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Author Topic:  Age related question re speed picking
Karen Sarkisian


From:
Boston, MA, USA
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 7:32 am    
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working on my right hand technique. trying to nail some Bakersfield style licks for a new band. specifically learning Al Perkins solo on six days on the road. I feel like I will never get it up to speed. anyone here over 50 able to make any progress with fast staccato picking or is it not possible after a certain age ? If nothing else, Its a great challenge ! Whoa!
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Dale Foreman

 

From:
Crowley Louisiana, USA
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 8:41 am     Speed
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Well I'm still pretty quick at 63 and Paul Franklin Jr. I believe is the same age as me! I use one of my Dobro's or laps to practice when I'm just sitting around and practice speed and blocking with just the right hand. It drives my wife crazy! Lol
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Karen Sarkisian


From:
Boston, MA, USA
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 8:43 am    
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yeah but Pauls been speed picking since he was a kid ! I'm wondering if after a certain point it becomes impossible to learn to do something that takes a lot of dexterity.
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Dale Foreman

 

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Crowley Louisiana, USA
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 8:47 am     Speed
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Well I'm still pretty quick at 63 and Paul Franklin Jr. I believe is the same age as me! I use one of my Dobro's or laps to practice when I'm just sitting around and practice speed and blocking with just the right hand. It drives my wife crazy! Lol
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b0b


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Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 8:47 am    
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Barring physical problems like arthritis, I think it's just a matter of practice. Use a metronome and keep bumping it up when you master a part at one tempo. Don't stop until you can do it considerably faster than the record, because your drummer will go faster than you expect.

Anti-oxidents are good for the brain, by the way. Mr. Green
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Dale Foreman

 

From:
Crowley Louisiana, USA
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 8:53 am     Dexterity
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You are right about Paul but the fact is he is still 63 and I'm pretty sure he utilizes some kind of practice routine to keep the muscles and the dexterity in his right hand. Try squeezing a ball or get you one of those hand exercisers to,strengthen the big muscles in the right hand.
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Joachim Kettner


From:
Germany
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 9:34 am    
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I always admired his fills and solo on that song. I will never be able to play it. I even find the intro riff played on strings 8,9 and 10 on the eight fret quite challenging to play at the correct speed.
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John Alexander

 

Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 1:45 pm     Re: Age related question re speed picking
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Karen Sarkisian wrote:
anyone here over 50 able to make any progress with fast staccato picking . . . . ?


Yes. At age 60 I started playing steel again after a 28-year break. This time I switched from palm blocking to pick blocking, so it was almost like starting over with the right hand. Since then I've made plenty of progress toward picking faster.

b0b wrote:
Use a metronome and keep bumping it up when you master a part at one tempo.


It can also be very helpful to bump it down, as different speeds will reveal different issues. In practicing slowly with the metronome, it is also helpful to pay close attention to how well your attacks line up with the metronome clicks, and to whether your hand and finger motions can be made more efficient. If you try to speed up a careless technique, there will be a tendency to fly off the rails.

I have found these videos to be helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=89ZtpOWEt4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtNAaPAtSww
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John De Maille


From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 4:18 pm    
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Yes, start your picking sequence slow and keep at it until you know it without thinking about it. Then, start building up your speed (slowly) without thinking or over analyzing it.
It'll take time and practice, but, eventually you'll get it. Back in the late 70's and 80's speed was king. Everybody was trying to break a record, myself included. It seemed so important at the time. Just keep working at it. Don't give up! I don't believe, that, there's a secret to it. Just determination.
Jeff Newman had a course on it using picking crossovers. I pick block 99% of the time and I don't know if it's a deterrent or a hindrance, but, it works for me.
Of course, I also believe that age does have something to do about it. So, at 68 I'm not setting the house on fire, but, I give it a good scald.


Last edited by John De Maille on 3 Sep 2017 10:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Lane Gray


From:
Topeka, KS
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 7:47 pm    
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I remain convinced that the weak link is between the ears, not beyond the wrists. If the notes are coming out slow, they're probably not fixed in your head. Start slow until you get them ingrained.
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Steve Sycamore

 

From:
Sweden
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 11:20 pm    
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It was shown several years ago, by a British research team I believe, that neurons within your brain are continuously created no matter what age you are, provided you are learning something.

