Secrets of Gambale Sweeping! Ch. 3 - The Mystery of Alternate Picking + John McLaughlin

[@zachrollins9034]

I just want to say as an aspiring content creator for guitar tutorials that your channel is a shining example of the kind of detail and production quality that dedicated students of the instrument like you and all the followers of this channel appreciate so much. So many self taught players get stuck in bad habits to the point of plateau, but videos like this series really demystify great playing for so many people in an accessible way. Cheers!

[@troygrady]

Alternate picking is actually a key component of Gambale Sweeping, and Frank is damn great at it. This is how the "single escape" version of it works. We'll look at double escape in video five.

[@alpardal]

Great video as usual! In the last example the three-note-per-string is in the middle of a descending sweep phrase, so it makes sense that he would keep the upward pick slanting - do you have ascending examples like that that show if he'll switch to a up escape instead?

[@troygrady]

Coming up in the fifth installment. Just keep in mind that the pickslant and the escape are two different things. You can change the pickslant with your grip, but the escape won't change at all. To change the escape, you need to actually change the direction your hand or arm is moving. In Frank's case, he does that with wrist motion. The next video will make this super clear. I hope!

[@alpardal]

@@troygrady Awesome

[@whoschiliisit1752]

I knew there had to be a double escape coming up somewhere from watching his Chop Builder which is almost entirely alternate picked and he never breaks a sweat

[@JuddOakes]

So interesting cause I remember always hearing down stroke on the downbeat and up stroke on the offbeat but when I do downstroke escape it dosnt always work out for even number but if i switch the picking to up down it feels so much easier

[@SkwisgaarScampini]

Good Lord the amount of detail and analysis is unlike anything ive ever seen

[@revivalistsfire]

Love the camera mount! One thing you might notice and what was not mentioned is on the up stroke Frank uses his pinky to push his hand up a bit to ensure he clears the string on downstroke when he hits the next string.

[@bradsims5116]

Most people avoid up sweeps. His playing is flawless. What a magician.

[@EgoShredder]

FFS! Now we learn that Frank is about 50x better than we first thought.

[@SvenBlumer]

You just got my best laugh for the day. Made the world seem a little better for acknowledging the beauty and the beast that is Frank Gambale. And I mean beast in the kindliest expression of admiration. Inspiring to know that he is generous with sharing his knowledge with us all. RESPECT ;) #boccagambale #frankgambale @frankgambale

[@mattmugridge8839]

Yep, you got it

[@SvenBlumer]

Let's all be very Frank: Maestro Gambale is basically the guitar master's master/hero...it takes a while, but when it dawns, it hits home hard. BIG-ness of spirit. Many, many more moons and albums to you, bless you sir!!

[@getredytagetredy]

Fantastic Pro Camera work... Video vision, audio, feel, Its all a gestalt for clarity... Brilliance..

[@Plymouthmusicschool]

Troy. I have been teaching guitar since 1987 and have always been baffled by technical players practicing licks for thousands of hours..I could listen to you teach all day long. Thank you!

[@rickyjones7282]

Frank Gambale has been a major influence of mine since his instructional videos first came out!!! I've developed a sweeping technique which is different from Frank in someways but some is the same!!! Frank Gambale opened doors for me & others & not many players can claim that!!! I have to also mention that Michael Angelo Batio,Yngwie Malmsteen & Joe Stump have also been a major influence too my picking technique & another player who doesn't get enough credit for his picking is Oz Noy!!! Paul Gilbert is also worth a mention as is Vinnie Moore!!!!

[@jeffh3409]

I love at the 1:41 mark when Troy says, "And this is where it gets interesting." LOL. I was interested from the opening riff!!!

[@CC-qb9sm]

Thanks again Troy and Frank! My thanks also to Ben Eller, as his channel pointed me to this channel sometime back, so thankful for that and for this channel. Troy, I also really liked your observation about none of the guitar magazines ever talking about this back in the day! That sure would have helped!!

