fast tremelo

[Sythke21]

hey guys, im learning some goregasm atm, and since i haven't played alot of real Death metal like this i haven't come across alot of songs with speeds like 16th notes at 230BPM. Im learning fisticunt, and the intro is just that, when you guys are playing at these speeds do you make sure your strict with exactly how many times you strike each note, or do u just go by what sounds good. i tend to lose control of playing 16ths at around 180bpm. (single notes, not scale, or chromatic runs)

[Me himself]

I've had this question before and it used to bother the shit out of me. I usually never pay attention to the exact number of strokes I do for tremolo picking, but for some period of time I did sit down with a metronome and try to get my tremolo picking more rhythmic, rather than just a burst of insanely fast strokes. Picking up that practice technique wouldn't be a bad idea if you're looking at it just from a disciplinary standpoint, but with metal tremolo picking (as opposed to shred), I really don't see a reason to get all torn up about it. Lately I actually have been paying more attention to the number of strokes because I'm trying to get my shredding up.

[Deathmaster213]

I'd say it is fairly important to get the right number of notes in there, at the correct tempo. You'll only find it more difficult later on if you go at it with the lazy approach now.

[MetalThrashingMad]

hey guys, im learning some goregasm atm, and since i haven't played alot of real Death metal like this i haven't come across alot of songs with speeds like 16th notes at 230BPM. Im learning fisticunt, and the intro is just that, when you guys are playing at these speeds do you make sure your strict with exactly how many times you strike each note, or do u just go by what sounds good. i tend to lose control of playing 16ths at around 180bpm. (single notes, not scale, or chromatic runs)
I learned how to play guitar with Sodom and Slayer songs... I actually had a hard time with tremelo when I started as well. I can play Deeds of Flesh - Reduced to Ashes now at any given point in the day... all it was is practice, practice, and making sure your picking form is proper. When I first started I would just grudge-fuck tremelo pick with my forearm like Jeff Hanneman :eek: I would get fatigued fast, and my accuracy wasn't too great. I'm usually pretty strict with how many notes I play, just because I'm familiar with beats and time signatures and note values and shit... but if you're playing death or thrash metal, being specific on your open E tremelo picking isn't too terribly important :D

[Mortal_Lament]

biggest thing is that it sounds like shit without palm muting on the low E string. To an extent at least...
Start with slow songs, and get them perfect. Great album to do that is Fistful of Metal by anthrax (see what i did there metalthrashingmad?) Really slow. Go to slayer, then try the Goreguts. One step at a time, you'll end up missing a step and screwing up if you start that high.

[Sythke21]

thanks guys, ill take a step back and master some simpler songs then come back to some 'gasm and see how we go :)

[Soeru]

Learn Suffocation's "Mass Obliteration".

[Sycophant]

Clean tremelo picking should be exactly four picked notes every beat inside the metronome. Otherwise you're doing triplets or something else.

[Amadeus]

+1
I was waiting for that all through the thread. Sloppyness may work for Slipknot's guitarists - who generally seem to be playing haphazard binary code on the low E-string - but music is 1% magic and the rest methods and techniques. Not worth much without the magic, and frankly embarrasing without the methods and techniques.

[Soeru]

Sloppyness may work for Slipknot's guitarists - who generally seem to be playing haphazard binary code on the low E-string

:lol: sigged.

[JoeYngVai]

If you're still checking this thread, syth, then do this: Speed Bursts. Boom bam the end. Those are your life savers for speed, honestly. Look up exercises, or talk to me if you can't find ANY for some reason. And btw the man who loves speed bursts a lot for technique improvement: Mr. Petrucci.

[Demoniac]

At some point....you can't be sure! It's impossible. I maybe lame, but I just memorize the time...if I start with one intensity I will just try not to give more or less impulse to it and that is it!

If you want triplets go really fast(respecting the bars) if not...just go a little slower.

I believe with time...we do it with out thinking about it!

Talking about self experience...I believe that some little small mistakes are good! (like these 1 or more nano-secound of a riff)..gives the song some fluence...not boring "the same and the same"...more hypnotic.

That's my vision of it!

[thedogwave]

it all depends on the part. of course if you're doing a fast trem picking part over a few strings or something tightness is everything. on a lot of tighter more tech stuff i'll really sit there and think it all out but if it's some basic black metal riff or something i just rely more on how long im playing the note and not really how many times im playing it. if that makes sense.