Tag Archives: How To Pick Faster On Guitar

Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson- Part 5

Welcome to part 5 of the Alternate Picking Guitar lesson series. In this lesson you are going to learn how to play 4 and 6 notes per a click scale fragments with strict alternate picking.

Exercise 1- 1/6th note Alternate Picking Pattern 2-4-2-1

16th note Alternate Picking Pattern

1/16th note alternate picking is one of the fundamentals of the rock guitarist and once a player has executed the chromatic 1/16th notes then it is time to nail some scale fragments so that you can use them in your improvisation and solo construction. The numbers at the end of the title for exercise 1 (shown above) 2-4-2-1 are referring to your finger numbers. There are a few patterns to work on before you can fluently start moving around the fretboard with your scales and modes.

Remember accuracy is everything, practise with a clean tone to start with and then add distortion later. 1/16th notes should be counted as 1 e and a 2 e and a 3 e and a 4 e and a. Tap your foot on the number and work with a metronome whenever you want to push yourself and increase the tempo. With the pattern above as well as the pattern below I have personally seen Paul Gilbert use these live so they aren’t just an exercise. When you feel comfortable I want you to work on dynamics, learn to play harder and quieter at different times and hit certain notes harder for example the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 is a good place to start.

Exercise 2- 1/16th note Alternate Picking Pattern 3-4-3-1

16th note Alternate Picking Pattern Ex 2

This exercise takes the same idea as before except we are using a different finger grouping which can make all the difference to your speed and accuracy. You find this much easier than the previous example, practise it as mentioned above and use my practise planner to get the most out of your practise sessions.

Exercise 3- Sextuplet Alternate Picking Scale Fragments 2-4-2-1-4-1

Sextuplet Alternate Picking Scale Fragments

Playing 6 notes per a beat is something that may initially throw you, but once you slow your metronome down to 50-60 bpm and give it a try, it may not seem quite so scary. Repeat the exercise and try it at different areas on the fretboard to experiment with the lick. As this exercise is slightly more interesting than the previous ones you have learnt, it is very useable in improvisations and constructed solos. Use the finger pattern numbers in the title to help you if you are unsure which fingers to use on which fret.

Exercise 4- Sextuplet Alternate Picking Scale Fragments 3-4-3-1-4-1

Sextuplet Alternate Picking Patterns 2

Please come back again soon for regular free guitar lessons on a subject you may like. If you have wanted to learn guitar with a method instead of learning bits from all over the internet then you be interested in my eBook Be The Guitarist. This eBook will provide you with everything you need to know to find your style and really enjoy playing guitar. Every scale, chord, mode, arpeggio and piece of theory in the eBook has been included after trying it with my own private guitar students and removing the unnecessary information.

Be The Guitarist- Contents page

Be The Guitarist- Contents Page 2

Keep up the practise!

Tom Clark

Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson- Part 4

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Welcome to part 4 of the Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson Series. In this lesson you will be learning how to play some scale fragments or portions of scales with the use of alternate picking. Learning these note groupings will develop your finger set strengths, improve alternate picking accuracy and make your arsenal of licks, runs and phrases is easier to pull out when you need them most.

Exercise 1

Alternate Picking Triplet Scale Fragments

This little fragment shown above is a great way to isolate your ability with the 4- 2- 1 finger combination which you can then combine with other finger group patterns and other areas of scales to create speed runs, sequences and any type of line that relies of being able to move around a scale efficiently. In the second bar you change strings with the same finger pattern with strict alternate picking, it may be tempting to use legato but try and be disciplined and stick with the alternate picking approach. If you find it hard to play in triplets then count 1- trip- let 2- trip- let 3- trip- let 4- trip- let and play the number slightly harder to make it easier to hear if you are in time.

Exercise 2

Alternate Picking Triplet Scale Fragments Ex 2

The exercise above is great for building the strength and ability of the 4- 3- 1 finger grouping. If you learn this fragment and build your speed and accuracy with a metronome you will be ready to tackle larger runs in coming lessons. This fragment could be described as a portion of an A Dorian mode but those finger patterns could be played somewhere else and function differently, so it is a great pattern to get down. In bar 2 when you change strings you should aim for real clarity in the striking of the note and not opt for the approach so commonly found where players rush a string change and disguise it with distortion.

Exercise 3

Alternate Picking Triplet Scale Fragments Ex 3

This fragment ties the two above together nicely and is more realistic of a run that you would find players such as Paul Gilbert doing at break neck speed. An exercise such as this may sound just like an exercise at low speed, but you would be surprised how many bars of technical rock solos are filled with lines just like this. Perhaps it is the speed and tone that often disguises the melodic content, but it works and sounds exciting and if it is your kind of sound then why not add it to the trick bag.

If you have enjoyed this lesson and would be interested in learning much more about guitar then please read Be The Guitarist for a detailed, tried and tested method of learning guitar without the time wasting.

If you are learning quite a lot of different ideas, licks, chords etc and are feeling stuck on how to practise it all then you may be interested in The Ultimate Practise- Planner. This eBook will provide you with practise routines designed for varying lifestyles and dedication to the instrument. You wont have to worry about what to practise because it is all laid out for you in easy to read TAB exercises.

Have fun and keep practising!

Tom Clark

Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson Part 3

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Welcome to part 3 of the Alternate picking guitar lesson series. During this lesson you will learn how to take the alternate picking technique you learnt in Part 1 and 2 and use it on scale fragments. By practising on scale fragments you are developing a skill you will use in your improvisations and it will then take you to understand how to use scales and modes before you can really start sounding great.

If you want to learn all about scales and modes, chords, arpeggios and theory then please see Be The Guitarist.

