Forcing strict alternate picking after years economy picking

nickp

btw i'm ok on scales and and arp chords, and am currently working on learning and sequencing the dominant 7 arpeggios which has exposed some picking weaknesses - but then will put them all together in da blues

Jack_

Thanks for the feedback, definitely some solid advice in there, I'll get to it, thanks.

Clarky

the area where most folks trip up with alt picking is not when playing unbroken streams of notes.. 

like all 1/16s for example..

they usually trip up with licks that are phrased..

imagine playing a lick / riff but it's not all 1/8 notes..

note 1 = 1/8

note 2 = 1/4

note3 = 1/8

note 4 = anything else

if you take alt picking literally you'll play down, up, down

the prob tho is that when you get to note 4, you'll be picking an upstroke on the count

in the example above, I'd pick it down, up, up, down

this is actually strict alt picking because you're playing a downstroke on the count and an upstroke on the 'and'.

so the 2nd beat downstroke is actually a "ghost stroke' [you pick 'air' and miss the strings]

you end up with: down, up, down ghost, up, down

this method sits right at the core of my playing style

it does wonders for the precision of your note placement