[OT]Guitar Question

[FuzzyDuck]

I've tried every site possible in the search engine to attempt tremolo picking. I can do it with my own style however I get really nasty fret buzz (no I don't want to raise the action or change the strings) and another style I was taught is just not physically possible for me (I have a defective wrist :(). Does anyone have any tips for what to do?


at the moment I lock my wrist and move my hand up and down (kinda like masturbation) from my elbow really fast with my plectrum no more than 1mm deep on the string at an angle like this:


plectrum -----> / | | | | | | <-------strings

[random hero]

i play bass :)

[Scikar]

Just do it with the plectrum at 90 degrees to the strings, works for me. :) Though I can play fast enough with it held at a normal angle now, but if I'm playing something specifically tremolo (e.g. solo from New Born) then I just turn it 90 degrees.

[5150]

The responsible Fret(s) might require filing down?

Youd need to get a guitar tech to check/answer that one though

[amfest]

frett buzz? . .. just throw a lil bubble gum wrapper under the string at the nut :D

[TheDuckMan]

i play drums.... you dont need to act like your masturbating with drums lol.


EDIT: mod plz delete this post. :( sry about double post

[TheDuckMan]

i play drums.... you dont need to act like your masturbating with drums lol. :lol:


PS. you look cooler on the drumset :cool:

[5150]

Isnt 'Drummer' what you call a guy who hangs out with musicians? :-)

Whats got 3 legs and a twat at the top?

Drum Stool :-)

Bet you heard these all before though

(I'd like to point out that I like drummers and this is a lighthearted post, my brother was my drummer for 8 years)

[superfresh]

Had a good instructor once who said he would never tell his students how to finger the fretboard or strum, because everyone has different hands. Experiment & find something comfortable for you.


...also had a roommate once who ended up with tendonitis because he kept trying to pick like Pat Metheny. :eek:

[//Ring\\]

fret one of your guitar strings and rhythmically rock your finger back and forth in a sideways motion stretching the string slightly. notice the pitch is changing, u got tremolo right there ;)


not that hard to do with some practice, should get it done by the 5th time

[Lethys]

My guitar doesn't even have a tremolo.....stupid gibson.......... :( o_O :mad:

[Scikar]

That's not a tremolo Lethys, it's technically a vibrato arm. Tremolo just means picking the notes as fast as possible, there's no such thing as a tremolo bar. That's why I always call it a whammy bar. :)

I don't see why you're getting fret buzz when tremolo picking but not when playing normally. Do you get any buzz when playing chords?

[//Ring\\]

its way better when u use ur amp lol

tremollo is kinda hard to catch on but nothing practice cant fix like everything to guitar :P

to pick the notes at the speed u will need to hold the pick with ur index finger below and the thumb pressing from above, now u dont have to pick too hard or u will get fret buzz, just hit it smoothly up and down with a wrist motion and then steadily increase the speed till u cant go further
keep doing this several times and eventually ull be able to go faster and faster ;)

im goign to find some songs i used to learn to tremolo pick, give me a while i cant remember the names, theyre easy though but they great for learning to pick faster

[KramerTheWeird]

The problem with tremolo and other fast picking techniques is that they can give you problems with coordination and endurance, which can explain string buzzing with you. The best way without exerting too much energy is not to play from the wrists, but to use your arms muscles to pivot your hand. Your wrists and muscles should be relaxed and not locked. If you can feel the movement of your picking up to your elbow then you're doing that right.

The way you hold your pick doesn't matter as much as the grip you have on it... too tight restricts your movements and makes it very unprecise. Learning how to finesse the pick with loose control and your fingers able to absorb the attack of the string with the pick will get you excellent precision. Ring's statement of holding the index and even your middle finger a bit beyond your thumb does allow for good control but mainly for down picking, it may be better to keep both your index finger and thumb about even level, and to make sure your thumb isn't locked (as in if it was sticking straight up), but the joint is bent and making a curve.

[Valhingen]

Aye lots of good points being made so far. Here are a few things to keep in mind with anything involving guitar playing and technique. First off the right hand should never ever have to apply pressure to the pick to hold onto it. The more pressure or "squeeze" you apply the more tension you create which results in bad technique, injury, and nasty tone. Imagine trying to flex your quadriceps and run.. you won't be going very fast and will tire rapidly. Same thing with your hands and fingers.

If you do have tension in the right hand and feel like you are grasping the pick heavily then try a different type of pick. Most of my students find the Jazz style picks the easiest to speed pick with because of the pointed ends. The point does all the work for ya. I like the cymbolic picks because the material allows the pick to glide through the strings nicely. But everyone is different. So definately experiement with various pointed picks.

A really straightforward exercise for working trem picking is to apply it to a chromatic scale (4 finger exercise we usually call it). Start off by picking each note 4 times all the way up and down.. get used to that and then up it to 8 times. Make sure your transitions between the strings are smooth and that there is ZERO tension in either hands. Tension in one hand tends to cause tension in the other. Also experiment with the angle in which the pick hits the string, especially if it feels like the pick is "catching" on the up-strokes. Hope this helps :)