Alternate Picking?

he means that if you pick and fret the note you are playing at the exact same time all u will get is a mute, so therefore you have to fret the note a milli second before you pick it.


as to alternate pickin and me i pretty much learned it when i started it was like the first thing my guitar teacher made me do when i learned lead. to me alt picking is quite rythm based in that its like strummng but ony one string. what i mean by this is my hand goes up and down at a predefined rate and then i choose to hit or not hit the string to create the rythm. if anything i find it easyish now cos i dont have to vary the rate my hand moves at, in fact i find using only down pickin harder.

saying that i dont really think about it, so i think i do often econimy pick, but not nearly as much as a should.

i would sugest learnin it, just play slow lead lines but use both up and down strokes, after a while it will become natural. also do what i did when i wanted to incease my speed, outlaw all legato, for a few weeks, ull find u'll get better, although it does leave me with a tendancy to not play enough leagato. :(

also i always find it wierd when people say alt pickin is anywhere as hard as sweeping which i have been trying to do for ages and am only just getting there. :eek:.

ahhhh thanks for all the responses, and ive been working on it, its much easier than i thought it would be (unless im doing it wrong) . just to be sure im doing it correctly: when skipping a string in a tab only to have to go back up, im striking up on the preceeding string, and also when i strike the last key to loop back to the beginning i strike up



e|-------------0 l up (to keep in the motion to go back to the a string)
b|---------3-----| down
g|---0-----------| up
d|-----2---------| down
a|-3-------------| down
E|----------------

if this is not correct, please let me know.

thats economy picking. to be specificif you wanted to alternate pick that, starting from the thick string up down up down up

economy picking? hmm never heard of it, is there another name for it? or is it just like an unofficial style? and whenyou say go up down up down, in this particular instance, do you mean?

e|-------------0 l down -5
b|---------3-----| up-4
g|---0-----------| up-2
d|-----2---------| down-3
a|-3-------------| down-1
E|----------------

yup what you desrcibe origonally is econimy picking, it pupose is to create the minimum movement to play each note. so you can play faster. it is also good when are moving down three strings at a time.

alternate pickin is just always up down up down up, ( like the second example you wrote) regardless of note you are playing. i find this method easier as i dont have to think about it cos my hand just goes up and down up and down. i also find this helps to regulate rythm as my hand goes up and down at a constant rate and i just choose to hit or not to hit strings for rythm. although i dont always do this so it isnt like its necessary.

i would suggest you learn altenate picking first because i think it is easier to learn and do without thinking about. then start to learn to econimy pick. this way if your econimy picking fails you can fall back on alternate picking which works in most cases.


as for the name econimy picking, its sort of a hybrid between sweep picking and alternaye picking. i have only ever heard of it by this name.

think "lazy" when you hear economy picking

Originally Posted by: purethink "lazy" when you hear economy picking

so is this a bad habit to practice?

not at all. Economy picking makes sence in that case, while alternate picking doesnt at all. in my opinion, theres no reason to go out and make things more difficult for yourself. just do what comes naturally and sounds good to you.

Akira can legato, Pure can Alt pick. 'nuff said. we get it.

i CAN NOT find where to actually post this question. But this seems like the right place. Im on learning finger picking where he suggests using your index finger and your middle finger to pick alternate strings, I am missing my index finger and i tried it with my middle and the finger by the pinky but this just doesnt wortk! ANYBODY have suggestions for a MISSING INDEX finger dude? It seems like i have to do all my picking with my middle finger . Will this make whatever comes next more difficult? ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Alternate picking refers to using a pick to repeatedly changing picking direction (up, down, up, down, etc.) and usually one note at a time.  It's like strumming up & down but only focused on one note at a time instead of a whole chord.  So, it's not related to fingerpicking.

It sounds like you have the right idea.  If you are missing a finger, then other fingers will have to do the work.  Typically finger picking is learned starting with thumb & index.  Then the student gradually adds the middle & ring fingers.  In your case you will have to start with thumb & middle, then gradually add ring.  Go slowly & work on getting the motions right at first.  The ring finger is typically weak compared to the middle so you have a lot of repetitious practice ahead in order to get it built up to the strength & dexterity required to do finger picking.

Hope that helps!