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  • alernate picking

    I've been working on my alternate picking after realizing that after years of play semi good I was doing it all wrong. Now I'm relearning how to play the guitar literally.

    Question is:
    while alternate picking and moving to yhe next string ,do you reposition your hand from the elbow or from the wrist?

    also when APing is your wrist moving straight up and down or is there some rotation going on?

    please only reply if you are 100% sure and experienced

    thanks in advance John
    MMM... BURGER

  • #2
    Re: alernate picking

    I have used a few different ways over the years, it all depends on what guitar I use.
    As for moving strings, if the are adjacent I just move my wrist slightly, if further away I move from the elbow.
    Most of the time straight up and down, with a very slight rotation.
    Still depends on what guitar I use.
    I also switch between using from my elbow and only wrist, it depends on what kind of rhythm I want.
    My technique is really just trial and error, since I was never just comfy with using the wrist alone...
    So this is just how I do it.

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    • #3
      Re: alernate picking

      On one string it is wrist and finger movement, when switching strings, it is slight elbow movement (you want the wrist angle the same as the previous string). Also consider economy picking, sometimes called sweep picking...when moving from a thicker string to a thinner one, it is always a downstroke..when moving from a thinner one to a thicker one it is always an upstroke- it prevents you from taking the pick out of the plane of the strings, thereby saving some time and effort. Only takes a few weeks of practice, then you never have to worry about it again.
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      • #4
        Re: alernate picking

        thanks guys
        you have know idea how long I've been trying to get an answer to that.
        there is very little info on right hand technique compared to left hand.
        I have to work a little harder on my right because I'm a lefty playing right
        MMM... BURGER

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        • #5
          Re: alernate picking

          There is also another way of alternate picking called Circle Picking. Your wrist stays still, but you use your thumb and forefinger to hold the pick. You still do up, down, up down etc. The difference is you use your forefinger and thumb to rotate the pick in more of a circular motion. When you get good at it, it comes handy at high speeds because you're reducing a lot of extra pick movement, so you don't overshoot your target string.

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          • #6
            Re: alernate picking

            One more "trick" - if you turn your pick sideways just a little it will take less effort to cross the string either way (up or down). You can hold the pick closer to the tip and measure your string movement (skipping a string if need be) for more "directional picking". Soon you will feel the distance from one string to another, too.

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            • #7
              Re: alernate picking

              Generally, the wrist is guiding the fingers in a small circle, that way the motion isn't down,stop,up,stop,repeat. Some people put a bit more finger movement in it, that kinda depends on your physical make up. Economy of motion is what you are after, generally only the very tip of the pick glides across the string, different shaped picks tend to exlicit more or less string drag. Digging in with the pick is okay, if that's what you want to do, but it's not effecient. Also when crossing strings, there is always a choice between sweeping to the next string (down stroke contiued to next string, rather than useing an up stroke on it), but even that is personal taste at times ... Some people rest the lower fingers lighly on the face of the guitar, some people float the entire hand off the guitar. Chord work is a different animal altogether, much more elbow movement combined with wrist work, while lead line work is more wrist and finger movements. If you really want to nail it down, pick up a *stylus pick*, and use it according to the directions, it's a training pick that teaches you proper picking technique, it's used for single line work only, for with one for about a month and you'll see drastic improvements. That's my 2 cents.
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