Trying to get better at alternate picking

Hey Guys,

I am trying to get faster at alternate picking. I have always cheated using hammer-ons and pull-offs. I am trying to get out of doing that by playing with a metronome now.

No matter how hard I try these days, it is so hard to get faster and more accurate, but I can tell that the metronome is helping. How many hours do you guys practice scales and modes?

Here is a little riff that I came up with tonight. I have no idea what it is, as far as theory, but I thought it sounded good. I made the mp3 faster so I could tell what it would sound like when it is up to speed.

www.atlanticplumbing.net/fastlick.mp3

nice riff..sounds great

Hey your riff sounds really cool. Very nice melody.

Sounds to me like your alternate picking is already very nice. If you're having some difficulty improving your speed, you may want to consider learning a more advanced style of picking, like directional picking. Despite the common misconception, alternate picking is not the best picking technique out there. And it's actually quite inefficient at times.

If you want me to explain directional picking to you, let me know. I'd be happy to break it down for you.

I usually practice scales and modes only about 10~15 minutes every other day or so. I actually spend a lot more of my time practicing things like improvisation. In fact, I only spend about a third of all my 'practice time' with a guitar in my hand. More of my time is spent with things like songwriting, ear training, theory, and analyzing music.

But here's a few quick tips for working on your speed:

This is pretty counter-intuitive, but the first thing to do is start slow. Painfully slow. Like 'metronome at 30 bpm and hit a note on each click' slow. While you do this, pay close attention to all the movements in your hands and be sure that they are as relaxed as possible and not making unnecessary motions. Tension and inefficiency are the things that will really slow you down

Originally Posted by: chrisweyersDespite the common misconception, alternate picking is not the best picking technique out there. And it's actually quite inefficient at times.

I don't fully agree with that. I believe that alternate picking is the base that every guitarist should have before moving on to more advanced picking techniques like legato and sweep/economic picking. All great guitarists have mastered alternate picking - it's a crucial starting point and sound really nice and pronounced when combined with legato techniques.

There's a couple of great alternate picking exercises on the web that I've used before joining guitartricks, but it all boils down to the same thing.

#1: Metronome, start off really slow and accurate. It's much easier and actually LESS time consuming to start off this way than to pick up bad habits and try and correct it later on.
#2: 3 - 4 notes per string, up down up down etc, moving on to the following string every time.
#3: Applying the same exercises with string skipping or using 1 string at a time, ascending and descending.

Ex.

1|--------------------12342345---------------------
2|----------------1234--------2345-----------------
3|------------1234----------------2345-------------
4|--------1234------------------------2345---------
5|----1234--------------------------------2345-----
6|1234----------------------------------------2345- etc
udud

There should be a host of other alternate picking exercises on here, but this is the basic one we all started off with.

Hope this helps

the only thing I can add to that is to not use any unnecessary tension and to relax.
If you play with lots of distortion you also don't have to hit the strings too hard.

Paul Gilbert started out really attacking the strings but nowadays he has a very light attack
Check out what Bruce Boulliet (Racer X) said here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAXvx8WwoUc

Originally Posted by: Kiepa13

1|--------------------12342345---------------------
2|----------------1234--------2345-----------------
3|------------1234----------------2345-------------
4|--------1234------------------------2345---------
5|----1234--------------------------------2345-----
6|1234----------------------------------------2345- etc
udud

There should be a host of other alternate picking exercises on here, but this is the basic one we all started off with.

This ^^

Great for finger strength and alternate picking. I used to go from fret 1 to 12 and then back. The I'd do the same pattern descending (ie - 4-3-2-1 etc) in the same manner above. Then I'd do it in a 'triplet' manner (1-2-3 > 2-3-4 etc) and do it ascending and descending.

Ok, I was kinda freakish about the accuracy in the day but this stuff works. You never lose any hybrid techniques or legato or hammering by doing the above, it just adds to the arsenal.

Hammer ons and pull offs are not cheating, and in fact they help take the stress off of the picking hand, can help you play faster, and smoother.

But its really all about the sound that you want. First of all, the melodic exercise that you developed for yourself sounds really nice, so congrats on the creative skills. Second, if I were playing something like this I would definitely go ahead and pick everything out, but make sure that you play it slow enough to see if there are any improvements that can be made in your picking.

For instance, economy picking is an excellent way to play things more efficiently - is there room in this exercise for something like that? don't be afraid to use a combination of techniques in order to achieve your goal.

Finally, don't ever give up :)

Originally Posted by: capitalalchemyHammer ons and pull offs are not cheating, and in fact they help take the stress off of the picking hand, can help you play faster, and smoother.

But its really all about the sound that you want. First of all, the melodic exercise that you developed for yourself sounds really nice, so congrats on the creative skills. Second, if I were playing something like this I would definitely go ahead and pick everything out, but make sure that you play it slow enough to see if there are any improvements that can be made in your picking.

