Kenny’s Electric Guitar Crash Course

Fig. 2: Alternate Picking Variation

Alternate picking is a technique in which you pick in a down, up, down, up pattern. It allows you to play a series of picked notes fluently and cleanly. It helps develop a good sense of rhythm because the regular picking motion helps acquire an evenness of timing that is absolutely essential. When picking single notes in a series you should always use alternate picking. Once it is mastered it will allow you to achieve great speed. Look and listen to the example below and ask yourself if you think it would be possible to pick at this speed with just downstrokes of the pick.

Pick Position And Movement

Everyone holds a pick a little bit differently. Most people find that
holding your pick with the tips of the thumb and forefinger sufficient.
How you hold your pick to the strings is what is important here. You don’t want the top of your pick to lean too far towards the ceiling or towards the floor. You may want to position you pick at a slight angle.

Limit arm movement to your wrist. Your thumb, finger, elbow, or arm should not move when picking. Keep your wrist movement to a minimum to achieve maximum speed.

Down, Up, Down, Up Symbols

Look at the picture below. The first symbol in the pattern is the down
symbol. The second symbol in the pattern is the up symbol. All the alternate picking exercises have these symbols in the tab.

Usually you won’t see these down, up, down, up symbols in tablature.
The use of alternate picking is expected when you pick a series a single notes. Since our purpose is to develop our alternate picking skill we’ve included them with each exercise for your preference.

Exercise 1

For this exercise practice the down, up, down, up alternate picking pattern on the open high E string. Start slowly! You want the notes to be as even as possible. Once you’re able to play the pattern evenly slowly increase the tempo. This may seem like a boring exercise, but it’s very beneficial to build alternate picking skills. Do the exercise while you watch TV. It’s a no-brainer.

Exercise 2

Now we’re going to alternate pick on all 6 strings. This one isn’t as
easy as it looks. Remember to keep the notes even. Once you can play through the exercise without a mishap and all the notes are even, try playing it faster and faster. Don’t get sloppy! Maintain a clean attack.

Exercise 3

Now let’s get the left hand involved. We used a metronome to play along with on this exercise. Concentrate on keeping it clean and even. It doesn’t matter if you have to go real slow at first. You’ll build speed with time. If you try to rush into playing fast before you are ready it will just sound sloppy.

Notice that there are 3 notes per string on this one and some strings
begin with an upstroke. We don’t change the alternate picking pattern even when we switch strings.

More About Alternate Picking