Picado very bad without warm up

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ertwin

Posts: 5
Joined: Apr. 30 2015

Picado very bad without warm up

Hello,

I have a question. I love PDLs picado sound so much, that i really aim to get as fast he was. I know thats kind of stupid but i am trying my best

. I practice picado between 4-6 hours a day for the last 4 years. I reached a speed around 190 bpm. Not to clean and solid as Paco but kind of ok.

The problem is that i am only able to play at that speed after i warmed up for around 20 min. But thats not the whole thing. If I dont warm up and I pick a guitar random, my picado is just horrible. An absolut mess! I feel like I can not play 120 bpm sixteens without a mistake every 6th note or so. It feels as if I have practiced it for 2 months. Is that normal? Of course Grisha and Paco also have a bit slower picados when they pick a guitar without warmup. But i cant believe that it is as bad as when I start playing randomly.

I found 2 videos where paco picked up a guitar without warmup and I have to say his picado is alot worse then in his live Performances here at 1.40

and here at 2,30. But to be fair he testes Raphas violao de sete cordas. This additional string can be very strange for your fingers.

Any advice or opinions on that?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 19:23:51

Ricardo

Posts: 14819
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

You almost eliciting an eye roll from me mr. 190 bpm....but to be fair and nice, YES this is normal. That is why PDL starts his concert with Rondeña and ends up with Alegria. It is not only the tempo but WHAT you are playing. Buleria is the better warm up as it is "medium" speed subdivision wise. PDL would never start a concert with Entre dos Aguas, for sure.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 19:57:23

DavRom

Posts: 310
Joined: Jul. 16 2015
From: De camino a Sevilla

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

there isn't a guitarist in the world that can play anywhere near their ability without a proper warmup

i always love how humble Paco proves to be even tho he was a god on the guitar

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 20:38:11

Cervantes

Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

I am much slower than you and only seriously started learning Picado in the last few months. I do get much better after playing about 30 minutes. My biggest frustration is inconsistency. I try real hard to play a picado section and mess it up and then later I play it much better without thinking too much about it. That is my problem, trying too hard and overthinking instead of just letting it flow.

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Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco
very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 20:51:34

ertwin

Posts: 5
Joined: Apr. 30 2015

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to Ricardo)

Uhm I did this video not so long ago. I got defintily better and fast.
I am quit sure thats something around 180 . Please only notice the last one. It is the only one I consider to be ok. As i say not very clean. But speed is very sure around 175-185. If you want i can post a new one .

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 20:53:49

Sr. Martins

Posts: 3079
Joined: Apr. 4 2011

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

That's not a good picado, you must be really asking for some flaming.. either way, what's the point of "I can do 190... well, maybe 160 - 170 bpm... sometimes it comes out almost with no mistakes.. the same goes for 120, I occasionaly screw that up too"

Sorry but this is a penis based topic, just let it die and go practice.

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"Ya no me conoce el sol, porque yo duermo de dia"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 21:43:58

Leñador

Posts: 5237
Joined: Jun. 8 2012
From: Los Angeles

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

You may want to spend more time concentrating on tone. I consider my top speed the speed I can play at with quality notes each one so for me maybe 130 on a real good day after warm up. 130??? I dunno, eighth notes at 240 or so....

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\m/

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 27 2016 23:05:25

FredGuitarraOle

Posts: 898
Joined: Dec. 6 2012
From: Lisboa, Portugal

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

Your hand looks so tense on that video... loosen up dude.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 28 2016 15:12:50

Cloth Ears

Posts: 152
Joined: Apr. 26 2005

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

As fred says: relax your right hand: no point fighting against your own muscle tension; you will just tire your hand out and miss notes. Once you have built muscle strength it is easier to relax the hand and trust that your muscles will do the motions with the minimum effort.

I would also point out that aesthetically I find too much picado just boring. Use it when relevant and sparingly for contrast in the falsetas. Just my sense of aesthetics though: not right or wrong.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 28 2016 16:00:09

sig

Posts: 296
Joined: Nov. 7 2007
From: Wisconsin

RE: Picado very bad without warm up (in reply to ertwin)

I think its great to have big goals but trying to play like Paco isn't a realistic one if you ask me. He started when he was a kid and practiced 12 hours a day. One of the vids you posted shows him after 40 years of playing. Even the best need to warm up. Opera singers warm up, first chair violinists warm up, everyone warms up. I don't think its uncommon to feel like you are not playing correctly until you have run a few scales and chord progressions.

Perhaps you need to think about slowing down in order to go faster. What I'm saying is work on technique first then speed will come. Being fast and sloppy is worthless in my opinion as it serves no purpose. It will just sound rushed and frenetic.

Are you using a metronome for practice? If not you really need to incorporate it in your daily practice. I start with my metronome to 84bpm and play a scale, using quarter notes first, one note per beat and I repeat. I won't move on to eighth notes or two notes per beat until I can successfully play the phrase 6 times in a row with out a mistake. Then on to triplets and I also count it out loud. One,Two,Three; One,Two,Three notes per beat and then I go ahead and play 6 times without error before I move on to sixteenth notes. When I can successfully play each interval then I speed up the metronome. The nice thing is the metronome does not lie, you cannot fake it, either you're on or you not.

Give it a couple of weeks and see how much cleaner and truly faster you become...

Sig--

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 28 2016 21:10:33