This first exercise is for you to develop both speed and accuracy by working in quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes with the same set of notes. Some guitarists like to keep the metronome setting the same, for example 90 bpm and play the exercise below, this can prove difficult because you are doubling your speed each time you change up the next note type.

Lets start by picking through an A minor pentatonic scale with strict alternate picking.

Exercise 1- A Minor Pentatonic Scale Fragment

A Minor Pentatonic Alternate Picking Exercise

By simply practising an A Ionian mode (major scale) with alternate picking you will start to make this your default picking pattern which makes lead guitar playing a lot easier. Practise this picking pattern of every down followed by an up with all the positions of the major scale.

Exercise 2- A Ionian Alternate Picking

A Ionian Alternate Picking Exercise

Taking fragments from a scale like the A Dorian as shown below is a great way to isolate particular finger patterns and develop an even ability with varying finger patterns across the strings. All of these fragments combine to form scale runs that you hear from everyone from Paul Gilbert to Joe Satriani. Notice the exercise below is in triplets so you are aiming to play 3 notes per a click, not 4 as you have previously been doing. Try to hit the first triplet of each beat a little bit harder as this will build your ability to be a dynamic guitarist.

Exercise 3- Fragments

Alternate Picking Scale Fragments

Come back for more alternate picking guitar lessons or have a look around the blog section for something different.

Have fun and keep practising!

Tom Clark

Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson- Part 2

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Welcome to Part 2 of the Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson series. In part 1 you learnt about the basics behind the technique and you learnt an exercise to develop the skill at its basic level.

The following exercise is taken from my eBook The Ultimate Practise- Planner which uses all the information from my intermediate to advanced guitar eBook Be The Guitarist and lays it out in practise routines to ensure you have a balanced practise.

Exercise 1.1- Basic Alternate Picking Around the Fretboard

Alternate Picking Exercise 1.1

Watch The Video Exercise

Your emphasis here should be on keeping your fingers close to the fretboard and always maintaining contact with the fretboard at all times. This exercise will not only build a fluent alternate picking technique but will build strength in your left hand between the finger groups.

As mentioned in part 1 you should use a metronome to gauge your progress and never increase the speed if you are playing sloppy at the current bpm. Take note of your improvement if you are using my practise planner eBook and you will be surprised how much your bpm settings increase over a month!

Exercise 1.2- 1/16th Note Alternate Picking

16th Note Alternate Picking

Watch The Video Exercise

Taking a very similar approach as exercise 1.1 but now making the rhythmic sub- devision 1/16th notes, meaning you play 4 notes per a beat/ click instead of 2. If you are playing exercise 1.1 at 100 bpm then you will possibly need to set it to 60 bpm and try Ex 1.2.

I hope you have enjoyed this lesson and come back for Part 3 where you will progress further into this right hand technique. Remember, accuracy over speed.

Keep Practising and have fun!

Tom Clark

Alternate Picking Guitar Lesson Part 1

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Welcome to a guitar lesson all about Alternate picking on the guitar. This technique will give you the ability to play at higher speed if you wish to, but the time you put into building accuracy at low speeds will make all the difference. Even if you do not care to play fast this technique is still a must have as it makes playing any melody easier.

When I was 16 I attended a Master Class weekend where Paul Gilbert was to give an outstanding 2 hour session on guitar and his life as a guitarist. One of the things that struck me as very interesting was that Paul Gilbert didn’t use alternate picking until he had been playing for 7 years! He talked about his approach to picking before he discovered alternate picking and it was incredibly inspiring to hear that after 7 years of unorthodox picking he could turn it around and become arguably the best picker in the world. What this means for you as someone wanting to learn how to pick more accurately at higher speeds is that you most likely have not been picking in an unorthodox way for 7 years, and even if you have there is no reason why you cant turn it all around.

Below is an exercise taken from my eBook The Ultimate Practise- Planner, this exercise is designed to build your alternate picking from the ground up. To approach this the best possible way I would advise you have access to a metronome, relatively hard pick (Dunlop Jazz 3 plectrum) and an amp if you are playing electric guitar. To access a metronome you can search ‘online metronome’ in Google or alternatively buy a digital metronome such as the Korg model.

Exercise 1

Alternate Picking Exercise 1- Chromatics

Watch The Video Exercise

Notice the two different types of shape under the TAB numbers, the first one is a Down stroke and the second one is an up- stroke. It is this consecutive motion that allows your picking hand to go on auto- pilot for periods of time so you can focus on the accuracy of the fretting hand.

Your goal is to gain synchronicity between the two hands so start at 70 bpm and play two notes per a click whilst tapping your left foot on the click. If you watch your foot you will notice the + of every beat is struck as your foot is up and the number 1, 2, 3 or 4 is struck when your foot is on the ground. The angle of the pick makes a lot of different also, if you have the pick very flat against the string there is more friction and that makes speed harder to achieve. If you angle the plectrum more so that your thumb is pointing more towards the ground, then you can cut through the string better which allows you to play faster over time.

Speed picking is a bi- product of learning this technique and no matter how great you become there will always be someone who thinks you should slow down and ‘feel’ what you are playing. So if you really want to play fast then go for it but from my own experience I would not neglect all the other areas of guitar just to be able to play really fast. I felt so strongly about this that I wrote an eBook The Ultimate Practise- Planner that uses all the content from my Intermediate to advanced eBook Be The Guitarist and lays it out in easy to read TABs with practise routines to suit varying lifestyles. The idea is that you have a balanced practise routine to ensure you still progress with your picking skill, but you also know about chords, scales, modes, arpeggios and theory along the way.

Come back for Part 2 where you will learn more about this technique.

Tom Clark