I'd highly recommend "Gypsy Picking" by Michael Horowitz, for a full analysis of this picking style. What is fascinating is that it is consistent, across continents & cultures. Sarod, Balalaika, Mandolin, & Gypsy Jazz all rely on similar principles, designed to maximize volume & tone on an acoustic instrument. Django was a genius, but his right hand technique was built upon centuries of development. This enabled him to focus more on his art, and less on his craft.
I love how the guitar vibrates the camera more and more as his playing intensifies, it looks so cool. Like the image in a rear view mirror distorting as the engine revs up!
When you "PLAY" for hundereds or thousands of hrs. your hands will eventuall DO what you are hearing in your head. He 'heard" the end effect of the technique and then MANY hrs of playing allowed him to express what he heard in his head and wanted to do. This became the "technique" that we are watching him now do so effortlessly without having to think about it. GJ is such a dynamic, connected style. I see and hear ALL the great styles and emotional expressions of metal,blues,thrash, classical, etc... all wrapped up in one here. About the only thing absent is bar dives.
Fun fact. The word Gypsy is a truncation of Egyptian. I think because they were nomadic , people weren't sure what tribe they were and guessed they came from Egypt. Also the word Travel comes from Travaille ,meaning Trouble. People hated travelling because it was dangerous. In Feudal Europe the safest place was on The Manor.
Thanks Troy and team for the great video. Best wishes! jz Reviewing this video several times, I've noticed something that immediately vastly improved my tremolo (still needs work, but it's much cleaner). With the wrist location and bend, a) he is closer to the bridge, and b) his pick is really sweeping over the higher strings at a 45 degree angle (i.e, at 0:45 in the vid you can see the sweep going not straight up-and-down, perpendicular to the neck ... at the bottom of the sweep it's much closer to the bridge). The net effect: with a), the strings don't move as much as during a regular strum, so they're less of a moving target, and with b) b1. the vector of impact of the pick against the string is less "choppy" than it would be at 90 degrees - less chance for picks catching too much stringt depth b2. the attack itself is softer, because there's less velocity going right into the string (a component of the motion is along the string itself) b3. the strings themselves actually help guide the pick to ensure it's at the proper pick depth. Even with the short bursts (e.g. about 3:40), the wrist bends (aka ulnar deviation ... thanks TG and team for your "Guitar Anatomy: The Four Fundamental Movements Every Guitarist Should Know" video) ensure that the pick strums aren't straight up and down, but instead attack the strings at an angle, or partly along the string itself. I could definitely be "pseudo-scientific" with my analysis above ... i.e, going by what I feel rather than what's really true ... but I think it's still a useful observation. Cheers and thanks! z
Äh, Troy, I need to say it once more, your videos are nothing short of spectacular! Also, your questions are really good. Minor suggestions: Could you do it with more frame per second?
I’m so used to playing open handed although I’ve practiced a lot closed too. Moving the pinky up like he does on the tremolo actually seems to make a little easier for me. Seems to act as a balance weight just like how a crankshaft on an engine is balanced with the connecting rods and pistons.
hey Troy! your channel changed my life and i thank you for that. how about Jeff Loomis Vs The Magnet? the dude has some very interesting and complicated picking patterns! i hope you see this :) thanks a lot.
When Joscho does those crescendos, is he only deepening the pick attack, or his he changing the firmness of his pick grip, or changing some other variable (or some combination of more than of of these)? There seem to be some high performing pickers (e.g. Albert Lee) who use a fairly loose grip, and I think I've even seen Rob Chapman specifically suggest a loose grip in some picking scenarios, but there are also many who seem to use a pretty firm grip most of the time.
This is the only way I can do tremolo picking but seeing it from this view in slo-mo makes me think of a small dog being held above water and paddling.
I never knew gypsy players use such heavy picks. The strings on their guitars always seem pretty light, much more so than the what is used by bluegrass acoustic players or even electric jazz players in many cases.
dfpguitar In my opinion hard picks are better for nearly everything as they give you most dynamic range, by transferring the flex from the pick to the hand. In gypsy jazz they bend whereas most electric jazz players use flatwound 11s up to 13s & they never bend.
Cool... It's not the wrist, though. It's the forearm rotating quickly, and taking the hand with it. The wrist cannot make that motion. That's why the wrist turns the hand to that 60 degree angle. Then the forearm swings it rapidly back and forth. The wrist does not move the hand in that side-to-side motion.
Da St yes!! I can see why he thinks it is the wrist because that is what is moving but I agree you can't move your wrist like that it feels like my wrist is totally relaxed and just flapping around
EXACTLY! I wonder if Al ASSHOLE Di Meola uses the similar approach, but judging from his rihgt hand movement it doesn't appear to be - also he uses perfect palm muting which I don't if it's possible and doable with forearm rotation...
+Ramesha Frederick, you are the only person who got the main conclusion right after all these videos. I kept saying that but too many people think you can steal a in a moment a technique that took years to build😊
I would like to know what kind of pick he is using. Because I recently switched over to heavier picks, which are good for sweeps, but the tremolo felt easier with lighter picks. So I'm not sure what to stick to.
