Oz Noy's Subconscious Sweeping 

Hahaha classic! I think we all have that technique.

Amazing work Troy. I think you are one of the people who have taught me the most about technique.

It's true. When we sat down he was like, I'm not really technical. I was like, uh, what?

No it's economy both ways.

nope. Shawn 71 is right. Go to 3:07 and play it in slow motion

I was brought to this video specifically cause of a friend who suggested it when I told him I economy on the way up and alternate back down so I can vouch for him doing this, just the opposite of what I do. I thought it was a weird bad habit but this makes me feel better about it haha.

good one, I play the same way you do...Guess there are as many ways to play as players...the best way is the most comfortable and natural for you, but..sometimes it takes, paradoxically, many years to find wich is your natural way of playin´...strange circle in time

Nope ... He's definitely doing some economy when ascending as well. He doesn't do it at the 3:07 scale because he plays it slower when ascending but speeds up when he starts to come back down. But if you watch earlier in the video at half speed, you can clearly see him using economy picking when ascending as well. Check out around the 1:30 mark, for instance. It's clear as day.

+Andybaby Exact same thing I thought of! I think these amazing players are genuine - they all play by feel.

It's the same when someone says he can't play it when he does it slower cause it would change their playing. The other thing is some play faster than their mind could process. If they'd try to look what they're doing, they'd mess it up. The last bit is something Jeff Waters told me and he's a 0% BS person.

Chuck Haney he plays alternate mostly. He pushed his thumb back in order to create spasms. If you see his old vids you will understand what I’m saying

jkljlkhklj both are from Long Island NY

We'll get this out in the next month or so.

Did this come out already? i think i missed it! Where can i find it?

Right on!

Don't drive and watch our videos!

Troy Grady thanks for the reply troy! but as guitarists you know we love multitasking!!

He alternated the way up but switched to economy for descending

Nath Smith whenever he changes a string, he uses economy picking. Multiple notes on one string is alternate picking here.

Which tells us economy picking is best, as there's no need to change pick angle when changing strings!! =)

+martinavizcomm Not exactly - Oz is still two-way pickslanting during economy because economy is really a complicated mix of alternate and sweep. The fact that he can do it without thinking is the amazing part.

It's amazing to watch. Guys like you make me want to burn my guitar!! =)

I don't see how anyone might be able to think of how they're going to pick each note when they have to think of more pressing matters like what to play and how (dynamic, expression etc.) to play it. I really think that anyone who takes the time to practice well (focussing on good tone, dynamics and timing) is a natural, as you say, i.e. finds the right way to pick without having to focus on what exactly his right hand is doing - unless they are playing specific right hand exercises.

Miles Williams economy picking is sweeping when you can

VanGuitar yes that's true to an extent, economy is simply what it states, economizing your motion and at times that may involve sweep picking, but I said economy/alternate picking which is what he is using. Sweeping is similar to what a bassist calls raking. It's like strumming a chord, attacking each string once in one direction, except you are breaking your chord into an arpeggio, then coming back in the opposite direction and so on. There are exceptions to this of course but mostly, as far as I'm aware, that's what is meant by sweeping. Striking a string with an up and down attack is alternate picking, and doing it with as little motion as physically possible is economizing that alternate picking technique and that's what is happening here.

Miles Williams the way that I learned it in many books, is that economy picking IS sweeping each and every time you can. It has nothing to do with amplitude of movement .This guy is clearly improvising, and he economy picks on the way up, that means he sweeps every time it is possible to sweep. (That means that he will alternate pick some notes and sweep what he can that’s why it’s called economy picking) On the way down he seems to only alternate pick. I don’t know if what I said is clear but that’s the way I read it in the books.

Oz plays awesome stuff, and we also did a few jams on Autumn Leaves, All The Things You Are, and some blues stuff. The blizzard of notes you're seeing here was just Oz warming up, but I kept the camera rolling to capture the incredible variety of hand movements he's capable of.

Troy Grady, he’s very good. No doubt about that. My ear has a hard time understanding some of the melodic ideas he’s expressing. He transitions from diminished to blues and into other modes seamlessly and unexpectedly, or at least that’s his it sounds to my ear. I’ve been a guitar teacher for fourteen years, but I’m certainly no Troy Grady.

Nothing wrong with your ear, you're totally correct, he's just warming up with stream of consciousness stuff. It's a mix just to get his fingers happening. All the great improvisers we interview do this. I've learned to get that camera rolling as soon as they pull out the guitar because for mechanics type stuff it's a gold mine of things to study. For more considered playing, yes Oz does totally mix all those tonalities, but in a way that flows and which I totally dig. You can check out some solo clips with scrolling tab on his web site in the 'teaching' section.

Troy Grady, thank you!

Some of his lines sound like McLaughlin's more recent output. I was vaguely aware of this guy, but didn't know he was that good. I'm going to check out his website.