[Criteria for Fast Picking] From what BPM in 16th notes does fast picking begin?

Whether professional or amateur, I think every guitarist has wondered at least once, "At what point does it become fast picking?"

Honestly, where fast picking begins is a question that ultimately comes down to "it depends on the person," but I would like to share my own criteria for fast picking here.

Please note that this article assumes "playing with full picking" throughout, so I appreciate your understanding.

By the way, for those who are thinking, "I just want to be able to do super-fast full picking!", I have summarized the picking reinforcement methods I actually practiced in the article below, so please feel free to check it out.

1. Generally accepted criteria for fast picking

First, I would like to confirm the criteria for fast picking that are generally talked about in society.

Generally, in Japanese guitar instruction books, music schools, or online communities, what is often defined as the entry point for fast picking is around "16th notes at 130-160 BPM (or 6-tuplets at 90-110 BPM)".

By the way, the reason why these numbers have become established as general theory is that there are clear music theory and ergonomic data involved here.

When a human plays an instrument, if it is 16th notes up to about 120 BPM, the brain can cognitively process each movement individually, such as "swing the right hand, place the left-hand fingers here..." and so on.

However, once you exceed 140 BPM, the brain's processing speed can no longer keep up with the physical movement speed. Once you reach this range, the brain stops processing movements one by one and needs to run a series of movements as a single integrated motor program.

Incidentally, in cognitive psychology, this is called motor automation or chunking. Based on this, I think it is reasonable to consider the general criteria for fast picking as "starting from around 16th notes at 140 BPM".

2. My personal criteria for fast picking is 16th notes at 200 BPM or higher

Now, let me state where I personally think fast picking begins. To conclude, I believe that fast picking is 16th notes at 200 BPM (about 13.3 notes per second) or faster.

Therefore, when people talk about "this is a fast picking phrase" at around 150 or 160 BPM, my honest feeling is, "No... that's just the normal speed range... that's not fast picking..."

Of course, "fast = difficult" is not true at all, so there are difficult phrases regardless of speed, so I never look down on a phrase just because it is slow.

However, as a speed freak who writes articles like the one below, my honest opinion is that "it sounds more pleasant when it's a bit faster."

DragonForce, for example, is just the right speed. Their songs have quite a few tracks over 200 BPM. Furthermore, the melodies are cheesy, too.

By the way, I have also covered the topic of the limit of picking speed on my blog in the past. If you want to know a little more about this topic, I think you might want to check out the article below.

3. I think individuals should decide for themselves where fast playing begins

Generally, you can consider fast playing to be 16th notes at 140 BPM or higher. As for me, I think fast playing is 16th notes at 200 BPM or higher.

That said, the standard for where fast playing begins is something that can only be described as "up to the person." Furthermore, since "whether fast playing is necessary or not also depends on the person," perhaps "the criteria for fast playing doesn't matter at all" in the first place.

Well, I think it's fine as long as everyone can express what they want to express. It's fine as long as everyone can use the necessary amount of technique required for the expression they want to achieve. Well, it's not really my place to say that so arrogantly, as I'm not even a professional.

See you later.