[@troygrady]

Ben is the best!

[@Addicted2Guitar]

It's like discovering the secret to happiness.

[@itsianwood]

Seriously one of the best videos I have EVER watched! THANK YOU Troy!!!

[@jmacc9876]

Wow, I came here for guitar content but I have to commend you on a truly Top quality youtube video. Any creator wanting to make an educational/explanatory video about anything should look to your channel for inspiration.

[@Fu_Mao]

Best Channel for picking by far!!! This video is pure gold

[@lucasstoll5387]

I'm no Gambale, but my personal insight on the up-stroke start: when I initially began working out my alternate picking mechanics, I noticed a strong tendency to end on a down stroke, which was helpful with odd numbered rhythms, but made even numbered sequences difficult. Ending on an up-stroke just didn't jive for me. My solution was to start with the up-stroke and let my muscle memory carry out the sequence. For me, it just felt more natural to concentrate on the starting pick motion. I can go both ways now, but if anyone else is struggling in this way, I'd suggest trying this.

[@thejkyle]

I just picked up a Desert Yellow Ibanez 540S because it reminded me of ol Frank. Such a great player.

[@RicardoMarlowFlamenco]

One major thing is left hand fingering. I found a lot of sloppy picking things where I pick through the trap (swiping) requires left hand release of bad notes, or muting of them, while only the target note is heard. The percussive sound can be desirable and even the neck pick up vs bridge cleans things up with distortion. I missed out on this as Kramer kid with only bridge pickup and I was avoiding the issue by refingering stuff intuitively to allow only escape crossing etc.

[@taspiliot]

The single escape while playing twos or fours on every string makes perfect sense. But I'm wondering if you noticed or if he mentioned what movement he does when alternate picking three notes per string, like the scale workout on the 'Chop builder' video?? I'm guessing the double escape.. would be cool to know for sure!

[@karilamervo5343]

Troy Grady, you shall really be commended of your great guitar instruction.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

Ok I (not to mention George Benson, Stochello etc) use these combinations for UPX/DWPS but starting on the downstroke. Mirror image.

[@juanrodriguezvictor292]

Excelente amigo maestro 👍muchas gracias!

[@Smittefar1]

This is a great series - I've never really adopted any economy or sweep picking in my vocabulary, but this makes me think that I could quite easily incorporate a few select doses.

[@troygrady]

I don't see why not! Most people use one of these core motions already, either DSX or the USX motion which we'll look at in the last episode. And once you have one of those, you can incorporate the sweep that matches with it. It's a two-fer.

[@Smittefar1]

@@troygrady I am definitely primarily a downstroke escape kind of guy, so it should be possible. My biggest challenge is to break the alternating motion and the hand movement sync to the beat.

[@agirlsname7159]

Exciting series! FG was always a robot of impossible mystery to me.

[@merttalay9702]

Thanks Mr Grady great as always.

[@anthonyjohnson4734]

Nice coverage.

[@nogoogleplus]

Awesome vid guys! I would've given my left nad to see this when I was like 12, but happy to see it now that's for sure!

[@troygrady]

Me too! It's going in the DeLorean at 88 miles per hour when we build it.

[@LloydMajor]

Thank you for the class!

[@headkickko609]

One would say the upstroke is king and Paul Gilberts galloping upstroke exercise really makes a difference!

[@ciabhannahbaic670]

Glad to hear I wasn't missing anything major by not buying and reading every Guitar Player magazine back in the 80's. Nice subtle FE truth drop too, Troy.😉👍

[@troygrady]

Sorry if that came off the wrong way. There was tons of value in those magazines, and all the instructional stuff too. The original REH Yngwie video, even though Yngwie is often derided for not really "teaching" on it, was *the* breakthrough for me. He knew enough to let people get a good look at what his hands were doing, and we might not even be here if he hadn't!

