Did Troy Grady prove there is a correct picking technique?

[Christian Miller]

I'll go out on a limb and say there is a downside to having superior technique. It takes a lot of practice time to achieve superior technique, and that time could be spent working on other things that, in my humble opinion, are more useful musically.

You could say that if you have a good method for technique it would take less time and get it out of the way.

Honestly, I think technique is the least interesting thing about music. But solving technical challenges that come up while playing music is productive and interesting work.

[pamosmusic]

I agree. I even would go as far to say that outside of GJ many are not taught that DWPS is an option. So so alt picking and great LH work would be more standard. Likely coming out of rock/fusion so for stylistic reasons but also bc picking of any kind is not taught well.

Yeah so honestly “alt picking and great LH technique” probably describes me, with all the pickhand limitations implied therein. But I also have a super organized approach to keeping the LH slurs tied to particular rhythmic placements and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking of ways to improve my pickhand dexterity and stuff (lots of LR drum studies and things which has had a big payoff I think).

I think that kind of goes to the technique being a bit more of a holistic thing. There are lots of elements to playing fast and getting a good sound. Clifford is an interesting one. I was obsessed with him for a while, and a trumpet friend talked about him constantly in college. He never talked about the speed as such. It was always the articulation he commented on. Having that much control at any tempo was the impressive part, not the speed as such.

[ccroft]

The legend goes on…..

Apologies to the forum for going off topic, but things seem to have quieted on this thread. And besides, when did going off topic ever stop anyone?

In fact, in '73/74 I played several gigs in Portland with my guitar in my lap and a bandana tied around the nut on a couple of 'tunes'. Two handed tapping with lots of double and triple stops. I doubt I was first, but in those days there weren't no YouTube and I wasn't aware of anyone else doing it.

As to the details in your earlier post, costumes weren't anything beyond the typical hippy-wear of the times: sandals, beret, silk scarf, dashiki, poncho, etc. I guess a poncho with a beret could appear to be a scrotum costume though :-)

Also, it wasn't symphonic rock. At the time we billed ourselves as 'Live Jazz Exorcism'.

Soon after, we discovered how much better it was to fill a dance floor, rather than just have a couple of pretty young girls twirling about in ecstatic trance, as nice as it was.

And I got bored with tapping, finding picking to be more expressive and satisfying. Too stupid or stoned to think of doing both at the same time.