Cruickshank vs. Mehling DVD

robertsaunders

This may well be already covered here... Which one is considered more useful in stabilizing wrist position while building speed?

I need to rid my technique of tension by generating power from the wrist more, and to do that I need to SEE how it's done. Watching Dennis Chang's youtube tutorials showed me how effective visual demos are. I got sidetracked by trying to build speed without paying enough attention to the gravity/relaxation issue, which to this day still has me wondering how to apply it. I may eventually buy both methods but would like to hear the particular strengths of each. Cruickshank has a DVD out of his VHS version now.

Thanks,
-Rob

dennis

they are both fine players and musicians but they actually use completely different techniques from say django, stochelo, jimmy, most gypsy players....

of course technique is but a tool but if you really wanted an instructional video that covers this django technique, there aren't any that i know of... the best you can find would be michael horowitz's gypsy picking book....

OOOOOOOOOr you can wait maybe just one or two more months for my DVDs (in which I devote probably an entire hour to the technique alone)to come out hahahahaha

robertsaunders

Dennis,

This is exactly why I need direction: I assumed that like all experts, they disagree. I'm trying to pull my pinky in, spread knuckles a bit, like Django, curl the fingers up under (for those telltale smudges), and go with a more free-floating style. With the pick angle at 45 degrees w/no rotation, this feels promising to me. I seized on this after watching and consulting with a fellow player at a jam session last Saturday who has one of the loosest wrists I've seen. So seeing how it's done is important.

I have Gypsy Picking and have devoted the last six months on the first 3 parts only, to be thorough. The book is a godsend. My tremolo is up to 192 bpm when I'm warmed up. I've totally revamped my righthand technique and built speed and confidence after decades of bebop/pop playing. I'm now heading into part 4. But I still don't capeesh 100% the gravity, downstroke, and wrist theories, and I don't want to proceed any further without getting those totally down.

Actually Dennis, I already checked out your videos, because yours'd be my first choice of video instruction, but you had nothing on the technique alone. I will be interested in what you come up with!

Thanks,

-Rob