Eugenius Williams tremolo is just strumming fast. There's several different types of tremolo however; classical and flamenco tremolo use fingers while metal/rock and jazz tremolo uses picks.
It does have a similar level of fire doesn't it? Both Gypsy jazz and flamenco are musical styles that really showcase the kinds of sounds that guitars are great at.
+Troy Grady The rhythms he played from 3:42 on reminded me of flamenco as well. Not just because "level of fire", it sounds like a pick player imitating rasgueado. Would you ever consider filming a (pro) flamenco artist's right hand? It may have little to do with picking, but think of the sheer awesomeness of seeing the rasgueado, tremolo, apoyando and especially the fast thumb playing up close.
+einarabelc5 He was always been open about his Gypsy roots. His last name did not come from the town u said. He took his stage name in honour of his mother Lucia Gomes. He was the son of a flamenco guitarist who was of Gypsy origin.
I'd highly recommend "Gypsy Picking" by Michael Horowitz, for a full analysis of this picking style. What is fascinating is that it is consistent, across continents & cultures. Sarod, Balalaika, Mandolin, & Gypsy Jazz all rely on similar principles, designed to maximize volume & tone on an acoustic instrument. Django was a genius, but his right hand technique was built upon centuries of development. This enabled him to focus more on his art, and less on his craft.
gold every time. Joscho is the man
Troy is one of da best video teachers of modern guitar on this planet = 'love these videos !!!
Shredders need to start listening to some of those gypsy players that are around Europe. Joscho is a monster.
I love how the guitar vibrates the camera more and more as his playing intensifies, it looks so cool. Like the image in a rear view mirror distorting as the engine revs up!
It's a swell. Great video of Stephan's spectacular technique. He "dig's in" and the dynamics are so perfect. A natural.
When you "PLAY" for hundereds or thousands of hrs. your hands will eventuall DO what you are hearing in your head. He 'heard" the end effect of the technique and then MANY hrs of playing allowed him to express what he heard in his head and wanted to do. This became the "technique" that we are watching him now do so effortlessly without having to think about it. GJ is such a dynamic, connected style. I see and hear ALL the great styles and emotional expressions of metal,blues,thrash, classical, etc... all wrapped up in one here. About the only thing absent is bar dives.
Fun fact.
The word Gypsy is a truncation of Egyptian.
I think because they were nomadic , people weren't sure what tribe they were and guessed they came from Egypt.
Also the word Travel comes from Travaille ,meaning Trouble.
People hated travelling because it was dangerous.
In Feudal Europe the safest place was on The Manor.
Thanks Troy and team for the great video. Best wishes! jz
Reviewing this video several times, I've noticed something that immediately vastly improved my tremolo (still needs work, but it's much cleaner). With the wrist location and bend, a) he is closer to the bridge, and b) his pick is really sweeping over the higher strings at a 45 degree angle (i.e, at 0:45 in the vid you can see the sweep going not straight up-and-down, perpendicular to the neck ... at the bottom of the sweep it's much closer to the bridge). The net effect: with a), the strings don't move as much as during a regular strum, so they're less of a moving target, and with b)
b1. the vector of impact of the pick against the string is less "choppy" than it would be at 90 degrees - less chance for picks catching too much stringt depth
b2. the attack itself is softer, because there's less velocity going right into the string (a component of the motion is along the string itself)
b3. the strings themselves actually help guide the pick to ensure it's at the proper pick depth.
Even with the short bursts (e.g. about 3:40), the wrist bends (aka ulnar deviation ... thanks TG and team for your "Guitar Anatomy: The Four Fundamental Movements Every Guitarist Should Know" video) ensure that the pick strums aren't straight up and down, but instead attack the strings at an angle, or partly along the string itself.
I could definitely be "pseudo-scientific" with my analysis above ... i.e, going by what I feel rather than what's really true ... but I think it's still a useful observation. Cheers and thanks! z
Some of the most insightful and useful videos for guitar. Thank you.
This is fantastic! Great footage!
Great tutorial. Off to practise now. Thanks
Äh, Troy, I need to say it once more, your videos are nothing short of spectacular! Also, your questions are really good.
Minor suggestions: Could you do it with more frame per second?
Great stuff Troy! Huge fan of MAB, now this?! Incredible.
The triple picking strum is often used in ska too
Loved seeing the detail!
Love the slow mo 😂Like a dinasour thrashing at the cavemans door! Fantastic! Perspective!
At 2:00, where he's showing how *not* to do the gypsy tremolo, you can see there's so much force behind it the camera is actually vibrating.
I’m so used to playing open handed although I’ve practiced a lot closed too. Moving the pinky up like he does on the tremolo actually seems to make a little easier for me. Seems to act as a balance weight just like how a crankshaft on an engine is balanced with the connecting rods and pistons.
