, that's cool!". At age 54 I know that is not the way. I acknowledge that sometimes you need to be shown the basics to get you on the right track but I am skeptical about the usefulness of all this to the typical guitar student.

[@superjorgebros]

Holy shit!!! This is happening to me, thank u for the advice

[@doctorpresident5681]

Pure gold at 4:30!

[@jaconova]

Hi, Troy Grad. I think a missing component/topic in the series (I think I understand why) is the amount and kind of pressure you apply to the pick (usually wuth thumb and index). Here we see Martin Miller is lightly holding the pick, so the pick flops considerably. The physical sensation and proficiency can change considerably based on that said pressure (or lackof). Another thing the series might have missed is discussing a bit of the pick themselves: calibers and types. Your videos are awesome, thanks!

[@logansomma6283]

hey troy. I just wanna thank you. about a year ago I already had an understanding of alternate picking (or so I thought). but early last year I decided to really devote myself to studying the technique as it was a hurdle I had reached but not yet crossed in my mind. long story short one year later I am applying concepts I encountered in your videos to 4 note per string diatonic scale patterns (and the poptarts lick) and consistently reaching well over 20 nps . thank you for your insight and time and effort. I never would have been able to apply my actual potential picking speed to actual licks had I never encountered pick slanting.

[@ayushmanbhalla8737]

martin is one of the best technical player of this generation, his picking stuffs are like a god level.....

[@cricri8022]

9:58, the way he executes "tumeni notes" of Steve Morse, this is mindblowind

[@lukeelliott6328]

Awesome video.. I can't imagine doing any of this without Jazz III picks though. Those picks changed my playing forever.

[@severalpaperclips]

+Lukesifer sixsixsix I find that for one-way pickslanting, virtually any pick will work. But for two-way pickslanting, the sound of my attack on my secondary slant really suffers without a sharp pick. But for me the prescription is the Jazz III XL, only downside being that the nylon is less grippy than I'd like. I used the regular black stiffo Jazz III for a couple of years, but I've come back to preferring regular-sized picks. I've got to track down some Tortex Jazz III XLs to see if they give me the best of all worlds...

[@BradleyBemis]

Would love to see Andy James on here!! Show us upward pickslanters some love! Great interview Troy!

[@sergejkrynycky728]

How the hell Troy has only 100K subs?!?!?!?!?! This channel deserves at least a 1M.

[@satchrules101]

What a beast of picker! I’ll never stop tell I’m as good as a picker like Martin!

[@daniramirezgtr]

thanks!!! very nice video

[@DanielVerberne]

I also love Martin's identifiable tone - warm and soulful.

[@DanielLinhares91]

Amazing video, bro! Thanks for the care to explain the technique. I'm pretty sure Gus G does this too!

[@SamuelPinho1]

Troy, thats amazing!

[@rmp5s]

Love that Ibanez. Bad ass player. Awesome vid.

[@daylight1016]

Awesome video!!!

[@y2cmorley]

Wow, nice explanation.👏

[@napestar]

If Guthrie Govan is ever in your area you should totally do an interview. For the good of humanity.

[@nathanguitar4246]

Nape Star amen!!!

[@masondixon1718]

This is brilliant!

[@javerzgolf]

Best episode yet

[@davidjames7001]

Oh damn. I was naturally doing his kind of picking, except I was over tensing and assumed I needed to change the overall technique, but I guess I could've just relaxed a little and stuck with it ;)

[@LarsBauer74]

sick technique! and amazing analysis by Troy who, BTW is also an awesome guitarist!

[@sn95_mustang_garage]

These videos are genius, learn so much.

[@jeanpolcasanova6176]

Man ! Your work is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing .could you study Jason Becker and make a video ?

[@XxYngwiexX]

this is the fucking best channel for guitar players who like to do the shits right....good job sir, and thanks you so much

[@gbrar86]

Amazingggggg video. Deserves a million plus views. Was interested to know how he works palm muting into his picking

[@ItsLomain]

Hey Troy, what would be very cool is if you did this with a beginner player, and show the differences between them and master players like Paul Gilbert and Eric Johnson.

[@Flornmonk]

I have said this once but I'll say it again. You absolutely NEED to do a breakdown on Shawn Lane's technique!

[@KingTabor]

+Flornmonk HOW?

[@Flornmonk]

+Marcus Vinnas By watching his videos?

[@erickindel3730]

he's fucking dead you idiot

[@Flornmonk]

Eric Kindel You're the fucking idiot here. Of course I know he's dead. I just want Troy to study the videos that are available on youtube and then break it down in to episodes. Just like he did with Vinnie Moore, Eric Johnson and Paul Gilbert. He made separate videos on those guys just by studying video footage of them.

[@KingTabor]

+Flornmonk Lane was so fast that maybe only videos isnt enough IMHO

[@Ivan_Ku.]

"Cascades: I'm not your lover" arpeggios - I try to play it 8 years and nothing!! max 130 bpm! And now I have a chance finally play it well)) Thanks!

[@edparker3549]

Wow, very insightful stuff

[@thebraian2500]

only 56k subs? you deserve 1 million!

[@georgehenry8391]

This appears to be the thing I was missing in my technique that led to me giving up guitar 20 years ago. John McLaughlin was the super fast picker back in those days ... Whom I wanted to emulate and could never get it, so I moved on to other pursuits.

[@TheGazza83]

Come with me if you want to shred! ;-)

[@troygrady]

+TheGazza83 Touché!

[@Jon_lust_]

I'd love to have an explanation of that one day. Because I'm french, and nobody uses this expression. ^^

[@SkitaEkul]

Think it is a reference from the movie "Terminator 2"

[@Jon_lust_]

SkitaEkul Havn't seen this one. Such a bad filmography culture. ^^ Thank you for explanation !

[@troygrady]

Ha! I think you're asking about the phrase "touché". It's a technical term from fencing, used when your opponent has hit ("touched") you with their sword and scored a point. In common conversation, it is an acknowledgement that someone said something even more clever than what you said. And yes, what TheGazza83 said was a paraphrased quotation from the movie "Terminator". So many layers here!

[@PedroDuarteMusic]

Great stuff! It confirmed my own opinion. I've been looking at Martin Miller and Tom Quayle picking for some time because we had a few lessons with both back on the DIME Guitar degree. I had notice it. Also, Troy, you know one guy that, IMO, does the same type of "finguer swing technique"? Daniele Gottardo and Govan too I noticed it because I had the privilege of sitting one-on-one the amazing Gottardo and I attended a few workshops and gigs by Govan. Is the "swing pick technique" a tendency for 2020!? Amazing work, keep it up pls! New knowledge is beeing created.