The hardest aspect of alternate picking for me is when you have a downstroke on one string, followed by an upstroke
on the adjacent string that is physically above it: for example, downstroke on D and then upstroke on A. I find it a bit easier
to also downstroke on A in that situation, but of course now I'm breaking the up/down motion. I'm wondering if good players
sometimes do this same thing, or if it should really be avoided (by practicing your way out of it!).
I know what you mean.. I've been playing for years but in blues and classic rock.. I've never really thought about pick direction.
Bluegrass teachers all want you to pick a certain way. I can't break over 20 years of muscle memory.. when I'm practicing scales I use the method the teachers want me to but when I'm playing a song and get to the solo I pick how it comes naturally..I don't worry about it..
@allen-g Thanks for the reply, Allen. I have a cousin who is an accomplished rock guitar player, and when I asked him he said the same thing - "Gee, I don't know, I just do it." Maybe we've uncovered a basic psychological difference between rockers and bluegrassers: the rockers are the wild children and the bluegrassers are the obedient kids. And if you play both, you're schizophrenic!
@denny , the teachers all say use down strokes on the down beat and up stokes on the up beat.
If you're a beginner player I'd try and do it as they say... I've been playing guitar for years..I can't break that muscle memory that easily.
When I'm practicing scales I use the instructors recommended picking. Hopefully as I continue playing it'll gradually be the way they say it should be done.. so far tho I'm not having any issues ..
Keep plugging away.. you'll get it... If it was easy everyone would be doing it... that's what separates us from the quitters. We keep at it because a love playing..
Yes, I've been keeping at it for decades. I've got some picking skills, but I'll never be a "master" of the instrument. Unfortunately, I've wasted a lot of time over the years. I never had friends who played, and I was not then good enough to learn a song just by hearing it. I went through a number of teachers, and none turned out to be good, even though they were accomplished players. The advent of the internet really kick-started good progress for me, though even then for some reason I spent two years learning finger-picking, until I came to my senses and returned to the pick again. Then I spent a fair amount of time working on improvising, with all the licks and tricks, but eventually it dawned on me that I'm never going to be playing with other people, so why work on a skill that I won't use? So, now I just learn songs, and with that comes better technique and fluency. We all have our own path to where we're gonna get to, right?
@denny , Agreed. I'm in the same boat. I have no one to play with either. I keep playing tho with backing tracks or just pick without a backing track.
I'm in Owensboro Kentucky. Where are you ?
Hi there Allen,
I'm originally from Catskill, NY (small town that got famous for being where Mike Tyson lived and trained - I knew him well, used to
go watch him spar before anybody knew about him, etc.) I taught at the U. of Kentucky in Lexington for a few years, back in another
life. Now I live in the Sarasota, FL, area. I've gone through several careers, the latest being humor writer. Since you're obviously a dog
lover, check out the book "Memoirs of a Papillon" on Amazon, and also a video clip from the Discover Channel on youtube:
Denny