[@Ric-Roze]

Excellent work on this subject Troy 👍

[@nunomellomusic]

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

[@Calymos]

Man, I've said it on the other ones, but I've been trying to get through Gambale's Chop Builder for years and I think this set of videos will actually let me learn the rest, haha! Troy, you're the fucking best, lol.

[@javierothonmusic]

A month ago I found (by accident) that by practicing economy picking, my alternate picking got better, especially in decending lines either odd or even numbers. so then i started practicing those 1234 finger excercises that every body knows, starting on downstrokes like i always did but now I combined it with a 2nd round starting with upstrokes. And NOW you post this series with Gambale on Your channel! Your channel is full of useful info! So people if you practice your lines or excercises ALSO starting with upstrokes you'll get better.

[@roshanguitar]

I wish I had this lesson earlier ! U are phenomenal!!

[@dilarusso]

fantastic, mr. Grady. Thanks

[@craigwarman88]

Great sounding individual notes. Even when slowed down. Each note has a nice bloom and is nicely muted to give a brief silence for the next note. Extremely clean and consistent. You don't get that way by accident. I haven't seen all the videos. What pick is he using? Is there a common theme for picks amounst speed players? Thanks for the effort in this.

[@troygrady]

We talk about his pick a little in the next installment. It's a Planet Waves 1mm celluloid, "346" style. That's the big triangle shape popularized by D'Andrea in the '30s.

[@DunlopTortex05mm]

For my sanity, and also because I’m a fan. I would really love a few episodes on Jason Becker. The execution of some of his lines remain a mystery to me ...

[@jfo3000]

I'd love to see that as well!

[@BrandonScottFox1]

Same here!! What on earth is that man doing on some of those lines!! TROY please do an analysis of his work!!

[@romansingleton8831]

always enjoy your videos and as usual this has been a great series!

[@dis.infectant]

Alright! Be honest... It's the pinky ring.

[@troygrady]

Shhhhhhhh!

[@stanpillis]

😂😂

[@Zebula77]

Starting the phrase with an upstroke - Could that possibly be a biproduct of being an upward pickslant-type player? It seems as if this kind of phrase comes easier when you're already doing a lot of it (upwards pickslanting). I've been using upwards slanting most of my life without really being aware of it, and always found descending sweeps and descending three-note per string economy picking easier than ascending. Always wondered why, until I saw your videos and became aware. ;)

[@troygrady]

Yes that's what we're talking about here, except our old videos were not clear on the difference between the pickslant and the picking motion. They are two different things, but they often go together. The next installment will address this very issue in detail in Frank's technique.

[@TheScmtnrider]

Awesome video, as usual! Ya know? After Cracking the Code, and for a couple years now, I've been trying to organically develop the use of alternate picking, dual even note pickslanting, up and down 2 & 3 string sweeping, and MABs duel slanting odd numbered picking. (Steve Morse's straight alternate picking is too hard for me to get anywhere near his speed...) My playing has sounded less and less repetitious, more melodic, and way more technical, with most muscle memory licks evicted! Connections and scalar fingering patterns I never recognized or imagined, now just appear as though they were spontaneously illuminated. I can now think ahead strategically, and that allows new directions, fingering positions, melody and scales I've never imagined I could comprehend, much less improvise. Gotta say Grant, your approach and diligence have benefited me greatly over the last couple years. 40 plus years of rock guitar, stagnated contently into merely ok playing for 30 of them. Seeing the greats as having "Super Powers" I could never approach. I've not "learned" more than a couple songs in this time. It's been all about improvised shredding over various cord progressions. I felt like a complete stupid idiot when I finally "got it"! Picking techniques are absolutely, unequivocally, no less crucial than fretting techniques. The biggest mistake any would-be guitarist can make? I made! Once I didn't have to watch my picking hand? I stopped watching it! Straight up bro! That's the missing link. Had I only known in the 70s and 80s?...shit!... Oh well. Still, those were epic times full of good times, and I had effects, decent guitars, and a bitchin amp. But if only... Profuse gratitude is my response from your insight and comprehensive analysis of the origins of picking superpowers. Something I share with every single aspiring shredd head I know or meet. Helping and seeing that "lightbulb" ignite over the head of someone learning guitar? Well that's a pretty awesome experience. I may be gray and a mere hobbiest these days but I've a renewed curiosity in and love of playing that finds me again interested in finding a local band. Likely a band of grays like me but WTF...;) Fun is fun! And I can shred! Have a great day and thanks again and again! ✌😉🎸

