Simple But Hard...I don't Know?

I tend to choke up on the pick and use more of my arm than my wrist when I start to play faster on a single string. Maybe it's a bad habit of mine but, it works.

I try not to expose too much of the pick reguardless of style. I find that when I do, it has a better chance of slipping away.

Have a good one, bud.

Mike

Lately, I've been working on the main rythm part from Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' and i know exactly what you mean! It's really similar, with the PMed open A-string and partial chords mixed in. Looks so simple, but it has me tearing my hair out! One thing that's kind of helped has been practicing it on an acoustic. I think the thicker string give me a better response and sense of control. Also, I found that starting by keeping everything muted, including the chords, helps me focus on keeping things steady. Then, when I'm feeling I have the rythm down at whatever tempo I'm working at, I graduallly take the mute off of one chord at a time, and that seems to help too. If you've found anything that works in the mean time, I'd love to hear it too.

Just having a quick look before I go out and teach this afternoon, but on the face of it it looks like it'd be soooo much easier to play it at the 5th fret. That way, the repeated "A" can be played on the 6th string. The odd notes on the other strings can be played using hybrid picking.

Best,

A :-)

Lately, I've been working on the main rythm part from Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' and i know exactly what you mean! It's really similar, with the PMed open A-string and partial chords mixed in. Looks so simple, but it has me tearing my hair out! One thing that's kind of helped has been practicing it on an acoustic. I think the thicker string give me a better response and sense of control. Also, I found that starting by keeping everything muted, including the chords, helps me focus on keeping things steady. Then, when I'm feeling I have the rythm down at whatever tempo I'm working at, I graduallly take the mute off of one chord at a time, and that seems to help too. If you've found anything that works in the mean time, I'd love to hear it too.

I had problems with the Crazy Train intro as well. I put it down for a few weeks and came back to it and it came to me. I am working on the first rhythm part that is introduced in the intro now. I don't mute everything but sometimes I play it on clean with no distortion or anything.

Mike

I am not sure I know this song, so I can't really say how difficult it is, but it should not be too difficult because it is palm-muted. This is good for at least two reasons. One, if you have to play an open string super fast, the vibration of the string can be a problem. But with palm muting, you can actually strike the string with lots of force without the string wobbling on you. Two, palm muting gives your picking hand a firm foundation. So it is much easier to keep the pick in a good position, just using the tip of the pick.

I am no speed picker for sure, but I can play 16th notes at 160 BPM or more (practicing with a metronome last week). The secret to picking a single string fast is to have a very even stroke. You want to move the pick just enough to cross the string. It might help to hold the pick at a slight angle. It is also important to learn to relax.

A good practice technique would be to learn this at a speed that is easy for you, say 100 BPM. Then, when you have it down cold, speed up maybe 4 BPM at a time. When you get to a speed you cannot handle, go down maybe 8 BPM and work up again. This is a good speed building technique.

i use my last three fingers of my picking hand as an anchor and rest my palm on the bridge. make sure your pick hits the strings evenly.

your arm should have very little movement. but watch you don't over use your wrist. get use to it slowly.

How are you playing this with all downstrokes on the PM part or alternate picking?