I noticed something about my picking and i wanted to ask is it ok. I am learning to do strict alternate picking but i have noticed that when i move from one string to other and i am trying to let my hand do it ( as in kinda subconscious way ) the picking starts on next string based on which direction i am coming from. For e.g. if i go from G string towards low E i tend to do an upstroke on new string and if i go say towards high E i do a downstroke. Though it seems natural to me cause that specific strum ( down or up ) presents an opportunity before the other one. So i am in a way doing alternate picking per string but i do loose the patter to start afresh on a new string that i go to which means if i continuously move across strings in a specific direction i will do the same strum ( i think like sweep picking ). Is this ok or should i force myself to learn string alternate picking by slowing my picking till i get it ?? Hope i have put it clearly.
hey what you are reffering to is economy picking and no its not an incorrect way to practice playing guitar. some guitarists feel that economy picking is wrong and only strict alternate picking should be used so that you can play fast or some bullshit like that > . > . but ill tell you what Steve Morse told me " on stage they are not gonna see what ****ing gear you use or what ****ing technique you use or how you get from one note to another or if you are gay or not > . > what they do is they hear you play and thats what all that matters. Use whatever the **** just make it sound nice." Morse aside my honest advise is practice it all. alternate picking usually when playing solos i dont really consider it that much but when phrasing say like the intro or Don't cry ( GnR ) or Carnival of Rust ( poets of the fall ) it might get a little tricky to use Economy picking cause you are combining sweeps with alternate picking so i think you should develop both . more importantly have fun dude play the guitar dont use it as a workout gym > . >
hmmm Thanks for the reply. And i do understand the message that you wanna pass. For me its a bit difficult and i do take guitar practice as kinda gym. Reason i have bad music sense i can tap foot to the beat i suppose but thats all. I cant sing even two lines while staying in sur. so i am infact a "besura". The gist is i am not very good in my sense of music but i wanna learn guitar with all my heart. So i practice and practice and practice. chromatic runs, scales, string skipping, alternate picking, strumming open chords, barre chords everything but i just do it. At times it feels like music cause of the fact that i read theory a lot and will play like say 1-4-5 progression so it will be musical but i am still doing it as an excercise. There are days when i do hours of excercise and dont try to play ne song or nething and its boring but i do it all with a belief in my heart that slowly i will get to understand music a bit more and then a bit more and one day it will be enough for me to be able to play something that makes me happy. And that day hopefully the excercises that i do will make my fingers do what i wish them to. But alas there are times when i do feel " God a bit more music sense would have helped dont u think " Rgds,
