Developing Fast Downpicking Guitar Exercise

[serdar213]

Another Tip for downpicking is to release the strap as long as possible while standing.By this way,with widening the angle between your biceps and forearms ,you can move your wrist better and hit the note much powerfull without having a spasma in your shoulder.Look at James Hetfield and Kerry King.

[vladm1994]

@serdar213 I agree to this, I used to think that the lower you hold your guitar the harder it is to play but I find it terribly easy to play with your guitar low it feels like there's so much freedom. oh I wish my strap would go lower such as "hetfield low"

[SuperSossossos]

plz answer does developing fast downpicking take months??? thx

[MrAmrax]

cant see a shit on this

[dechronic]

It's like you had me in mind when making that video...Metallica die hard, been playing about 10 months, lack downstroke speed for Puppets.....Great video, guess I need a metranome, and a month of pushing myself. I'll let you know bro, thanks alot.

[joshhelvey]

Just gotta masturbate alot..... Thats the best exercise (Joking).

[jesusism]

@joshhelvey only helps with alternate picking...

[LosInvasoreSconLalo]

Great videos Jesus!!

Very helpful and fun to watch=)

[drjakim]

if ur trying to develop fast downpicking, shud u just constantly keep pushing urself or is this a thing where u take it slow.

[jesusism]

@drjakim take it slow, trying to rush will only give you sloppy technique.

[dimlightbulb10]

@jesusism Not necessarily. I got really fast at down picking by pushing myself to do live Metallica songs.

[Akerfeldtfan]

When you downpick, is your wrist twisting sideways, or upwards. Like, if you exaggerate the motion, would your palm be visible, or is it a purely horizontal motion? I'm working on relearning my picking technique right now and I'm sort of curious as to which way is correct

[jesusism]

@Akerfeldtfan hmmm...good question, hard to say since I rest my hand on the strings, I've seen some guy's that have their hand floating with their fingers out, but still manage to PM. Mine is slightly sideways, but it's how i position the pick thats perpendicular to the strings.

[dante4d]

@Akerfeldtfan I find the sideways wrist motion the most awkward. I downpick using combination of up-down motion and wrist rotation. I also sometimes cheat using some finger movements, but that's probably bad. What I find hard about down-only is the need to lift the pick so I don't accidentaly alternate pick or gallop...

[MrDohmah]

i just want to learn to play master of puppets!

[Unknown7637]

@MrDohmah i want to do evry metallica-song with downpick :D

[0sk4ri]

great exercise, thanks =)

[Xx0Mystic0xX]

damn it i cant see anything

[jesusism]

@Xx0Mystic0xX try checking out my other down picking vid. what's important is the exercise. I explain it pretty thoroughly, and do it by ear.

[bigbear159]

1:45 exactly y im here lol

[evilguitar9430]

my wrist hearts now for playing guitar... do you know any excersices for the wrist?

please answer

[lahbl]

@evilguitar9430 Fap more.

[acolytes777]

@evilguitar9430 you might be holding your guitar incorrectly man

[jesusism]

@evilguitar9430 just youtube search John Petrucci hand stretches

[DowntownTB13]

ive been playing for 7 months and im pretty fast at downpicking, but every once in a while when im down picking i accidentally do an upstroke, like alternate picking, its kinda funny!!!

[GuitarsAreCool1000]

how are you supposed to know how many bpm your doing?

[Minus3Pigeons]

@GuitarsAreCool1000 Metronome...

[fredrand123]

I find that when I get up to the faster speeds I stumble when I come back up to pick again. Is this normal and will it be outgrown?

[jesusism]

Is it normal? Maybe if your just starting out, but it's definitely not good in the long run. Start slow and don't go any faster than you can play clean without stumbling.

[finalfantac]

ive only been doin this for ONE NIGHT nd i noticed a big difference. this is goin into my daily routine for sure. thanks man.

[glvillela45]

thanks so much man I´m doing this exercise for about 5 days and now I can play master of puppets on full speed ;D

[nogoodguitarplayer]

When I downpick stuff as fast I can, feel a lot of tension in my neck (my real neck, not the guitar one :P). Is it something wrong with my technique, or is it supposed to be like this?

