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Miguel de Maria -> Mirror mirror on the wall... (Apr. 12 2004 23:10:17)
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Who has the fastest picado of them all? Well, Paco... but what was I talking about? I was practicing some picado licks from Barrio La Vina today. There is this interesting sequence in the silencio-like part in E minor, four picado runs, each with a little half remate. Each sequence is a different pattern; only one of them is a straight up scale. Yet to the untutored ear, all basically sound like "fast scales." I think one of the things at play is that Paco knows he needs to get from A to B, but to play "fast" he can't just go straight.... he has to zig zag and swoop and undulate. This is a real neat little sequence and I recommend learning it. It's a good exercise for picado!
I was just practicing this in the mirror and got another great benefit. Practicing in front of the mirror is great, phenomenal. It can really help you make positive changes in your technique, as well as your "picado face." One thing I noticed was that when I was playing a descending scale, from the high-pitch e string to the low-pitch E string, was that my little finger would start gripping, tensing up, about when I had crossed over to the fourth or fifth string. Not coincidentally, I'm sure, this is where I would usually get tripped up.
To play fast, powerful licks your fingers have to be relaxed. Tense fingers lose their coordination and start to miss the mark. There is no way I could have seen this without the mirror, but now I know it is there and can begin to eliminate it. Soon I won't be having any problmes with that particular scale, I think.
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