as i get more into
alternate picking, i find myself thinking about a few things. a lot of the time, i end up practicing just purely fast alternate picking stuff for like 3 hours plus straight with no break because it's so damn fun. gilbert, malmsteen and petrucci riffs.
after a while though, it's like i get worse at the riffs and licks i'm playing and my shoulder blade and arm kinda stiffens (mainly my shoulder area). i watched petrucci's rock discipline vid and did some of the
stretches he does at the start and it actually really helps to loosen you up.
i've been trying to keep my arm and shoulder completely loose and tension free when i pick and leave all the movement to my wrist. i have a good picking technique, i've spent ages working on it, it's just that you tend to lose track of what the rest of your body is doing when you're focusing on something like picking.
so is it just the pure stress of doing just picking for so long that causes this or am i doing something wrong. i mean, i take breaks every 20 mins or so and do a bit of a stretch, but it doesn't really help. do i just need to build more stamina and strength in my tendons or something?
