fast picking of one string.... how is it done!

I think it's just an up/down vibration of the thumb, braced with the first finger, sort of positioned like you're holding a pick. Be prepared for some forearm cramps.
 
How does he do it? Very Well. I saw a video (can't find it right now) of Jake Shimabukuro demontsrating this strum. What he's doing is bracing his middle and third fingers against the body, pinching the thumb and index finger together, as if holding a pick, to keep them rigid. Then, keeping his entire hand and wrist as stiff as possible, doing the strum with the elbow joint. Up, down, up, down... only faster than you just read that.

So. the tourist says to the fireman, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
And, the fireman says"Practice, practice, practice."
 
Like many things, it's a technique, honed only by endless practice,

Many years ago when I started with guitar I Longed and longed to be able to pull a vibrato on blues licks. I mean those big wobbly wrist wobbling vibratos that needed you to hold the string and wobble the wrist. I was a fan of Peter Green and he did it so well. For months, perhaps years I couldn't do it, but stuck at trying. These days, whilst I M far from Peter Green, I can trigger a vibrato that works for me - it took time and practice.

Ive never been good at fast staccato picking but same rule applies.
 
Don't just practice, "as fast as I can go", start with eighth notes and get good. Then move to well defined 1/16 notes and get good at them. Then go to 1/32 notes. That way when you "arrive" your rhythm will be fluid and regular and not sound frantic and random.
 
Tremolo is very hard to master, when I was young (college student), I practiced this technique on guitar for almost a year, no success. (Recuerdos De La Alhambra is one of the tough piece to play, tremolo the entire song).
Tremolo on mandolin is easier as it has double strings, and the player uses a pick and the wrist. It tooks me more than a year to tremolo allright on mandolin, very slow at first, then getting faster and faster.
Guitar tremolo requires four fingers picking at very steady (short) interval. The tremolo practice technique suggested by Pondoro above is a very good technique, can't rush to the result.
 
I could not watch the you tube video during day time (at work), just watch it now and the fast picking here is tremolo ala mandolin style. Instead of a pick, I believe the player usesw one or two of his finger nails to pick the same note down and up to produce this sound.
Very impressive playing.
 
It's like using your nail as a plectrum...

He does it well although I don't think its a spanish flamenco technique.

If a flamenco guitarist was creating the effect it would be either picardo or tremelo with IAMI....
 
When learning to do tremolo with a bow on the bass the instructor asked me to think about bouncing a spring against a spring. The string has a spring action and the bow has a spring action.

With a uke it might help to think of the hand/fingers as a spring in place of the bow. Have to bounce your fingers off the string, a loud tremolo might be easier than a soft tremolo at first.

Just an idea though, completely unproven.
 
He is not really mentally picking the string. It is way to fast. It's like setting-up a vibration in his arm, wrist, hand and finger. Here are a couple of things to try to see what I am trying to get across.

1. Hold out you arm and hand (palm facing down) straight and level. Think about 1st moving your thumb side of your hand down (while doing it), then rock it back, rocking your pinky side down. If you think of each move before you do it (which is usually the way one has to do it) you will not be able to go fast at all. Now try to think of setting your arm, wrist and hand into a vibration. It's kind of what you would do to shake water off your hand. If you look at the video again, you can see his arm, wrist and hand in the side to side rotation type vibration motion.

2. Hold your hand out again, palm down, drop your ring finger straight down. Now try the string picking motion with the ring finger only. If you are able to do it you're probably only able to do it slow. Now, do the same thing with your forefinger. Probably a little faster, but "no cigar". Now try it with your middle finger. It should (most cases) go really fast compared to the other two. It is easy to feel a natural vibration movement taking over.

Now go back to lower string (#1), put the tip of your thumb nail and forefinger nail together on either the top or bottom of the string. Try to get your arm, wrist, hand moving up and down in the vibrating motion. Practice it a couple of thousand times and you'll have it! (May have taken me a couple of extra thousand!)

Confused? Yes?
 
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