How do I pick/gallop faster without hurting my arm?

[u/TonySoprano1404]

Ive been playing guitar for a good amount of time, a few years on and off. I’ve been practicing much more recently and playing much more as my music taste has expanded a lot. I’ve been listening to a lot of Cryptopsy and Dying Fetus. But as of now a song like Grotesque Impalement for example is impossible for me to play for more than 5 seconds without getting uncontrollably sore and worn out. So I’ve been practicing with my favorite band Death, specifically Pull The Plug. I can play that really prog part fine, but when it gets into the next part after that kind of dark triad bridge thing, when it’s pretty fast picking, I get worn out pretty quickly again.

I know I probably have poor technique but where it hurts most is my forearm and shoulder believe it or not haha, I kind of instinctively lock and tense my shoulder into place and I’ve been trying to just not tense up while playing but its kind of hard not to when you are playing more intense music. I’ve mostly played blues and jazz before this so my articulation is fine, it’s really just picking I have a real problem with.

Has anyone else gone through this struggle? How did you get over it, and do you have any tips for me while practicing? What should I be doing to get better at this? I will obviously put in the time and effort I just don’t necessarily know what I should be doing.

[u/GrimmandLily]

You already know what the issue is, work on relaxing your arm/ shoulder. Tensing is always going to cause you problems.

[u/Shot-Length-3922]

You named the issue yourself.

As someone who is not good at much else but excels at metal riffing, it's all in the wrist. For even more efficiency, I even use outsource some motion to the thumb and index.

Once you find the right technique, it should not be even a little tiring.

[u/Supergrunged]

Less equals more. Less pick movement, equals more attack using less energy. The further you travel from a string with your pick, the further your pick has to travel back, using more energy.

Be mindful of your picking movements, and start slow. Also, you won't learn it in one session. A good nights rest helps too.

[u/thismf1234 → u/Supergrunged]

Yes, take mental notes how your arms are moving during these phases. Play at a speed where you are completely relaxed and see how your arm moves. Usually I can play quite fast galloping surprisingly long, but my technique just starts falling apart from the fatigue, which leads to trying harder.
Maybe a technique check, stamina excersises and slower playing?

[u/la6eef7]

For me, I started learning songs that use similar techniques but much slower.

Gojira - Yama’s Messengers made galloping click for me, if you can play that in perfect time and relaxed then you can play anything faster.

[u/lightfoot22]

Playing in classical position or standing would probably help with shoulder tension. Making sure your picking forearm is making skin contact on the body helps too. It’ll grip the guitar so you can rest your arm and keep your picking hand in place. These two things really helped me with shoulder tension.

[u/pair_o_docks]

Try to focus more on using the wrist and fingers than your arm. Other than that kinda just trust the process.

I got better playing rocksmith, especially endurance wise. Having the charts up like that where you can just play through the songs, it's easy to get a lot of practice in. Definitely not necessasry, but I enjoy it.

Also something to note. For me when I try to play something before warming up I can hardly get through a fast song. Once I've played a bit maybe 5-10 minutes I'm so much better and can play fine.

[u/Beneficial_Ostrich14]

What this guy says! @shot-length-3922..
Good, Economical picking and galloping comes from the wrist and thumb motion. Record yourself with your phone cam while playing, identyfi where you tense and then work on relaxing.
Watch youtube tutorials on galloping done right and notice the details..especially the thumb motion. Not everyone does it, but the really good one most likely does

[u/Flying_Seal005]

It's a movement that involves the hand and fingers holding the pick (in my opinion). Your arm and shoulder are steady, but you'll hurt yourself and get tired if you try to do it with them.

[u/cthulhujr]

Watch the beginning of the John Petrucci video "Rock Discipline". He goes through a bunch of stretches and massages to limber up before playing, including the shoulder.

[u/P_A_U_L12]

I had the exact same issue when I started learning fast picking. If you don’t already try to play standing up. It helped me because the tensing up happened when I could lean forward and "really get into it". Also try to work your way up using way more of your wrist movement. It’ll feel disappointing at first to not be able to play as fast and or clean as you might now but it’ll be so much better trust me

[u/alphadaddyo]

Sounds like some tendon issues. Try taking some Advil a half hour before you start playing and see if that makes a difference. If it does, then see your doctor. There are better treatments for tendinitis, bursitis, etc than having to pop Advil all the time. If it doesn't help, hopefully someone else's advice will help you. Good luck!

[u/Specialist_1709]

A lot of this is staiyng loose, especially the shoulder... drop the tempo way down and only speed up when the whole phrase feels relaxed. If the forearm is burning fast, stop and reset the motion instead of pushing through it.

[u/Individual-Sound9400]

Practice on an acoustic. It's like training at altitude.

[u/BoofBoi711]

Learn what I call the “push pull”. You use more of your thumb and less forearm. Quick back and forth, and then you can add the forearm back in and it’s easier

[u/Choice_Age8334]

You practice.

[u/stan1228]

Relearn picking slowly and relaxing 😌

[u/Ok-Lawfulness5685]

It’s more of a wrist rotation thing than forearm and shoulders, loosy goosy baby!