I’m self-taught, as the majority of guitar players are it seems, and thus I don’t really know the proper way to pick. I’ve read that alternate picking is the ideal, so I try to do it whenever possible. However, I’m curious about what is the correct method for simple arpeggios, say an open G starting with the base G. Alternate picking here just seems an unnecessary hassle, as straight down-picking can take you home just as easily. Am I missing something?
Is there anything wrong with up-up-up-down-up-up-up? How about straight ups?
Finally, about picking two or three note chords… Should one alternate?
–3—3---3—3
–1—1---3—3
I’ve recently been putting in a lot of practice, and I really don’t want to ingrain bad habits into my hands. Any advice would be appreciated!
Well, it’s late and my brain’s off, but for your G chord question, you might consider picking up on the final G, so that you incorporate the inevitable change in direction that brings your hand back up to ‘ready’ position into your playing.
There are a couple reasons for doing alternate picking exercises. The biggest reason for alternate picking is speed. The second biggest reason is flexability*. While speed is obvious, the flexability may not be especially for new players so I’ll explain a bit. There are times when alternate picking is the most efficent way to play something. For example:
7----8—9-----etc
–4----5—6
For me an octave run like that is almost impossible to play at a decent speed using just up or down strokes, my hand isn’t flexable enough to get back up to the higher strings that quickly. If I do alternate picking I can play it pretty damned fast. The reason is that if you do just down strokes you have to reset the pick after the first, third, fifth, etc note. If you laternate pick it then the pick is ready to go, no extra movement is required. BTW, I can play it equally fast starting with an up stroke as I can a downstroke.
Since the first noe is on a lower string than the second if you use just downstrokes there is a whole lot of extra movement. Also note that when using alternate picking for that riff(can anyone name that riff?) on the high notes the pick direction changes. If you start 7 down the 8 is up.
For the arpegio you diagramed you should use alternate picking. While there are some players who do sweep picking on apergios like that sweep picking (sweep picking is one up or down stroke, not a bunch of up or down strokes) is art in itself. I am not a fan of sweep picking because very few players are good enough at it to get the notes articulated clearly. Alternate picking is harder but cleaner IMHO.
As far as alternate picking rhythm/chord stuff it is the best way to go. If you listen to old Metallica or Slayer or any other speedy band there is no way to play that stuff w/o alternate picking.
I used to teach and there were two things I told all my students: #1 always alternate pick and #2 use a metronome. It is way easier to learn the right way than to go back and try and change what you already do.
If you want I can email you some picking exercises along wih some left hand stuff as well.
Slee
*flexability might be the wrong word but I am tired and can’t think of anything better.
Not only is it flexible and fast, but it is more consistent. Win-win. There are exceptions, but if you assume there aren’t, you’re not far off. If you listen to other players carefully, you’ll hear when they use which technique, and what the effect is.
What Arwin said - it really depends on the type of music, the style you are trying to play in and how fast you are trying to play it. Slee’s points are spot on for the most part…
I play it whatever way works for me for as long as it works. When it stops working, I learn a better way…I changed how I hold my pick after playing for 4-5 years. I changed how I do single-note vibrato after playing for 10. I changed how I hold my picking hand for faster single-note runs just a few years ago…
Oh, there is something else I forgot to meantion about alternate picking. After a while you will probably forget about having to do it. It will be so natural that you don’t even think about it. Since I stopped teaching I almost never have to think about how I pick something. I just do it though every once in a while I’ll write something that is hard enough for me to sit and think about the picking for a minute. In fact now I actually have to stop and think about what my pick hand is doing if I need to demonstrate or write out what I am playing.
If you do it consistantly it will become second nature.
Of coarse there are always exceptions in music as Arwin noted. If you learn alternate picking well switching picking styles will be easy. If you do not learn alternate picking well then you are going to have a hard time when it is required.
And, once again, it is way better to learn good habits from the start than to have go and relearn the habits later. Trust me on this one. I learned finger picking the wrong way and it took me about a year to get my right hand to do it correctly. It was a pain in the ass.
OK, thanks a lot folks! I had thought that unidirectional picking was fine for arpeggios, and that alternate picking was only strictly required for scales and similar runs. So always alternate… what are the exceptions? When would it be better not to? Sweep picking (thanks for the term, btw) was my natural instinct for arpeggios, because it sounded smoother (i.e. more even in tone) to me. Is that why people would choose to do it?