[@scottsmith4145]

It is so awesome you are teaching us all these secrets. I am positive all these guys knew exactly what they were doing from the pickslanting to the even odd notes per string concept and only revealed part of what they were doing intentionally. There was a ton of competitors in the 80s and it was a breakthrough time for picking. They needed their edge to rise to the top. They are comfortable coming out now on your show and going under the microscope, so to speak, because they are old and most of the tricks are now known big thanks to you for that!

[@troygrady]

I used to think that, but after all the interviews we've done, I can now tell you 100% that big-name players were being honest when they said they didn't know how their alternate picking techniques worked. Nobody knew about this stuff back in the '80s. Frank is a marvel because we was aware of sweeping, and went into detail about the odds and evens rule, even in his earliest '80s instructional material. But at this point I'm fairly certain that no celebrity-level player knew how alternate picking worked, and why, for example, John McLaughlin started pentatonic lines on upstrokes, or why Yngwie and George Benson only ever started them on downstrokes. If they did, it would have been front-page news in guitar and changed everything. But those were alternate picking discoveries related to "escape motion" ( troygrady.com/primer/picking-motion/escape-motion/ ), and they'd have to wait a few more decades! Short story, you can believe these players - most are super nice people and really did learn these amazing things by feel.

[@MsDavo123]

it seems to me that for alternate picking one could favour downward pickslanting do odd number of pickstrokes and start with downstroke then for string change they always have to be at upstrokes

[@GoodSneakers]

I’m glad the right hand finally gets the attention it should always have had.

[@theelmagoo]

I just watched Cracking the Code a week ago and have been figuring out how to apply it to pure economy picking (as that's what I've done for a few decades now :). I'm hoping to put together a video on it during this quarantine, but I've found a solution that allows for you're discoveries of slanted picking while still being able to use full economy picking! Oh, and I'm just like you in that I grew up a child of the 80s, learned guitar, and hit constant roadblocks that I couldn't figure out when trying to improve my speed and technique! After just 1 week of experimenting with slanted picking, I'm faster and cleaner than I've ever been, and am starting to be able to play more complicated parts that I ever could! Powerful stuff man! And a massive thank you to your perseverance with that Casio sampling keyboard! :)

[@gokhanbayrak6172]

Benson Russell Hey, I am interested about the video you preparing :) I have alao found my solutions but not that motivated to put as a video :)

[@F3rnando666]

So effortless!

[@Djetaban]

You should get a phd in pick mechanics, great eye opener

[@joshuamichael4312]

Troy, given everything you know and have learned from all of this amazing work you've done, what would you tell you back when you were starting out? Learning both alternate picking and economy picking right from the start? One first before the other? Pick slanting? Etc?

[@troygrady]

Alternate and sweep are core approaches that everyone should know about. They really don't work too many different ways, and it's not too much to ask for a smart person to understand all of them. This video series covers all of the core concepts by the time we're done. Then there is the question of which joint or joints you choose to actually make these motions, which is more complicated, because not all joints can make all of the motions. Finally, all these elements are can be combined into picking styles, some of which are necessary for certain kinds of music. Gypsy Jazz is a one-way economy style and specifically uses wrist-forearm motion. It's hard to get that sound any other way. Bluegrass requires pure alternate for roll patterns but isn't as standardized on which joint motions are used. And so on. So what style of music is someone playing? What joint motions can they do or learn to do? Because this narrows down things a bunch.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

For flatpicking a reverse roll is UWPS necessary do you think? Or is there a DWPS compatible approach?i mean presumably UWPS players have the mirror problem with forward rolls. Bluegrass seems split in approaches unlike Gypsy Jazz, with players adopting whatever they find most natural.

