Fast Downpicking

I. Technical Details

– thicker strings are better (not all agree on this)

– thicker pick is better

– easier standing up

– ‘muscular’ amp (ex: EVH5150) and high-output pickups help

—

II. How to Play

– use a combination of wrist and forearm

– for each downpick,use the response of the strings to ‘float’ you back for another round of downpicking

– organize your riffs or playing position to avoid constand downpicking, if possible

– don’t ‘muscle through’ if feel pain; don’t risk inflammation

—

III. How to Practice

– choose a song or chord progression that has some downpicking but also gives you opportunity to rest from it, either because it has slower notes (like lower numbers in list below) or because you can use up & down picking for certain sections (ex: Blitzkrieg Bob by Ramones uses up & down picking in choruses)

– gradually work up longer durations of fast downstrokes, ex:

2 beats of 16ths plus 2 beats of 8ths, then
3 beats of 16ths plus 1 beat of 8ths, then
3 1/3 beats of 16ths plus one 8th note, etc.

– notice if amount of tension increases between downpicking 16ths and 8ths, and notice exactly where in body; reduce speed until can eliminate tension completely, then build back up gradually

– gradually increase speed with metronome, keeping a log

—

IV. Examples of Fast Downpicking Songs (in order of increasing difficulty)

#1 – Megadeth – Symphony Of Destruction – 4:30
#2 – Rammstein – Rammstein – 4:57
#3 – Pantera – Domination – 5:14
#4 – Sum 41 – The Hell Song – 5:38
#5 – Black Sabbath – Paranoid – 6:02
#6 – Disturbed – Down With The Sickness – 6:25
#7 – Amon Amarth – Raise Your Horns – 6:47
#8 – Slipknot – All Out Life – 7:05
#9 – Lamb Of God – Laid To Rest – 7:17
#10 – Bullet For My Valentine – Waking The Demon – 7:45
#11 – Metallica – Master Of Puppets – 8:05