Does picking speed come from the Wrist or Elbow?

[phlame]

I didn't know how to make a "poll" sorry.


But anyway, I was reading an article last night with Kerry King and he says that extreme speed picking can only be accompished with the Wrist not the Elbow.


Personally I pick from the elbow. What do you guys do?

[Jeff]

Picking from the elbow makes my arm cramp up, so I try to always pick from the wrist.

[zEr0]

Definetly wrist for me. It also seems to be the most widely agreed "correct" technique even though Vinnie Moore uses his whole elbow and he's fat as hell.

I think it's just a matter of not over-stressing.

[phlame]

I always thought the correct way to pick was from the elbow. My arm used to cramp up, but now the muscle right above my elbow has grown very strong. I just flex it and start ripping. I guess I'm going to have to adjust my technique to more of a wrist action.

[fettouhi]

I do it from the wrist! If I do it from the elbow I loose control for some reason.

Regards

André

[Azrael]

I pick "fast" from my elbow and not my wrist. Most people seem to use wrist movements though....

[Petie]

My speed picking is a combination of wrist and thumb joint, but usually my rhythm playing comes from my elbow unless I'm playing thrash.

[ukwan]

look at your arm hold it out infront of u with an open hand facing your face.

see how fast u can move your wrist alone up and down.. not very fast.
now see how fast u can move your entire arm up and down.. not very fast.

now see how fast u can rotate your hand... this is the only muscle in your hand that can move at any speed, regardless of where you think your speed is coming from, believe me it's mostly from the muscles that do the rotation of your hand.

medical fact.

[phlame]

I don't know, my guitar teacher told me the other day that I should be picking from the elbow, like I was in the first place. He said that if you think about it your elbow is much stronger than your wrist and it will win every time. So now all you guys with your "medical facts" have got me messed up. I don't care what Kerry King says, or any medical students on board say, Picking From The El-Bow Is The Fastest Way, imho

[wildealien]

Originally Posted by ukwan

look at your arm hold it out infront of u with an open hand facing your face.

see how fast u can move your wrist alone up and down.. not very fast.
now see how fast u can move your entire arm up and down.. not very fast.

now see how fast u can rotate your hand... this is the only muscle in your hand that can move at any speed, regardless of where you think your speed is coming from, believe me it's mostly from the muscles that do the rotation of your hand.

medical fact.

interesting.

...but, i think i'm in the, "i don't know where i pick from, i just play the damn guitar," category

[Drew]

I'm actually kinda interested in this, as I've always considered my picking technique a weakness, and I have NO idea where I pick from- I just pick. I'd love to sit down with someone with good picking technique and just talk about the physical side of it, as it's tough to describe verbally. Or, if it's not, then I've just never talked to the right people.

Also been meaning to grab Rusty Cooley's "The Art of Picking" DVD for more-or-less the same reasons - does he get into this stuff there?

-D

[gimp]

I'm not very good, but I pick from my wrist. I don't have enough control picking from my elbow. I look at it like writing something. You pretty much move your fingers and your wrist, esepecially when trying to write fast. Seems like if you were to pick from your elbow, it's like holding the pick on the end of a stick.

[jim777]

If you started with lessons, and a proper teacher, you very likely develop picking speed with your wrist, and not your forearm. If you just "picked it up", because guitar playing ain't brain surgery, you likely either develop speed from your forearm, or you started from forearm and witched to wrist.
But, talent being what it is, you can do whatever you like. There's no right or wrong way, just like a drummer who plays with his wrists (like Dave Weckl) or plays with his forearms (like Neil Peart). The scale/beat is more important than the way it's delivered most of the time. Personally, I think you'll play longer and faster if you develop your speed from wrist/hand motion. I think JP covers some of this in both "Wild Stringdom" and "Rock Discipline".

[phlame]

My top picking speed comes from my elbow. Your elbow has much stronger mucles than your wrist, and therefore will have much more endurance, speed and accuracy. I consider my picking technique to be my greatest strength, and my personal style of picking somewhat resemble that of Dino Cazares. I'm not saying that i sit around and play Fear Factory all day, but I can pick every bit as fast (and even faster) as I've ever heard Dino shred. And guess what Dino and I both pick from the elbow.

I think most people are turned of by elbow picking because:
A- They are just haters who never learned how to shred in the first place.
B- They don't have the discipline to train their "elbow mucles".
C- They are content with thier mediocre technique/speed.

[zEr0]

Originally Posted by phlame

Your elbow has much stronger mucles than your wrist, and therefore will have much more endurance, speed and accuracy.

THat's just plain wrong. Strength is completely irrelevant to speed. The trick is to learn how to completely relax the muscles that are involved when you pick fast. That's why usually wrist is more widely accepted, because you need a smaller wrist movement than an elbow one to alternate pick, meaning it's easier to avoid stress. THis doesn't mean that somenone (like you or your teacher) can't learn how to completely relax their forearm and therefore achieve amazing speeds. But saying that this is the result of the forearm being stronger than the wrist is just silly.