[@troygrady]

Pickslanting is not really what's going on here as far as the motion is concerned. Frank is just using his wrist to move diagonally. You could remove the pick from his grip, so there would be no "pickslant", per se, and he could still do the diagonal wrist motion. To do roll patterns with the wrist, you can use the exact same arm position that Frank is using, but you will need to make a semircular motion with the wrist. This is how great players like Andy Wood do it. And here's how it works! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZiol6iegMhmY6c

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

Troy Grady ok so let’s see if got this - there’s a compound movement outwards from the fretboard as well as side to side? Whereas an UWPS picker would move side to side at an angle. I missed that but you do make reference to it in the vid. I notice Tony Rice sometimes seems to move the pick with the fingers even though he is a DWPS picker primarily (I think at least) maybe this is a similar sort of thing? Anyway thanks for the reply! Very helpful.

[@DeathBringer769]

9:08 Sounds like the Mother Brain boss battle theme from Super Metroid, oddly enough, lol.

[@tractorKing]

Great stuff! I know this video is about Frank, but do you have any material breaking down specifically the clip of John McLaughlin here?

[@troygrady]

Everything we're saying about DSX motion applies to John. He's very consistent in organizing his lines in groups of two and fours with downstroke string changes. As far as how to do the actual motion John uses, yes, the Pickslanting Primer covers this thoroughly. John uses wrist motion with a lightly supinated forearm: troygrady.com/primer/wrist-motion/chapter-4-downstroke-escape/

[@gil84rs]

So if you slant the pick in the other direction you can actually start with downstrokes and the upstrokes would be escaping so you can move to the next string. I think the key is how you slant the pick combined with the motion you start with. I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but that's the way I see it.

[@troygrady]

You're on the right track. If you just try to make the pick "look slanted the other way" by doing something with your fingers, which you can do, the motion will not change. Nothing will happen, the pick will just hit the strings wrong, but using the same motion. To make the pick move the way you are describing, you actually have to change the motion itself. In Frank's case, he moves his wrist in a different direction. This is also how great pure alternate wrist players like Paul Gilbert do it. The very next episode will explain in great detail why the pickslant and the picking motion are two different things, and how they work together.

[@gil84rs]

@@troygrady I meant to change the slant of the pick by changing the direction of the wrist. Perhaps an exaggerated example would be how Marty Friedman slants his pick. I will wait for the next video, perhaps there's more information I'm not taking into account. Greetings from Guatemala.

[@troygrady]

Again, the orientation of the pick and the way it moves are two different things, and serve two different purposes. Turning the arm doesn't have to affect the pickslant. For example, if I use a more supinated arm, like what you're describing, I can also use a middle- or three-finger pick grip like Steve Morse and Eddie Van Halen and have no pickslant again. So the arm position, the grip, and the picking motion, are all separate things. Just to boil this down to what I think you're trying to figure out is how do you get both escapes. Well, the best wrist players like Steve, Eddie, Gilbert, Petrucci, and so on, when they play something like a scale, they don't turn the arm. They keep the arm in the same orientation and simply change which direction the wrist is going. Other joints may work differently. For example the elbow is a simple joint that can't move in different directions, so you need other joints to help it out. It's complicated, but that's why it helps to understand the role each part plays.

[@gil84rs]

@@troygrady I see what you mean, thanks for the detail. You are correct, I'm trying to figure out how to get the escape to happen on the upstroke.

[@stephengoss4489]

I think we can all agree that the moral of this story is that Frank Gambale is a monster and you will never pick as good has him. Seriously thank you Troy Grady and team on providing this amazing content. Thanks to Ben Eller Guitar for pointing this channel out.

[@SRHMusic012]

Troy, this is great. Good, well presented, specific information here. Question: If Frank preferred the opposite pick slant, he'd do this the other way, escaping on up strokes. Is there a mechanical advantage to one pick slant over the other?