They also showed that learning something that requires physical coordination magnifies the effect of neural growth. Things like new sports, dancing and musical training especially trigger neuron growth.
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Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 1:14 am    
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Probably not an age thing but more of a "process" thing.
The first thing to address is how you alternate pick. Thumb and first finger or thumb and 2nd finger, it has to be the same each time, consistent like a clock. Auto pilot. IF the alternate picking is not "honed in" there will be no speed pickin.

Develop an exercise which uses just those two fingers, up and down the fret board with bar movement, do it everyday for 5 or 10 min a day.

PF is mentioned above, I can guarantee that players like Paul and Doug have been approaching speed pickin' with the exact same right hand pickin' routine for their entire careers. Over and over . Actually Doug told me that !

Without the "trained" routine first, the licks will never come.

Basketball pro's learned how to run , stop and pivot with control before they even touched the ball. Ever watch a Basketball team practice drills ?
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Last edited by Tony Prior on 5 Sep 2017 12:51 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bobby Nelson


From:
North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 2:25 am    
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I'll be 56 this yr and just took the steel up in May. I'm doing it in part because I lost my ability to play 6-string (which is actually very physically demanding) due to loss of feeling in my hands and a touch of arthritis. With the pics stuck to my fingers, and not much going on with the left hand, I'm making a lot of progress. I figure my brain will compensate where there is no feeling. I'm definitely not speed picking yet (I was very fast on 6-string). I've got my first gig coming up in Oct and it is, I'm sure, not going to be great but, one thing I'm not doing is saying "I'll never be able to do it". I feel that thinking that way can be an impediment to progress. I'm reading what these other folks (and you too) are saying and trying my best, and believe that I'll be where I want to be some day. Good luck, you'll do it!
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Bob Carlucci

 

From:
Candor, New York, USA
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 4:52 am    
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I have found that constant practice will increase speed, at any age.. however, your nervous system has the final say in how fast you will be able to pick.. There are some not very good players that are lightning fast, and some great players that are not, and its not a matter of practice.. Some people have a natural ability to play faster than others..


Think of baseball pitchers..
A super strong guy 6 foot 6, 250 might top out at 94 mph on his fastball while a 5 foot 10 160 lb guy on the same team might top out at 99.. Its not strength, arm speed, practice etc.. Its nervous system...

Everyones speed as a steel player has limits.. Some max out faster than others..
I would work on your
speed as suggested, and it will improve some, but typically over the years i have found that its tough to become a speed picker if you haven't been one for most of your playing career.
Speed is ok, but its pretty far down the list as far as desirable attributes are concerned.. Those days are pretty long past. bob
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Karen Sarkisian


From:
Boston, MA, USA
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 5:39 am    
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Tony Prior wrote:
Probably the first thing to address is how you alternate pick. Thumb and first finger or thumb and 2nd finger, it has to be the same each time, consistent like a clock. Auto pilot. IF the alternate picking is not "honed in" there will be no speed pickin.

Develop an exercise which uses just those two fingers, up and down the fret board with bar movement, do it everyday for 5 or 10 min a day.

PF is mentioned above, I can guarantee that players like Paul and Doug have been approaching speed pickin' with the exact same right hand pickin' routine for their entire careers. Over and over . Actually Doug told me that !

Without the "trained" routine first, the licks will never come.

Basketball pro's learned how to run , stop and pivot with control before they even touched the ball. Ever watch a Basketball team practice drills ?


thumb and 2nd for me. great advice here. thank you
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Karen Sarkisian


From:
Boston, MA, USA
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 5:41 am    
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thanks for all the responses ! much appreciated. great advice all around !
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 6:56 am    
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Fastest speed where notes are still articulated cleanly.

24 notes in 4 beats , BPM=104

Violin exercise = concert level speed.
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Mike Terry

 

From:
Galesburg Il
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 1:27 pm    
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Karen, if you're talking about the lick that comes after " Rollin down that eastern seaboard ", i've been tryin to play that one lick since i started learnin to play pedal steel. I started at 56 yrs old & i'm 64 now & i can just about hit that lick . I love Al Perkins playin on that song.
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