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Tremolo picking - shredders, please help!


EJD

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Posted

I've been having problems with tremolo picking since I started...

 

Ever since I began, I've been moving my entire forearm, keeping the wrist stiff, and tensioning my upper arm. But this has gotten very tiring, and actually pretty painful, and this technique has to go.

 

I've seen some videos of shredders, and it seems they don't move anything but their wrists. Is that what they actually do? Should I re-learn tremolo picking in this way, gradually building speed with a metronome?

 

I'm desperate, please help... I'm sick of inconsistent, sloppy tremolo picking that tires me out.

 

Thanks :thu:

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Posted

Most people do seem to use the wrist only, and as your current method hurts, you should certainly stop it. I can't post vids from work, but have a look for the Pebber Brown vids on You Tube..I found them hugely helpful in "unlocking" my wrist..mostly by focusing on my thumb/index finger movement...which in turn seemed to work wonders for my wrist.

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Posted

The "tense up and vibrate arm very fast" technique is a very bad one that could result in serious hand/wrist/elbow problems down the line. It's also often results in sloppy and out of control picking.

 

It's definitely a good idea to learn how to pick using wrist motion. Just remember to have zero tension in your arm/wrist/shoulder when picking with your wrist.

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Posted

Okay... I'll keep all that in mind. I'll have a good sit down with the online metronome every day, and have at it.

 

Thanks guys, much appreciate it :)

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Posted

I think using your wrist is your best bet as others have suggested. Start slow and gradually build up speed. Only up the metronome when you a confortable playing at that speed. If you play too fast too soon you will tense up and hurt yourself. Let your body get used to the motion before you ask more of it.

 

As an alternative you could look into Di Meola's rotating wrist techinique. It's probably less prone to injuries but it might be harder to control. And I don't know how well it works for tremolo picking.

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Posted

have a look for the Pebber Brown vids on You Tube..I found them hugely helpful in "unlocking" my wrist..mostly by focusing on my thumb/index finger movement...which in turn seemed to work wonders for my wrist.

 

:thu:

 

Two particular vids to watch...

 

This one shows the thumb motion - the purpose of emphasizing this motion is to loosen up the thumb:

 

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

 

This one shows the wrist oscillating on the axis of the forearm (how to do it via the spoon/knife in the water cup drill) and how to combine it with the thumb motion:

 

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

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