[@troygrady]

The "slant" is not really what's happening here. You can make the pick look all sorts of ways by changes in your grip that don't affect its motion. What Frank is really doing is choosing an arm position and direction of wrist motion that makes the pick move along a diagonal line. You could remove the pick from his hand entirely and he could still do the motion. John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Andy Wood, Jeff Loomis, and many other great wrist players use roughly the same arm position and type of wrist motion that Frank is using here, and are all mainly DSX players. There is no specific "advantage" to doing this other than the fact that it creates a DSX motion path and can be used to play lines where the last note on the string is an downstroke. If you want to play lines where the last note is an upstroke, then you can use the same arm position but use a different direction of wrist motion. There is no "change in slant" necessary. Just a change in the direction the wrist moves. This is how great wrist players do scale playing, which requires both kinds of escapes.

[@SRHMusic012]

@@troygrady Thanks. Yes, I was noting that with ending on an up stroke, the escape has be on an upstroke, not a downstroke and was thinking pick slant determined the pick motion. You're clarifying that the wrist motion is setting the angle of the pick stroke more than the slant, right? It's interesting to watch how Frank keeps similar pick slant sometimes pushing into the strings that way on a downstroke... part of what you're getting at. Thanks again. Really good work here.

[@jonathanogden746]

So NOW we need to go back and revisit all those shred guitar transcriptions and reform them to A) groups of 2 or 4 notes per string starting with the upstroke and "DSX motion" OR B) odd number of notes per string (1,3,5) and a Sweeping up or down direction. I'm looking at you GuitarWorld ( www.guitarworld.com/lessons/guitar-strength-ins-and-outs-supersonic-alternate-picking ) But, I'm sure Troy will show us the combination of the two techniques in ch. 4. Also, I must say that personally, I learned USX motion for all of my alternate picking technique and been stuck in sloppy playing for years. THANK YOU FRANK AND TROY!!! a light from above has descended to illuminate the path forward.

[@jonathanogden746]

@@jesussaddle From the first video in this series, it looks like Levi Clay is doing the transcriptions. Here is his channel kzbin.info/door/ySQog_SBfX4-CnR2hWVBOQ , a YT video on transcribing Frank Gambale kzbin.info/www/bejne/j36xYZhmr5KVbpY and an overview of Levi's setup and software: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHvJoICFmLWfbZI

[@lastactionhero7541]

It would be awesome to get Paul Gilbert in to break down his three not per string playing.

[@EvaluateAssimilate]

"ah! You made the classic movie villain mistake!" "No, jack. I just left one chamber empty."

[@lastactionhero7541]

Penseur Radical yea but I want that angle of Paul Gilbert picking. No two people do it the same.

[@lastactionhero7541]

J C I don’t care who did what to your Hershey highway!

[@MrAletube]

i started with Frank's methods and videos and this is the missing link,you can get the notes up to a certain speed,but not really up to his level and precision,same thing like the best restaurant chef,he shows you the recipe and ingredients,but never the small details of execution and cooking timing... I guess he knew from the start that you have to work very hard,no pain,no gain!

[@joshmuz9018]

Yeah he says that all the time in his chop builder videos. No pain no gain guys

[@JustinRothberg]

the 5 unlikes were from Yngwie

[@89ji76]

Is there any advantage to down stroke escape vs up stroke escape with opposite pick slanting?

[@troygrady]

No. Each escape can only do one type of string change, either upstroke or downstroke. If you want to do both types of string changes, like for three-note-per-string scale playing with alternate picking, then you need both.

[@chumbo]

Hey Troy, when is the Wim Den Herder interview coming out? It's been talked about for ages on the forum, so...??

[@troygrady]

Don't know, we've got several more ahead of Wim. Frank's interview was 2018. But we're catching up.

