Optimal Right Hand Technique to Down Pick while playing Metallica
I have been playing Metallica songs (only the rhythm parts) for quite some time. I don't play them at full speed because of the Down picking, but i have been playing and practicing them at 80% speed with down picking and i can't go any further up. I know people tell that one has to practice by increasing the metronome in steps and i have been doing that, but there is no improvement at all (i have been doing this for a month, 5 minutes everyday).
I want to know what is the optimum right hand position for this technique, the pick size to be used(i use .50 pick size), pivot point and closed fist or open hand. I would appreciate if anyone could explain this technique with the Main riff of Creeping Death taken as example.
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5 min won't get any a day get is not nearly enough. You need to spend 10,000 hours to truly master something. That something can be anything. So since you play the guitar and you don't put the time in and the right type of time, you won't get anywhere. A master pianist once told me you need to eliminate mistakes first. So practice scales or the piece of music at a speed you can handle. Once you stop making mistakes you start adding speed. Start by adding 5 bpms at a time. After 3 months of working 2 to 3 hours a day you should be nailing it. This practice 5 min a day isn't going to get you anywhere fast.
In general, your technique isn't going to be fundamentally different than if you are alternate picking, and general good picking technique will apply:
Keep your right hand and arm relaxed
Hold the pick loosely
Move your hand in parallel with the strings (i.e. don't scoop)
Monitor your pick strokes to ensure that there is no wasted motion
Monitor the tone of each stroke to ensure that it is consistent
Speed and accuracy come with practice, but you're going to have to practice far more slowly than you probably expect. 80% tempo for a Metallica tune is probably still faster than you can handle, and you're not doing yourself any favors if you're practicing at a tempo you can't handle. Slow it way down, and increase very gradually. Practice slowly enough that you can monitor every pick stroke.
A lot of guitar players (most?) dig the pick into the strings far more than is needed. This has a detrimental effect on speed and tone. There's a gizmo that's been around for 20+ years called a Stylus Pick that can help correct that. If you go too deep, you will feel the pick catch on the strings. If you practice with one of these every day to a metronome, your picking technique will improve.
Lastly, be careful. Be sure that you're not straining your right arm when you practice, and be sure to take breaks.
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