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Posts: 1770
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands
Another picado tip??
Hi Guys!
While practicing I came across a useful discovery, for me anyway, so perhaps it is useful for you too!
I was studieing a new picado run, and mixing up my fingers again, you supposed to play mimi etc. as you know, but chaincing the strings, sometimes, after a while you play mm, or ii, I think you all know what i am talking about.
So, this time I first studied only my right hand, with muted strings, strainge enough it was rather difficult to do the whole picado run correct mimi with muted strings. But when i controlled that, I played the run together with my left hand, and my speed was much better!
Try it! perhaps it is useful for you, and if not, well, forget it!
Posts: 6447
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: Another picado tip?? (in reply to gerundino63)
Why is it mimimimimi....?
On a descending picado, because of rest strokes, m or i will already be on the next string down, ready to go, what's wrong with that? What's the technical reason?
I am not here to judge you or anybody else, you must do as you please, but if you do the same finger on the next string down, you push that one, and you "play "the other ones.
If you do that, you get a different sound, especially if you do it on the other strings down too, say from high e to g, than you are not playing picado anymore, but a little stroke.
And I think to the end, it is faster to do mimimi, because you get a regular pattern, other wise, you can get for instance imimmimiimi.
Simon, In "proper" playing, you're not supposed to "slip" the strings, ie play two notes with the same finger. The correct way is to use alternate fingers always, although this is difficult with the way certain runs work out . I slip the strings all the time, so did many Flamenco players I saw in Spain, who were not real professionals but 100 times better than me. (I'll start doing it the correct way in 10 years time when I've got a grip of the basics )
Seriously though, I suppose you are better trying to get into the habit of playing the proper way. I just don't have the patience!
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
RE: Another picado tip?? (in reply to gerundino63)
I think alternation is the base all picado must come from...but in some cases it is faster to "slip" the fingers. But this should probably be confined to special cases.
but it was always replacing i-m-i in a picado run with i-pulloff-i.
hey, I do that on some runs where it seems to sound better (the ex-metal guitarist in my). I also try very hard to avoid slipping the strings as I do not want to pick up a "bad habit" but I was just wondering.
I feel that the main advantage of strict i-m-i-m picado is that you don't need to make a decision, consciously or sub-consciously, which finger to use. This surely increases confidence during fast runs and of course once learnt, never forgotten!
On the subject of practice tips for i-m-i-m picado, I found that using straight fingers with a slow, exagerated "walking" action was great for establishing alternation on tricky runs. It may work for you!
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