[@Snowy0123]

Without Troy Grady I would be mashed against a brick wall,a speed cap.. I was originally a bounce picker, really inefficient and limited.. changing my picking motion was really difficult for months, wanting to revert back but I persevered..

[@johnmcminn8288]

i heard Frank could play DiMeola alternate picking , before he developed his own style . His style is way different than RTF

[@jimnikas4302]

The story went that he was frustrated because he couldn't, and developed sweeping to address the inherent difficulty of alternate only picking. Nice outcome from that "failure."

[@Teabonesteak]

Truth is Shredding.

[@DoodlesHD719]

The power lies within the pinky ring.

[@riffsthatkill2180]

Frank's motion is basically the inverse of the Yngwie motion.

[@vanguard4065]

a simple mix of sweep alternate and fingerstyle and you can play anything

[@jjmatashi]

Love this series! ...but the bass in the background is REALLY distracting...!

[@guitartuitioncoventry437]

Agree with the background music being distracting. It is supposed to add to the atmosphere but the content is so good it doesnt need it. Modern production seems to demand everything videographic is signposted with music its endemic but hopefully just a fashion like yellow guitars.

[@AlexisGitarre]

which string gauge is frank playing currently? do you know Troy?

[@troygrady]

I don't know - that's something I didn't ask.

[@nickkellie]

9-42

[@JazzCultivation]

Would you make a cracking the code on Allan Holdsworth in the future?

[@kipponi]

It is more legato style and left hand oriented.

[@agus6115]

That would be cool...he would have to flip the camera the other way to show his left hand though, 😂.

[@kukermusic]

Al di meola, Paul Gilbert often start picking runs with upstroke... Gilbert signiture picking lick starts with ups...

[@SRHMusic012]

There's a video of Paul teaching a master class and he says at one point, almost to himself, "I seem to like always starting on an upstroke... don't know why, but it works." Now we know why.

[@troygrady]

If you're referring to what people call the "Paul Gilbert Lick", that starts on a downstroke. The B string is DUD, the E string is U. These types of scale lines can't be played with the technique we're looking at here, because you need both escapes. Meaning, you need both directions of wrist motion. So half the motion is DSX, the other half is USX. Players like Paul change the direction the wrist is moving to do both types of string changes. This is how he plays odd numbers of notes per string, again, scale playing being the most classic example.

[@TheRetrospective]

Troy this is great work that should be published in a written form too. I'll be referring to your work in my public lecturing on other (non-musical) themes, because things tend to work similarly, I believe, on the level of first principles.

[@troygrady]

Right on!

[@fs7572]

Damm - now I´m a bit confused: This looks like an upstroke on the first notes (it goes in the air) and not as a downstroke. So - isn't this "Upward-Pickslanting"?

[@fs7572]

sorry, the wrong way round!

[@troygrady]

The slant of the pick and the motion it makes are two different things. We weren't really clear about that in our early stuff, but this series will address the difference in great detail in the very next episode!

[@fs7572]

Thanks Troy! Can't wait! And by the way: Thank you for all your hard and wonderful work!

[@johnmcminn9455]

5:40 Jon McLaughlin even # picking

[@troygrady]

Bingo!

[@Benbutlermusic]

Troy I wish you could would mention what beat a pick stroke is on. This is a fundamental factor guitar technique. When Gamble and McLaughlin are using DSX alternate picking motions, this explains why starting with an upstroke is not strange at all. Once you realize the down strokes are still on the down beats and the upstrokes are on the upbeats it makes just as much sense as the more common approach, It’s just that the string change occurs on the upbeat. These guys are not starting phrases on the down beat using an upstroke, they are starting the phrase on an up-beat using an up stroke. This retains the standard idea that you pick down on the strong beat and up in between. Unless you are playing purely solo, guitar lines or any melodic or improvised lines don’t exist in thin air, they are played over a pulse.

