Picking question on Calace ex. 82

[Luis Fernandez]

Hi!

I'm following the Calace method and I got stuck on the exercice no 82 in part 2. The picking direction is indicated on all notes on the first measure, and seems to imply that all the exercise is alternate with up picking the pulse notes (the opposite of what is usually done). Here is that first measure, where "g" means down pick and "s" up pick:



It starts with two down picks and then alternates the rest; there is no other picking indication on the rest of the exercice.

The problem I have is that there are two measures with string changes that I'm not able to play at this speed with this picking:



What confuses me is that until now, the method is very progressive, I found no big steps in difficulty from one exercice to another, but I'm nowhere near to play this. On the other hand, if I play it reversing the pick direction, I can play that part, but the rest of the exercice feels weird (maybe because I played it a lot the other way). And reversing the picking direction just for those measures seems like cheating.

And there is the problem that in the first measure, the "s" below the first note on the second group (b) is a bit blured and has a spot below that makes it look like a "g" if I look at it too much. If that's true, should I play down-down on every string change and alternate the rest?

Also, at the beginning of the exercice Calace says that it can be played full tremolo, with two strokes per note (if I understand it correctly), but if that's the case, why the picking notation on the first measure?

Any ideas? Should I just practice more?


Thanks!

PS: Here is the whole method:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Metodo_per_ma...e%2C_Raffaele)

[Beanzy]

Hi Luis
The previous exercises have been building up a combination of arpeggio technique & scale runs.
So rather than two down strokes you have a down-down-up glide stroke followed by the run.
It might be worth reviewing the previous few exercises to make sure you have picked up the combinations being developed as he combines them.

[Luis Fernandez]

That makes a lot of sense: in the previous exercice there are two measures with the same string changes but notated as glides and not alternate:



I already made the glide on the first measure, but I never thought of this technique on the others.

Thank you very much!

[Beanzy]

it's not always easy to spot the patterns being proposed in lessons. I'm much in debt to those who teach for any slivers of insight that I have gained.
This is where teachers really come into their own as they've been through all the pain for us ahead of time
If you get a chance it might be worth getting a few lessons to check in on things with someone experienced in classical technique so you get a good steer as you're clearly looking in depth at your technique. I'm really appreciating my teacher's guidance at the moment.

[Luis Fernandez]

I completely agree with you. As a former violin player, I've always been a strong advocate of the technique, and always thought that a bad technique can lead to injuries and greatly limits what can be achieved with any instrument. I think that a good teacher is the only way to really advance; and now I'm getting to a point where I want to get a bit serious about my playing, so I will follow your suggestion and find a teacher