speed and technique work on the wick

[Pedro]

from my own experience its best to learn a few techniques while in your early years of playing. its hard to adjust once you get set in your ways.
I payed the price for not learning different techniques. I have two, the Steve Harris two finger speed demon technique. and the previously mention backstroke technique which is awesome once you get it down.

How'd you do the steve harris technique?

 

[gonzosc1]

from my own experience its best to learn a few techniques while in your early years of playing. its hard to adjust once you get set in your ways.
I payed the price for not learning different techniques. I have two, the Steve Harris two finger speed demon technique. and the previously mention backstroke technique which is awesome once you get it down.

How'd you do the steve harris technique?

well it was hard at first but I wanted the two finger speed that steve Harris generates since I first started playing. a lot of people think Steve Harris uses three fingers, but he does not!
for me like most I guess it was just brutal and boring jams with a drum machine. I would set up a loop of double bass drums to start and play along with them at different speeds. at first I would just take it one string at a time and after awhile I would try to work it into scales covering all string.
down the road I would have some drummers help me make loops on the drum machine to add triplets and arpeggios that would fall in line with a Iron Maiden style.

Steve Harris rules!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pepper Wadman]

Try using a backstroke technique Thomas.
Stanley Clark is one of the best at this.Just in case ya dunno what I mean by backstroke.
Using your forefinger,stroke upwards as you would normally.Then hit the string on the down stroke as well.It's like strumming up & down with a pick,but using your finger.
Once you get confident doing this at speed,join in with your middle finger.
Let me know how ya go with it mate.

+1

I would also recommend this technique

 

[SurrenderMonkey]

it helps playing closer to the bridge (tighter strings).

On the video of the Wembley Concert, he does play with a pick (and a ric ).

It's quite intresting, he satrts of the song with the gallop line using a pick, and then switches to fingers for the end.

 

[Thomas]

it helps playing closer to the bridge (tighter strings).

On the video of the Wembley Concert, he does play with a pick (and a ric ).

It's quite intresting, he satrts of the song with the gallop line using a pick, and then switches to fingers for the end.

sounds quite reasonable.

If only it were a bit faster. I can play quickly with three fingers, but the song is at the point where it's just barely too fast for two fingers, and slow enough that it's difficult to be consistent with 3. But i'm working at it.

 

[BassPlyr Randy]

Nothing new to add really, but would reiterate the need to practice. I always stress practicing a technique slow enough that you can do it perfectly and for an extended period of time. That way, as previously mentioned, you develope the muscle memory in your hands/fingers. Once you can do it at a set speed perfectly, then increase your speed and practice at the new speed, then increase again, until you can play the piece in question faster than you need to for an extended period of time, that way, when you slow back down to play the piece at its normal speed, it will feel almost easy to you. However, I can not over stress the need for percission. Always practice for percission over speed. Speed comes with thime/practice, and whats the point of being able to play something fast if it sounds like crap.

Finger technique is really a personal preference, but I do highly reccomend trying every finger technique you run into. If you find it unuseful, or you simply don't like it, dump it, but you realy can't make that decision unless you give it a try. Personally I generally play with two fingers and I can play pretty darn fast with two fingers. However there are times that a 3 finger technique comes in handy and I tend to do the ring-middle-index-middle or for triplet gallops I will go ring-middle-index back to ring Almost like drumming your fingers on a table.

I have not heard the song in question and will give it a listen when I get off work, however, looking at the music posted, those do not look like true triplets to me. and I would think by just looking at the written music, that would be more of a gallop style anyway. But then again, my rhythm dictation sucks, so what do I know.