Optimize Your Guitar Technique With The 3 Levels of Alternate Picking

When I first started playing guitar, the direction of my picking was arbitrary. Sometimes I would pick up, sometimes I would pick down. There was no formula: no rhyme or reason for the direction of my picking. It wasn't until I met with an awesome guitar teacher and learned proper alternate picking that I was able to turn this bad habit into a good one. I noticed that my playing became a lot smoother, especially at higher speeds. Most importantly, I found that alternate picking improved my sense of rhythm. If you’re a beginner, this is going to be a critical technique for you to start right away so you don't have to unlearn bad habits down the road. If you're a more experienced player, don't worry, it's not too late for you. Alternate picking is something you're definitely going to want to learn if you want your technique to reflect that of an intermediate or advanced guitarist.

Stay tuned for next week's lesson because you're gonna need to know this technique for the song I'll teach you. 

Level 1: The Alternate Picking Formula On A Single String

Alternate picking, as the name suggests, is a technique whereby the guitarist alternates the picking direction between downstrokes and upstrokes. It is typically used for rhythms of eighth notes or faster. When to pick in each direction depends on the following criteria (the "formula"):

Downstrokes should always land on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4 in a 4/4 time signature.

Upstrokes should land on the “in-between” notes. In a series of eighth notes, for example, one would use upstrokes for each "&" beat (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &).

Level 2: Alternate Picking On Adjacent Strings

Now we are going to expand on Level 1 by incorporating other adjacent strings into the mix. On a technical level, this becomes more difficult because we are no longer confining our picking range to a single string. The added challenge is due to the greater distance your pick travels from one string to the next. Your pick might have to dodge a recently plucked string to reach the next target string.

The direction of your picking can vary depending on the number of notes picked per string. For example, let's say you're playing a 2-note per string pentatonic scale for consistent eighth notes. This will reliably result in picking in the same direction for the first note of each new string.

 
On the other hand, let's say you're using consistent eighth notes to play a 3-note per string scale. Your alternate picking will now alternate even more since the first note plucked on each new string will be different from the previous string.

• String 1: Down, up, down
• String 2: Up, down, up
• String 3: Down, up, down
• String 4, Up, down, up
• Etc.

Level 3: String Skipping

Time for the final boss of alternate picking: string skipping.

At this level, our picks have an even greater distance to travel. Precision becomes more difficult to achieve, especially at higher speeds. Gaining familiarity with the distances between each string is necessary and it will take time to get used to. String skipping, while maintaining the alternate picking formula, can be useful when playing phrases with notes that dance between different octaves.

Try the exercise below to take your alternate picking game to the next level. Once you've got that down, see how much farther you can take it. Can you play it even faster? Can you skip across even more strings?

Conclusion

Now you have a lot to work with when it comes to alternate picking properly. We’ve established the alternate picking formula on one string and then discussed considerations for using this technique across different strings. It's okay if you're not playing as fast as you'd like to in the beginning. Start slowly, stay consistent, and you'll find your playing to be smoother and your sense of rhythm to be stronger.

Watch the full lesson here: Optimize Your Guitar Technique With The 3 Levels of Alternate Picking