You should pretty much always use alternate picking unless you’re trying to get a specific sound dynamic. Some arpeggios warrant a “sweep” sound while others warrant a staccato. Never use sweep because you think it’s just easier to play. In the arpeggio you tabbed, alternate picking is certainly not “needlessly complex” if you’re remotely skilled at alternate picking.
Have you considered finger picking? Sometimes it is both easier and more fluid. WHile not great at it myself, I was at one time considered “adequate”. It opens up more possibilities. Many people can flatpick and fingerpick, and lets them expand their repertoire.
For the two or three note chords, playing them with all down strokes gives you a very punk sound. You’re basically playing a power chord. Think of the Ramones. I remember seeing an interview with the guy from the Ramones and he was saying that he never knew you could alternate, and so played everything with down strokes. Green Day is another example of this. So basically, it’s up to you to decide what kind of sound you want.
As far as sweep picking, it’s pretty tough to do cleanly like Sleestak said. If you want to hear good examples of it, listen to some Satriani or Vai or the guy from Dreamtheater whose name is escaping me at the moment. Petrucci. I think. For now, I’d focus mainly on alternate picking.
I strongly recommend learning strict alternate picking and working on developing your speed and control in your right hand.
Take 5-7 minutes a day, just playing alternating U & D strokes, in time with a metronome. Don’t worry about your left hand at all. Start out playing half notes with the tempo at about 120 (for those not familiar with rhythm terminology, on and in-between each click). concentrate on the down stroke with the click and the up stroke against it. Each day, speed up the metronome by 1-2 beats. Within six weeks I guarantee alternate picking will be so natural you’ll say to yourself “Why the f*ck did I even try any other way?”
Initially, play on one string. Concentrate on the feel and mechanics. I have my students set a kitchen timer and close their eyes and feel the motion and how it relates to tone and speed.
As you get more comfortable, start moving from one string to another (for ex. down on the D, up on the G). Also start flipping the beat - so that you’re picking up on the click and down against it.
The other techniques you’re describing are more advanced techniques - sweep picking and advanced string crossing techniques that should not be tackled until you have become thoroughly comfortable with alternate picking.
For an explanation of advanced techniques (and regardless of the style), I strongly recommend a older (and yes, cheesy) book, called Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar. But this is the best book I’ve seen that really addresses all picking techniques and all the mechanics involved in any alternate picking/string crossing/sweep picking technique, with specific exercises for each.
Picker
Professional Flatpicker
24 years of playing experience
16 years of teaching experience
Again thanks for the advice guys; before I had switched from alternate to unidirectional whenever I felt like it, now I’m only alternate (for now :)). Another question, this time about fingerpicking. When you’re playing scales and stuff that rest on one string for multiple notes, should you alternate fingers?
Now this is a more complex question. There are many styles and technique of fingerstyle playing, and it’s pretty hard to give a definitive answer to this.
Depends if you’re playing in a folk style (Travis picking and the like) with PIMA Right Hand fingering and an alternate bass, a fingerpick style (with actual fingerpicks, and usually with only PIM fingering, like a banjo or dobro player), or a classical style, with multiple lines at different times, using PIMA.
There’s a lot more fluidity in fingerstyle technique - a lot of the time in non-classical settings I identify particular phrases, changes or passages that require a certain technique and work those out for fingering, and just wing the rest.
For most lines, I follow classical PIMA - most notes are playing by alternating I and M, with P often playing a larger role in playing the lower strings, esp. bass parts. A only comes into play when I specifically need to add an extra voice to round out a chord somewhere, or when I’m playing more elaborate roll style parts (usually for solo accompaniment)
God, that all sounds confusing. PIMA is the terminology for classical guitar finger ID. P is the thumb, then Index, Middle, and A is the ring (I think it stands for Annula)
Are you playing acoustic or electric? Folk, rock, classical, bluegrass, jazz?
You unintentionally got a giggle out of me there. When I was first trying to figure out fingerpicking, as a wannabe classical player, I told myself that the PIMA method was really the Pain In My Ass method Again, I was never great, merely adequate for the stuff I played.
Again, I was never great, merely adequate for the stuff I played.