How do I pick/gallop faster without hurting my arm?
Ive been playing guitar for a good amount of time, a few years on and off. I’ve been practicing much more recently and playing much more as my music taste has expanded a lot. I’ve been listening to a lot of Cryptopsy and Dying Fetus. But as of now a song like Grotesque Impalement for example is impossible for me to play for more than 5 seconds without getting uncontrollably sore and worn out. So I’ve been practicing with my favorite band Death, specifically Pull The Plug. I can play that really prog part fine, but when it gets into the next part after that kind of dark triad bridge thing, when it’s pretty fast picking, I get worn out pretty quickly again.
I know I probably have poor technique but where it hurts most is my forearm and shoulder believe it or not haha, I kind of instinctively lock and tense my shoulder into place and I’ve been trying to just not tense up while playing but its kind of hard not to when you are playing more intense music. I’ve mostly played blues and jazz before this so my articulation is fine, it’s really just picking I have a real problem with.
Has anyone else gone through this struggle? How did you get over it, and do you have any tips for me while practicing? What should I be doing to get better at this? I will obviously put in the time and effort I just don’t necessarily know what I should be doing.