[@troygrady]

Sorry Ben! I had written a whole other response which I now realize was just agreeing with you. I misread your comment. So, yes, lots of downstroke / downbeats approaches in the more regimented styles like John’s Cherokee solo and David’s bluegrass. John’s super fast shreddy stuff sounds like mostly free time to me, or sometimes upstrokes on downbeats. And plenty of metal guys like Jeff Loomis and Andy James will do Yngwie patterns starting on an upstroke with DSX motion. Honestly I think the correlation is more the musical style than the technique itself. When the style dictates downstrokes on downbeats, that’s what players do. If the style is looser, you will very often see the reverse.

[@Benbutlermusic]

Troy Grady yes I totally see that- in more free or over the bar playing it’s no longer relevant what stroke is on what beat. And thanks so much for bringing us this stunningly clear expose on FG’s playing!

[@ryanrobert4649]

The four people who disliked this r flat-earthers

[@CatrinaDaimonLee]

i keep thinking history channel's 'ancient astronauts' when i watch this. curious.

[@nethbt]

earth is indeed flat

[@nathanmantle377]

Hey Troy, are there any plans to do a special on Greg Howe? I would destroy my bank account to get some insight on some of his habits.

[@VaiScion]

seconded

[@martinpalmer3575]

4:45 "To add to the mystery" .............Well, he can't be talking about modes, there are no more mysteries about modes now.

[@troygrady]

I heard from a guy who heard from a guy that Locrian is still mysterious!

[@martinpalmer3575]

@@troygrady Excellent work on these, the production value and way you're sharing knowledge is A++++ It's hard to explain here in words, but for the longest time i'd interpreted Frank's descending lines across three strings as Up, Up, Down, Down, repeat. But from seeing the footage in Chapter2, it's blown my mind that its Up, Up, Up, Down, repeat. That repeat being a string skip AND direction change just seems crazy, but after only an hour doing it, i'm already so much smoother, THANKYOU!

[@johnmcminn8288]

back in 87 i thought frank was the shit , now i'd rather listen to Stern or carl Philipiak

[@davidjames7001]

The escapes for up up up down strokes are effortless... but triple down up is a plague on my existence. What gives?

[@troygrady]

You need a USX style for that. These styless tend to have a specific arm position, specific alternate picking motion, and use downward pickslanting only. We talk about this a little in the last video, and you can check Joscho Stephan's arm position and motion as a classic example of that style, as well as George Benson for a slightly different take on that style. There is no DSX for those guys, and no upstroke sweeping. It's all downstroke sweeps and USX picking motion, i.e. upstroke string changes only.

[@davidjames7001]

@@troygrady Holy 'mole thanks for the free lesson. I'm getting paid Wednesday, looking forward to becoming a subscriber.

[@fred8097]

Matteo Mancuso: (laughs in fingerstyle)

[@labontetrevor]

The problem with technique is that you don’t want it to steer or influence your note choices. A lot of these picking schemes force you to become extremely repetitive. Good jazz players aren’t thinking about picking techniques when they play. They’re thinking about what the coolest sounding notes and intervals are. Note choice is the most important thing, you can’t let technical-mindedness have the last word on that. The best jazz players are not the shreddy ones. The best guys can plenty fast, but don’t really go into this over-the-top, ‘full shred’ mode. The best players just play what they would sing or whistle, and they keep it swinging. I’ll take Barney Kessel or Scott Henderson over Gambale, McLaughlin, or Di Meola any day! Shred techniques are NOT the key to learning jazz. Don’t shred! Melodicize.

[@m3m3sis]

please don't compare guitar secrets to flat earthers especially if you end the sentence with a insinuation of the flat earth being as true as guitar secrets. plz. we have enough intellectual cancer in the world as it is.

[@troygrady]

Sorry for the confusion! What I meant with that line was the opposite: nobody was hiding anything in guitar technique, there was no conspiracy, much as there is no conspiracy to hide the shape of the Earth. We just didn't know then what we know now.

[@kbkesq]

McLaughlin has zero musicality in his lines. It’s just whatever for his picking. Any other instrument would be fired for playing the crap he plays.