My max speed is 150 BPM, or at least it probably would be on average if I could play the actual same tempo as the metronome without pushing/pulling and “technically” being in time
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OK, what is Ben’s BlackMountainRaginC speed? Is that 110 bpm? I thought it to be 220 bpm. If so, I understand your 150 bpm. Because I remember you said you do 170 bpm a few years ago. So, your 150 must be 300 bpm in the tef file metronome!
Cut time. 
As far as 170 BPM, I might have been talking about banjo, but I don’t remember
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Oh ok, a new vocabulary! But isn’t bpm beats per minute and not beats per measure. In what way, the time signature to do with bpm? Correct me if I am wrong, I thought an down and up stroke constituted a beat??
Time signature: number and type of beats per measure
Tempo: rate at which those beats occur
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I think I get it… That blackmountainrag is 110 bpm then. 150 bpm is pretty fast!! I’m only touching like 100, 110 bpm but even with that I’m not very comfortable to be clean with that speed.
I thought you mentioned guitar speed but that was like 3-4 years ago.
Btw you guys discussed at going at 180 bpm etc… 
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I recorded myself a while back (without a metronome) to see how I could play in short bursts:
I definitely can’t sustain that speed for every song or for most improvisation. Nor would I really want to listen to it very much
As if we thought we would end up actually recording anything, at any speed
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Wow… You are too fast to time it out! I think sustenance comes from familiarity. Once familiar, I think your hand will cooperate for long/extended bursts.
Our fastest band song is at 155. I can’t play clean much faster. Sometimes if I’m really warmed up I might be able to push 160.
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160 really? That’s incredible! Or do you mean 80 bpm?
160 but only select songs with simpler and very drilled solos. Certainly not average improv tempo.
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If I’m not feeling relaxed I won’t be able to play clean at any speed, at all. There are days when I’m super loose and playing feels great. This week has been notably good in that regard, actually. Except I lost a callous 
The kind of stuff I do with my left hand also affects how my right hand performs too. I think I actually tend to have more left hand tension than right hand sometimes.
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I’ve learned what kind of things to do to bring in a loose feeling to my playing, so even if it’s one of those days where things feel tighter, I know my hands and how to warmup. I’ve learned that quality can be found but not forced and there are specific things you can do to find it. I equate quality as that relaxed, easy feeling while I’m playing, good tone and timing and clean picking. Speed should come last.
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My habit for that is weird. I think “imagine Bryan Sutton” and then my wrist kinda starts doing that loose gliding motion and I start playing better
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I think you have tender fingers like mine (like for several years) but just in the last 3 years it has become rough that I don’t have that problem much.
When I first started picking I also created my first email account which was pickin150@… I made my address that because it was my goal to one day flatpick at 150.
I never made it to 150 clean, on anything with a flatpick (I did on banjo). When I was in high school I rode bulls and tore my right wrist to pieces many times, often not being able to shake hands with folks for weeks at a time. I’ve since gone to the doc about it and it’s full of scar tissue, pops all the time. Oh well, I’ll leave the fast pickin’ to the youngins here on the forum.
@JohnM 150 is in cut time. That’s actually 300 beats per minute. My TEF files are in actual beats per minute. People use cut time because it keeps the numbers lower.
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Thanks Ben, that clarifies it and I understand it better now! 
I think 150 cut time is borderline insane, anything above is insane speed!
I think bluegrass guitar speed has become a bit of a social media fad. Seems like you can’t use YouTube or Insta without “175 BPM BLUEGRASS GUITAR!!!” shorts getting recommended everywhere
I’d love to be able to play at those ludicrous speeds, but more because that would mean my technique is on the right track, not necessarily so I can make reels with a bunch of flame emojis. Speed itself has become one of the boring things about BG guitar to me.
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Amazing tone 
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I’m beginning to enjoy listening to more medium tempo songs myself. Fast is fun and all but I’m really starting to appreciate the emotional side of music more.
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