Strings Picking Techniques

There are differences between the picking techniques used for each type of music. Some styles require a good alternate picking ability, while others require a lot of sweep picking. Some others require full knowledge of both. But music is not limited to only two picking techniques, there are others like finger picking and economy picking. All these techniques has been developed by guitarists looking alternatives to approach different musical styles. What are these picking techniques? And why do we need to know some of them?

You can consider a picking techniques as a type of plectrum that will allow you to freely choose notes from the fret board without having to worry about how far they are from each others. The way you play each group of note would require a different type of pickings. This picking could be either alternate, sweeping or any of the other ones.

An arpeggio is the name given to a group of notes play at a random sequence. This manner of playing brake one chord into several notes. arpeggio is a Latin word that means “in the manner of harp”.

Sweep Picking is one of the techniques used when playing arpeggios. Sweep picking refer to the sweeping motion of the picking hand. This sweeping motion could be either upward or downward depending on the location of the notes play. This technique is exclusively applied for arpeggios with a common shape.

Alternate Picking is a technique that involve exclusively alternating down strokes and up strokes in a alternate continuous run. This type of picking is limited and is very difficult to play arpeggios with alternate picking. However Alternate Picking is one of the most popular techniques used by modern rockers. This is the technique used for most of the execution of fast guitar solos.

Economy picking is a hybrid or sweep picking and alternate picking. This technique employs alternate picking when playing on a given string but switch to sweep picking when changing from one string to the other one. In a sequence of 3 notes per string ascending, the economic picking would be down, up, down, down, up, down and so on. When descending from the first string it would be up, down, up, up, down, up.

Finger picking is the technique that used fingers instead of picks. The beauty of this technique is that it allows you to play a unison easily. This technique still leave room for scales, arpeggio, licks, strumming and runs. Is the oldest technique and one of the most effective and simple.