Alternate Picking

Alternate picking means picking the string of steadily using both upstrokes and downstrokes. In metal and hard rock music, many guitarists (i.e Malmsteen) employ guitar techniques such as this to play solos at blistering speeds. Using alternate picking, the synchronization of both the left and right hands can be developed with constant practicing and this guitar lesson will show you some of the exercises that can be done to acheive this.

First of all, the choice of pick should be small and hard. You should also expose just a tiny bit of the pick tip when using alternate picking. The reasons being that using soft picks and exposing too much of the pick during playing will cause the pick to wobble during fast picking. This makes picking control extremely difficult. When using alternate picking, keep the pick perpendicular to the strings and play in a small circular motion. (Like drawing small circles with the pick on the strings). It is IMPORTANT that the picking motion should come from the wrist and not the fingers!

There are no hard and fast rules on how to position the playing hand. You can rest the palm of the picking hand on the guitar, “float” the picking hand above the strings or anchor the pinky on the pickguard. Personally, I would recommend anchoring the pinky of the playing hand on the pickguard. By doing this, the stability of the playing hand is greatly increased. Furthermore, it gives the playing hand a rough feel of where all the 6 strings are and decreases the likelihood of picking the wrong string when playing fast.

* IMPORTANT*

Always play with a metronome and start slow (60bpm). Once you find that you are able to play to the beat at a speed for 3 consecutive times, increase the speed by 8 counts and repeat the process. If you find that the exercise gets too fast for you to keep up, attempt to play at that speed for 2 more attempts before slowing down by 8 counts and build up our speed again. Lastly, try and relax the right hand and pick as evenly as possible.

Alternate Picking Exercise 1

Now let’s head to the exercises for this guitar lesson. The first exercise is based of the E minor scale and is focused on playing horizontally across the strings. 

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Alternate Picking Exercise 2

This exercise is based on the C major scale and is played vertically across the strings.

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Alternate Picking Exercise 3

This chromatic exercise is one of the best ways to improve the synchronization of the left and right hand. Repeat this exercise on different strings and you’ll find that this exercise feels different on each string. The difficult part of this exercise is playing it down the strings from (15fret => 1st fret). Always try to minimise the left hand motion and restrict it to only small movements.

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To summarize this guitar lesson, being able to play fast is not an ability that can be achieved overnight. In order to gain a balanced picking motion and synchronization of both hands, ALWAYS start slow and build up a proper foundation. One of the best ways to analyze your alternate picking is to do a simple audio recording and listen to yourself. Remember, it is OK to make a mistake but always learn from it and improve yourself.

Happy picking!!