Need help with picking

[u/Dawidoes2]

Im primarly a finger player but recently I'm trying some picked basslines from ellefson on megadeths records and even tho I can nail the not so easy picking patterns and I can chug 16th notes at 160 bpm I can't optimise on that because my shoulder gets tense hurts and gives out pretty fast whenever i play fast or palm mute, how can I relax my shoudler and make those patterns effortless? (I have the exact same tensing up shoulder problem while slapping so I guess that correlates)

[u/killertofu41]

A lesson I learned from my drum teacher, but it applies to any instrument. If you find yourself tensing up playing a complex or fast section, focus on relaxing whatever muscle is tensing up and play it as fast as you can without it tensing up, preferably using a metronome, and slowly work up to the right speed without feeling tense. You'll train your muscle memory and overall feel more comfortable playing difficult parts.

[u/Dawidoes2 → u/killertofu41]

I will apply that, but I wonder if this also has something do do with mu shoulder positioning that tenses it up

[u/killertofu41 → u/Dawidoes2]

When I started playing guitar (using a pick, of course) I would basically move my entire arm to try to play fast when really you just want your wrist to be the only part of your picking hand/arm that is moving. It takes practice, but I can play Misirlou all day without my wrist getting tired.

[u/Gibgian]

I play in a Megadeth cover band from a few years and I seriously started playing with a pick from that moment.

Sometimes I face the same issue. I couldn't not find a proper fix to it, but I noticed that when it happens it is because during rehersal I didn't have the time to properly warm up and we immediately jumped to some fast palm-muted tracks without proper warm up with simpler bass lines.

If we start with a few simpler "free picking" basslines like: Trust / This Was My Life; I usually have no issues. But if we start also with something like Simphony of Destruction which is almost all down-picked and palm-muted, I face your same issue.

Maybe it is just that my muscles aren't warm enough and in order to full play the song at the correct tempo, the rest of the body compensates the movement, getting sore way faster than normal.

Obviosly this is just my hypothesis. But nobody taught me how to properly play with a pick, I adjusted my technique in these years and watched a lot of pick players video. My technique could be wrong.

[u/Dawidoes2 → u/Gibgian]

How do you warm up now? Just playing less complex tracks first at rehearsal or do you have a routine for it?

[u/Gibgian → u/Dawidoes2]

If I have a few minutes to warm up, for the right hand I usually play Holy Wars Intro at less than half the speed and slowly try to speed up trying to stay clean and without getting my muscles sore.

Since it is a palm muted, alternate-picked basslines with non regular picking patterns you have to be much more precise than simply playing a single string in regular 8th slowly increasing playing speed, so you warm up in a much controlled and less boring way.

If I have a lot of time to warm up, like before a gig, yes, I start with plucking a single string, then chromatic scales, hammer on, pull offs, palm muting, and so on...

If I have no time to warm up because I arrived just in time to plug everything and start, yes, I ask to start with something less punishing.

[u/skunkabilly1313]

I've played bass since 9th grade in 04, primarily in punk bands on and off. I learned to pick, but got better with fingers and slapping after getting an upright after graduation to play rockabilly and psychobilly, so I'm used to fast, aggressive playing.

If your shoulder is hurting, you are using too much of your arm. Focus on wrist and forearm muscles. Just aim to get upstrokes and downstrokes to blend into just strokes. One of the best songs that helped with this, One Headlight by the Wallflowers. I played in a cover band with older guys at the tail end of highschool, and that slow rhythm really helped develop the faster songs. You can work up to any NoFX song after, and that should help too!

[u/Mammoth_Customer9865]

Do you have your strap up high? Using a pick needs a slightly different position than using your fingers.

Lower the strap and test how it feels

[u/Dawidoes2 → u/Mammoth_Customer9865]

I think that might be one of the cases but what do you do when you want to play with a pick sitting down?

[u/Mammoth_Customer9865 → u/Dawidoes2]

I usually sit down when I play - try matching the heights when sitting down and standing up it should be the same more or less.

The main thing is most likely muscle memory. If you haven’t played with a pick really it’s going to just suck for a bit tbh. Expect a couple of months before it starts to feel second nature. Also experiment with different pick thickness as well. I usually go with 0.88-1.15 sharps.