[CelestialDependency]

aaaaagh im sorry man no disrepect! but dont listen to this guys advice about paying through cramps and any kind of tingling sensation that is not good. secondly TIMING is evrything if you play fast you gotta play in time - seriously. nothing worse than sloppy speed. play slow, stop when you feel any kind of discomfort and shake out your arm and wrist at you side. other than that cool vid.

[izzyvercetty]

Good lesson man... Metronome has to be your best friend if you want speed... Check out my cover of master of puppets

[blc25crpkr]

good exercise man! try a v-pick 2.75 mm small pointed pick, beveled edge glides off string, no pick noise, easy to adjust attact with pick angle, never slips outta ur fingers, the best pick u can buy for fast picking! u can find em on ebay and v-picks::dot::com

[ShittakeBukakke]

Haha me too, because I want to play Puppets. xD

[CoolKwstas123]

@ShittakeBukakke yeah puppets is death.Also is skin o my teeth from megadeth

[utfreak1020]

same dude!!!!! its so faaaast!

[MetalSk8Shred]

Hey man, it's been a while since we've talked, but I just wanted to thank you for your videos that describe how to down pick the best. And now because of your lessons and tips, I really improved my downpicking efficiancy! I can down-pick super fast and comfortable. Thanks man, you rock!

[zapakzz]

too dark..

[Zeppelindude628]

the jazz 3 picks help with downpicking faster in my opinion... i use the jazz 3 ultex btw.

[Holycrap27]

my deltoids are burning after playing fast down picking

[aids696969]

lol hes right i wanted to play puppets :P

[xPhablex]

Lol same here same exact reason I looked up this video

[aids696969]

@xPhablex lol

[mawkheaf]

I think that's the case for most people watching this video.

that's why I looked this up

[nehneh10]

also, does the thickness of the pick affect your speed? thanks!

[jesusism]

Good question, but I think thats more of on the player. I can't use anything thicker than .71mm, but I know some kick ass guitar plays that can play super fast with 1.14 to 2 mm picks. Use whatever pick is most comfortable for you and just use it for everything and you'll develop speed over time.

[nehneh10]

oh, did you answer the question about my wrist problem? sorry if i asked the same thing twice. because it's like i downpick at a speed comfortable to me, but after a while i don't have anymore strength to continue anymore.

your replies will be much appreciated! :D

[jesusism]

Oh sorry, I didn't see that question. It depends, but most likely you will have to practice slow and gradually work your way up. Doing this builds up the muscle, your stamina, accuracy and sense of timing. Unless you have been playing fast for a while now and just recently started wearing out, try stretching before practice or warming first before playing fast. Hope this helps

[nehneh10]

thanks a lot! :)

[g00glemast3r]

i've seen by guitar teacher play the enter sandman solo with a bass pick.

[QuorthonandCronos]

@jesusism this might sound like a weird question, but are there any particular hand stretches you use to warm up?

[jesusism]

@QuorthonandCronos Not weird at all man. I use the john petrucci hand stretches....just search it on youtube

[nehneh10]

hey, my biceps are weak due to gym training and i find that i'm unable to downpick like usual, is this normal for guitarists too? :/

[jesusism]

Uhh, I don't know. I know George Lynch said that weightlifting made him stiffer so he couldn't play as fast, but I really don't know dude. Just keep practicing.

[downfan1]

Yeah I just haven't been playing any fast stuff lately and my picking hand isn't used to it anymore. As long as I warm up and practice it again I'll be good, but like when I play "fight fire with fire" my hand gets sore quickly.

[nehneh10]

hello, my wrist has no more strength after i downpick for a while, does this means that i have to practice at slower speeds also? D:

[downfan1]

Do you find it harder to down pick fast and alternate pick fast on a les paul style of guitar? Cause I sure as hell do. When I had my Ibanez or Jackson it has a flat surface to lay your wrist on and it was easier to pick fast, but the les paul is curved a bit and my hand gets tired quicker.

