trem. pick

king_truffle · #1 04-13-2002, 07:22 PM

ok, gang, I was looking at a piece of music today and I noticed something that I didn't understand. It said 'trem. pick' I'm assuming that the 'trem.' means tremolo, but what, exactly, is it? What does one do with the pick? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks gang.

JonnyLentilbean · #2 04-14-2002, 08:11 PM

this is a rather easy one.

tremelo picking is simply fast back-and-forth picking. tremelo picking is used most commonly on the guitar, but with the right bass and amp it can sound good on bass too.
just pick on the up and downstrokes VERY FAST. that's all there is to it.

Zirc · #3 04-14-2002, 08:17 PM

Sounds like it'd be NOFX or AFI sheet music or something like that

king_truffle · #4 04-15-2002, 06:24 AM

actually, it was 'Overkill' the Metallica version.

kirbywrx · #5 04-18-2002, 06:21 PM

I dont know if this is right, but i always though tremolo picking was when you slide down from a fret and constantly pick. for example, when a the bass come in on a song, instead of just sliding down from 12th fret, you would slide, but just strum as much as you can. Is this what happenes when the bass comes in on the Alient Ant Farm song, Movies or am I thinking of 2 different techniques?

BehindTheMoon · #6 04-20-2002, 04:31 AM

I think it specifically refers to fast playing where the exact rate and feel are up to the performer/arranger's taste, as opposed to a rigidly timed stream of 32nd notes or something.

Slowly changing the position of the pick or the nature of the attack while tremolo picking can give you a nice, almost legato swell effect, too.

In terms of the technical side, there are definitely ways to hold the pick that make tremolo picking a lot easier. Experiment.