I admit it. I’m a shred-a-holic. I’m fascinated by guitar virtuosos so when I saw this article in Blabbermouth’s Dec. 4th archives, I was intrigued. After perusing Troy Grady’s website, it’s apparent the Blabbermouth article does not do justice to his movie project (Currently, it is in its beginning stages). The two central questions are: What can a video camera, aka “shredcam”, reveal about a guitar player’s technique and how can this device be used to better one’s own playing?
Before answering these questions, it is important to know the basic shred techniques. It is generally agreed that there are three different picking techniques – alternate, alternative (or economy), and sweep (or rake). Alternate picking employs strictly up-down-up-down movements from the picking hand and is the most difficult technique to master. Alternative, or economy picking allows the player to cheat on the strict up-down-up-down approach of alternate picking. For instance, if you are playing across two adjacent strings and playing three notes per string, alternative picking allows the following picking motion - down-up-down (1st string) to down-up-down (2nd string). In other words, alternative picking, when playing three notes per string, is symmetrical. The third technique is sweep or rake picking and requires one to play one note per string with a corresponding down stroke if ascending (going from low pitch to high pitch notes) on the fretboard. In essence, all strings are “raked” in one motion. To avoid the notes from ringing together, the player must immediately mute the string with his fretting hand. These techniques are available to all guitar players. How far they are developed, however, is up to each individual guitar player. All three techniques have their own unique sound i.e. alternate picking achieves a staccato effect while alternative (economy) and sweep picking achieve a legato effect. Staccato is sharp, crisp, and distinct. Legato is smooth and more vocal-like.
Alternate picking is so difficult to master because it requires one to forego his or her own natural tendencies. To analogize guitar picking to the movements of a river, it’s easier to go with the current, not against it. Alternative picking allows the guitar player to go with the current while alternate picking forces the guitar player to go against it. Using the three notes per string example again, alternate picking may require you to play the below string on an up-pick e.g. down-up-down (1st string) – Up-down-up (2nd string). Your instincts want you to play the second string on a down stroke instead so you have to be very conscious of how you play when you go for true alternate picking.
The more one practices, one may ask, “why do something that does not make sense i.e. go against the current when a desirable amount of speed and technique can be achieved by going with the current? One’s answer is a matter of preference and will dictate one’s stylistic development on the guitar. You do not have to employ alternate picking on the guitar to be able to play well or fast, but it can help. Jeff Loomis of Nevermore uses alternative picking to play incredibly fast passages. It’s all a matter of preference. If your goal is to develop alternate picking at the level of a Rusty Cooley, Michael Angelo Batio, Paul Gilbert, or Buckethead, then a shredcam could help you monitor whether you are getting closer to this goal. (Note: Troy Grady maintains that Yngwie Malmsteen does not play fast using true alternate picking!) While you are practicing or playing, the shredcam records your picking hand’s motions. The video can then be played back at slow motion which allows the player to analyze his/her own playing. Michael Angelo Batio, in his instructional video, “Speed Kills” tells the viewer a simple, yet important rule of picking, “you must pick fast the way you pick slow.” If you sound great while playing slow, but terrible when going into shred mode, then your picking technique is non-uniform. To sound great, whether slow or fast, you must pick uniformly. The shredcam, in practice, should allow the guitar player to spot this deviation visually.
I do not use a metronome and I’m probably not going to use a shredcam anywhere in the near future, but I recognize that others may be able to achieve their goals through these devices. John Petrucci, for one, is a major advocate of the metronome. Undoubtedly, it played a significant role in his own development. For me, however, technical advancement can be achieved by having a discerning ear alone. Most people have the inherent ability to detect whether something sounds good or bad, clean or sloppy, fast or slow, etc. Technique is about the sound you achieve on the instrument whether you are shredding, bending notes, inflecting notes with the whammy bar or muting unwanted noise. If you cannot afford a metronome or shredcam, but still have your hearing, you have everything you need.