[jesusism]

I actually started practicing on a Les Paul during a vacation because I didn't have my PRS with me. I have noticed a difference, but with practice you get used to it. I've noticed I suck when the action is set high so you can try lowering the bridge to see if that makes it as comfortable as your previous guitars. If not, just practice slowly before ripping out fast riffs until you get used to it. Good luck!

[asuodhfaouidfoadfj]

Im sorry but I cant hear what your saying when you said what size of the pick you used, please tell me ;>

Great Vid btw, I will try it out!

[jesusism]

I think they're called Gator Grip picks by Dunlop and the thickness is .71mm. They've got kind of a sand-y-like texture and have a little gator head on one side.

[asuodhfaouidfoadfj]

Okay thanks man!

[MetalSk8Shred]

Hey man, I have one more little question. But first, thanks to you sharing your information on down-picking, my down-picking technique has gotten MUCH better!

But I was wondering, is it okay to slightly tighten your bicep when down-picking at high speed? Cause I kninda noticed myself ver very slighly flexing my bicep when playing at a higher speed. Would it be best if I just train myself to not felx my bicep at all? K I was just wondering your opinion, thanks.

[jesusism]

That's a good question. I actually don't tense up my bicep, but more my forearm when I start going fast, especially with gallops. Hmm, I think it's ok if you find that the flexing doesn't interfere with your speed. But if you start feeling some discomfort I'd say try to practice downpicking and not flexing it.

Hope this helps.

[MetalSk8Shred]

Ok man, thanks. Well I've been always practicing without flexing my bicep at all anyways, I just needed your opinion since you seem to be a well experianced down-picker. Your opionion means a bunch to me. And if my forearm gets tired, that's when I start flexing my bicep slighty, I figured that out. All I'll do is keep practicing to where that doesn't happen anymore. Thanks a bunch! You've helped me a ton!

[MetalSk8Shred]

Alright, I see that you have an awesome downpicking ability, and your vids on downpicking have hepled me a ton, so thanks very very much. I have a question: when you begin to downpick at a high tempo, I see that your right have has very minimal movment. Did you train yourself to get that minimal movment? Or did it just come naturally from practicingg? I'm just curious since I'm training myself to use minimal movment while downpicking. Thanks.

[jesusism]

At first I used to use my whole arm when downpicked, but I'd say that from practicing so slow and gradually building speed is what really helped me to develop the habit of picking with minimal movement of my wrist.

Glad to hear my videos are helping! Keep practicing and you'll be a downpicking machine in no time!

[MetalSk8Shred]

Oh, alright. Yeah I used to use my entire arm, and I always would get worn out after a while. And I'd wonder how people would not get tired and use such small movements with their right hand, but I discovered your vids, and helped me immensely. And plus you made it easy to understand.

And thanks a bunch again, and yes, your videos have really helped, alot!! Thanks a ton!

[luciferAir]

why cant u just use alternate picking ??

[jesusism]

There's no rule saying you can't alternate pick. Some stuff is impossible to play without alternate picking like Holy Wars...the Punishment Due by Megadeth for example. It's really your choice. I personally, like to downpick any rhythm stuff that I play cuz it sounds heavier and is more consistent. Take the verse riff in Seek and Destroy, play it all down picking and then do alternate and listen for the difference in how it sounds. Ultimately, go with whichever sounds best to you!

[killer118008]

alternate picking and downpicking sound different, downpicking is heavier

[nouvejs]

thanks a lot :)

I will try your exercise. :)

now i can only 85 . :/

[Kinjutsuu]

Try out Seek and Destroy the solo rhythm part is faster downpicking than MoP

[ARamisciouSA]

Sweet video and great lesson it helped a lot

[phleugh]

the doing the 70-80 on the first day, then 71-81 on the next etc is a great idea! im going to recomend that to people haha

great lesson

[megge123]

-.-

[HeatMaster22]

Great lesson man.

Extremely helpful.

[spmbxj]

Excellent video thanks!