Picking fast

You probably all know the intro song to Pulp Fiction. Don't recall its name. But its picked pretty fast, and that's the only thing that is remotely difficult about it. The thing is, I suck at just picking quickly in that manner. Does anyone have any exercizes to help?

Originally Posted by: LohrtarYou probably all know the intro song to Pulp Fiction. Don't recall its name. But its picked pretty fast, and that's the only thing that is remotely difficult about it. The thing is, I suck at just picking quickly in that manner. Does anyone have any exercizes to help?

I don't have any exersizes exept the usaul
E-----------------------------------------1-2-3-4-
B---------------------------------1-2-3-4---------
G-------------------------1-2-3-4-----------------
D-----------------1-2-3-4-------------------------
A---------1-2-3-4---------------------------------
E-1-2-3-4-----------------------------------------

But I don't know if anybody else does this, but i find it easier to pick closer to the bridge when picking fast. Maybe a stupid thing to say.
Anyway, you can check out this site for exersizes i think.

The problem is not this kind of stuff actually , it's more when I have to pick quickly on one string for a longer period of time. I think there's something wrong with my technique, I can't pick fast like that at all.

I'm too lazy to type a direct response so here is my reply to one of the threads I answered just ahead of this one...

"One thing I forgot to mention, it's something I learnt from the Michael Angelo Battio instructional dvd "Speed Kills".

Get your plectrum and play one note as fast as you can with a perfectly even rhythm (it doesnt matter how fast it is, the most importnat thing is that it is comfortable for your hand and that you can play it for a long time without losing tempo). Now look at how you are holding your plectrum and how your hand rests on the strings. Make the necessary adjustments to ensure that you can play the same speed and keep unused strings muffled. This is your "maximum picking ability" (for now).

Everything you play from now on should be based on the exact technique you personally use to hit your top speed. So even if you are playing the 123 exercise at one note every 2 seconds your picking hand is moving in exactly the same way as if you were playing 16 notes per second. A lot of players starting out lose clarity when they up the speed of their picking becasue they change their technique. Stick with one hand position from the start, it will improve your ability by 200%.

Picking speed will increase with practise, getting the left hand in sync is what the 123/1234 exercise is all about."

Hope this helps

I used to use regular hard, thin picks untill recently. I bought a cd online and it came with a signed pick from Hess, I have no idea on gauges etc but it was a large triangular one that was quite thick and very hard with lightly rounded points, I thought it was a bass pick untill I tried it out. My accuracy immediately improved especially on sweep picking, give one a go and see if it works for you.

From my own experience, difficulty in fast picking and keeping a steady tempo while doing so has a lot to do with muscle tension in your picking hand.

I also had this problem. I can play quite well slowly, but when I'm readying myself to play fast passages, I discovered that my picking hand tenses involuntarily so that my picking becomes inconsistent & easily tired. Sounds damn ugly too.

I solved this by using that 1234 excercise above, extend it to high frets, and using a metronome. Try setting the metronome to click on 16th note (4 clicks per beat), and start at around 50-ish bpm. Pick each note on the click cleanly and force your picking hand to relax at all times without dropping the pick. Increase gradually the tempo by 5 bpm each time to target tempo of 150-ish bpm. Every 20 bpm or so increase in tempo, record yourself to make sure you had each note picked cleanly. When you spot a mistake no matter how small, lower the speed & try again. DON'T use any distortion. It'll cover up any mistake you make. Use a slight overdrive if the clean sound is driving you nuts to give some color to the sound. The goal is to be heard picking each 4 notes even using an acoustic.

This may sound boring. Believe me, it's damn boring. But this excercise is required of you want any skill in playing. I managed to reach 150 bpm in about a week, one hour of practice each day. Now I can play at 150 bpm even immediately after getting out of bed in the morning. I still keep increasing the tempo, now 170-ish bpm is my limit so far before I got confused since the metronome clicks are so close together they start to blur.

Good luck :)

The song is 'Miserlou' by Dick Dale.

You may find it helps to accent every 4th note - should make it easier to keep track of the notes flying by. To be honest, I don't think this is a tune that needs particularly tight tremolo picking. If you listen to the recording there are subtle changes in the rhythm.

Anyways, it's practice as always. I personally do all my practice without amplification - that way you can make damn sure it sounds good clean.... then it sounds amazing with a bit of drive :D

Agree with the other posters, except on the 4 clicks per beat idea - as the guy says, they get so close together it's very difficult to keep the beat I find....

I have to say that using 4 clicks per beat helps in making the picking hand learn to pick regularly. Although it does become quite useless if the bpm is set >170. By this point the right hand should develop a rhythm so that it doesn't need the clicks anymore to maintain the beat.

Besides, my opinion is 180 with 16th note is enough speed (12 notes per second). Any more faster is pointless. Most of the fast solos you hear are about 150-ish speed with 16th note anyway. Just make sure 180 is doable though so 150 is comfortable to do, although trying to go >200 probably is not very good for your health since your right hand is doing so much repetitive motion over and over again for hours of practising.

Originally Posted by: heknowsnothing
But I don't know if anybody else does this, but i find it easier to pick closer to the bridge when picking fast. Maybe a stupid thing to say.
Anyway, you can check out this site for exersizes i think.

Not stupid at all...the closer you pick near the bridge the tighter the string. The strings' vibration is smaller the closer you strike toward the bridge. So when you strike repeatedly you get a cleaner sound. Of course that doesn't mean you pick ALL the way near the bridge, just find a balance between sound and feel. This is true of fast strumming too. Where you pick/strum is one of the little subtleties that all great players use.