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So i've been practicing flamenco for about a year, and started picados right about when i started ( I've been playing guitar for 12 years though ) , it feels like i plateaued at 190-200bpm at 8th notes. uploading a video of me practicing , starting at 180 , 185 , 190 , 195, 200 . I used to play with the whole length of the finger until about may , then my teacher told me to only use the last joint of the finger to minimize movements, and that has helped alot, but still for the past 2 months or so i can't see any development in speed, my routine is as the video shows, set up the metronome and go up and down scales, i've also done going chromatically , E F F# G G# and so on 5 notes per string, i also occasionally do the routine where you play one note and mute it with the next before playing it.
I'm not trying to rush it in any way, but i'm just comparing it to alternate picking which took me much less time to develop , so i'm worried i'm doing something wrong, wether the way i practice isn't as efficient as others, or wether the positioning and form isn't decent. Looking forward to getting some help from you guys!
Hello friend. We discussed speed issues years ago on here. I am afraid there are some limitations due to AGE...meaning when you learned alternate picking you were younger and possibley at a critical age for developing speed and coordination required. (Sort of like when children learn to speak properly). I believe there really is a window where it will be easier to get it quickly. Anyway, observing your video I know you can still improve. Here is what you need to do.
STOP running scales. Focus on speed bursts instead. A short phrase of 3 or 4 notes on a single string. Metronome or percussion loop is fine to gage your tempo, main thing is control. Your fingers move too much, not efficiently because you also need to practice your "routine" of staccato more diligently. It is important to minimize the motion. After you get some speed in little bursts well controlled, try adding a single note on an adjacent string. Just like when learning alternate picking, you shouldn't run long scales before you can just get a little phrase between two strings worked out smoothly. Be patient and don't move on to longer note sequences until you have the small phrases FAST and under control.
Wow Ricardo, i can't recall any technical question be it technique or compas i've had on foro where you've not responded , you're a great deal of help and i truly appreciate it ,i hope i can one day give back to the foro ! Thanks!
Now as to your answer, i think i kind of understand, do you mean for instance, set a metronome to specific tempo i'm super comfortable at, and play 16th notes every 4th beat ? And bump it up when i'm comfortable at that? and eventually play quintuplets every 4 beats with the 5th note on the adjacent string and so on?
comparing it to alternate picking which took me much less time to develop
I'm coming from a classical guitar background too, and at least from my experience so far (relatively new to flamenco guitar), picado is a hell of a lot faster than any classical guitar technique I've ever come across. Ricardo (as always) gave fantastic advice, and I couldn't agree more. The most noticeable improvement needed (IMHO) is to reduce the movement of your fingers. I see no way in which you can gain real speed if you continue to move your left hand fingers so far away from the fretboard. This is true for any kind of playing by the way, not necessarily flamenco. I've seen a lot of classical guitar pieces that I couldn't play to speed until I learned to keep my left hand fingers close to the fretboard.
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