True. Remember that you don't have to alternate pick everything, and there are many situations where that won't sound the best musically speaking. Unless you are playing just a ton of metal, or simply love to play fast; being a crazy alternate picker shouldn't be your top priority in my opinion. Hammer ons, pulls offs, legato playing; all of those things work great in soloing. More importantly, you really want to work on your phrasing and "what you say" in your soloing; no just how fast you can play. You can play scales and modes at 300 bpm all day long, but your goal should be to make meaningful music and to be very expressive with your instrument. This is not to discourage anyone from practicing this stuff, but don't get too bogged down by it.

Make your alternate picking practice a part of your routine, but also prioritize many other aspects of your playing.

Question; who are some of your favorite guitarists?

Originally Posted by: Douglas ShowalterTrue. Remember that you don't have to alternate pick everything, and there are many situations where that won't sound the best musically speaking. Unless you are playing just a ton of metal, or simply love to play fast; being a crazy alternate picker shouldn't be your top priority in my opinion. Hammer ons, pulls offs, legato playing; all of those things work great in soloing. More importantly, you really want to work on your phrasing and "what you say" in your soloing; no just how fast you can play. You can play scales and modes at 300 bpm all day long, but your goal should be to make meaningful music and to be very expressive with your instrument. This is not to discourage anyone from practicing this stuff, but don't get too bogged down by it.

Make your alternate picking practice a part of your routine, but also prioritize many other aspects of your playing.

Question; who are some of your favorite guitarists?

I remember in the 80's where, if you weren't solely alternate picking, you were cheating. I remember a criticism of George Lynch that he was pretty good but he used hammer ons/pull offs in his playing so he was really just ok but truly a great guitar. In the discipline of guitar playing which is already fraught with a myriad of stupid, elitist playing rules...That was the dumbest.

I think all levels of picking or striking a note are part of a vocabulary that gives playing flavor. I think that once you define a rule of what is the 'right way', you then limit what it is that you can do.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65
I think all levels of picking or striking a note are part of a vocabulary that gives playing flavor. I think that once you define a rule of what is the 'right way', you then limit what it is that you can do.

Agreed. It is truly about what works for you. The tools do not define us.

what exactly is directional picking and economy picking?

If you live in New York and have to deliver packages to both California and Texas, it makes sense to hit Texas first, while you're moving in that direction. Otherwise you're wasting gas in having to turn around and come back. That's the essence of Economy Picking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_picking

In all of your playing, the idea is to not waste gas. Unless you want to make it difficult just for show. Always ask yourself, "Once I get used to it, will it be easier this way?" Trial and error. Your technique will always be re-invented over time, so experiment with everything and find out why certain things don't work.

-Carl.

If you live in New York and have to deliver packages to both California and Texas, it makes sense to hit Texas first, while you're moving in that direction. Otherwise you're wasting gas in having to turn around and come back. That's the essence of Economy Picking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_picking

In all of your playing, the idea is to not waste gas. Unless you want to make it difficult just for show. Always ask yourself, "Once I get used to it, will it be easier this way?" Trial and error. Your technique will always be re-invented over time, so experiment with everything and find out why certain things don't work.

-Carl.

Originally Posted by: jamesplaysgitarwhat exactly is directional picking and economy picking?

In my guitar playing life, I have seen so many different methods of explaining picking and the variations within it. I honestly feel the best way to approach it is to work at what best suites the music you are playing. Economy picking to my understanding is simply alternate picking, picking up-down-up-down etc. If you do any type of sweeping or anything where you aren't picking in that manner, that is directional picking; picking in a certain direction (i.e. sweeping arpeggios, etc.)

I honestly though would not get too caught up in all this lingo as what matters is how you suite the music, and what is best to achieve the sound you are going for. If you are really into metal and want to play guitar in that way, than developing different methods of picking is very key as to play that stuff, that is what is required of you. If you want to play country, you would use hybrid picking (pick and fingers), among other things. If you love acoustic guitar, strumming and having a more percussive attack would suite you well. All of these different styles have different needs, and I think it is important for every guitarist to have some understanding of all these things.

For me, I have learned things along the way based on the application. I am a music fan first, and I have learned along the journey the techniques necessary to play the music I love. This has changed many, many times; but ultimately I learned these things because they suited the music.

Hopefully this answers your question in some way.

the only thing I can add to that is to not use any unnecessary tension and to relax.
If you play with lots of distortion you also don't have to hit the strings too hard.

Paul Gilbert started out really attacking the strings but nowadays he has a very light attack

Regards,

Greg Lawson,

http://www.howtoplayguitarlessons.info/recommanded/specialoffer.php

Seriously, it sounds nice already... I don't know what's the problem?



_________________________________________________
Go to LearnGuitarSongsFast.com to quit wasting time and start shredding!