Awesome! Just been working on exactly this. Will you ever do your own take on the van halen tremolo?
hey Troy! your channel changed my life and i thank you for that.
how about Jeff Loomis Vs The Magnet? the dude has some very interesting and complicated picking patterns!
i hope you see this :)
thanks a lot.
Al di meola would be cool to see on this series... I would also say holdsworth but man is pretty much all legato lol... still be cool though
This guy totally reminds me of Al Di Meola, would be nice to have him "scienticized".
@@dante4d Al is the ASSHOLE
@@scottnoricsson2023 he's almost 70 of course he's gonna be grumpy.
When Joscho does those crescendos, is he only deepening the pick attack, or his he changing the firmness of his pick grip, or changing some other variable (or some combination of more than of of these)? There seem to be some high performing pickers (e.g. Albert Lee) who use a fairly loose grip, and I think I've even seen Rob Chapman specifically suggest a loose grip in some picking scenarios, but there are also many who seem to use a pretty firm grip most of the time.
Arched wrist, forearm rotation, rather like Eddie Van Halen sometimes uses.
This is the only way I can do tremolo picking but seeing it from this view in slo-mo makes me think of a small dog being held above water and paddling.
Is EVH's tremolo picking like this essentially?
On one string, yep.
Are these steel strings?
I never knew gypsy players use such heavy picks. The strings on their guitars always seem pretty light, much more so than the what is used by bluegrass acoustic players or even electric jazz players in many cases.
dfpguitar In my opinion hard picks are better for nearly everything as they give you most dynamic range, by transferring the flex from the pick to the hand. In gypsy jazz they bend whereas most electric jazz players use flatwound 11s up to 13s & they never bend.
Cool... It's not the wrist, though. It's the forearm rotating quickly, and taking the hand with it. The wrist cannot make that motion. That's why the wrist turns the hand to that 60 degree angle. Then the forearm swings it rapidly back and forth. The wrist does not move the hand in that side-to-side motion.
Looks like quite a bit of edge picking too
Da St yes!! I can see why he thinks it is the wrist because that is what is moving but I agree you can't move your wrist like that it feels like my wrist is totally relaxed and just flapping around
I have tried implementing this and it really works. It's as you said, it's almost like you're unscrewing something with your forearm.
EXACTLY! I wonder if Al ASSHOLE Di Meola uses the similar approach, but judging from his rihgt hand movement it doesn't appear to be - also he uses perfect palm muting which I don't if it's possible and doable with forearm rotation...
How it works:
1. move your hand up and down really fast
im not sure whether you are just making a joke or are really suggesting that thats all thats going on here
He's right, just fast hands basically!
The joke is that there is no "secret", it just takes thousands of hours of practice to get that going for yourself.
+Ramesha Frederick, you are the only person who got the main conclusion right after all these videos.
I kept saying that but too many people think you can steal a in a moment a technique that took years to build😊
Raif Mokretar-Karroubi You clearly are no visionary
I would like to know what kind of pick he is using. Because I recently switched over to heavier picks, which are good for sweeps, but the tremolo felt easier with lighter picks. So I'm not sure what to stick to.
I'm not positive, but I think he uses Wegen picks.
He uses a Wegen Big City 1.8mm Pick. Verified in many videos by him
nice.
What's with the big C clamp on Joscho's guitar. Is the neck being glued on or what?
For the camera
does he use round side of a pick?
00:20 that looks like the technique of the Sarod
Something appear to be wrong with my right hand but give me 2-10 years !
Origins in Mandolin playing..
is this really tremolo or just a fast strum?
Eugenius Williams tremolo is just strumming fast. There's several different types of tremolo however; classical and flamenco tremolo use fingers while metal/rock and jazz tremolo uses picks.
Is that a skinny Jack Black?
You can almost see the notes disturbig the air aroud his fingers....
Neat idea. I hope it didn't scar the top or damage the fingerboard or frets. Them "gitars" ain't cheap.
Flamenco Guitar with a pick? What?
It does have a similar level of fire doesn't it? Both Gypsy jazz and flamenco are musical styles that really showcase the kinds of sounds that guitars are great at.
+Troy Grady Same attacks different approach. Its played by Gypsies. Flamenco is Gypsy music from Spain. Paco is no less of a Gypsy as Django.
+Troy Grady The rhythms he played from 3:42 on reminded me of flamenco as well. Not just because "level of fire", it sounds like a pick player imitating rasgueado.
Would you ever consider filming a (pro) flamenco artist's right hand? It may have little to do with picking, but think of the sheer awesomeness of seeing the rasgueado, tremolo, apoyando and especially the fast thumb playing up close.
Paul Price Paco de Lucia was an Andaluz. And Lucia was his town. I've never heard anyone call him a Gypsy before. Where did you get that info from?
+einarabelc5 He was always been open about his Gypsy roots. His last name did not come from the town u said. He took his stage name in honour of his mother Lucia Gomes. He was the son of a flamenco guitarist who was of Gypsy origin.