Alternate picking

Very non-expert opinion here.

The answer to your particular example probably depends on what else is surrounding it. For something simple like this down/down would be fine. However if you have a long string of varied single notes surrounding it. I find that if you alternate: 1) Your right hand movements are more economic, 2) Your picking is more accurate, 3) The music is more organic, less mechanic.

Having said that, I would feel free to mix it up as necessary. If you think straight down/down/down works better, do that. I'm laid back like that :P

oktay

Ok, thank you oktay.

Yes only two notes like that would not be a problem, but when surronded by many onther notes down/down will make the picking go out of phase wich seems to confuse me.

I'm really starting to believe that this is my problem. Timing has always been my problem, and i have always had trouble stomping my feet to my playing. I just tried syncing my feet to the downstroke when improvising and it seems like that did the trick. To soon to say maybe.

picking should become second nature after awhile me thinks.

from what I read on similar posts you are not relaxing nough.
picking can be fluid and quite changeable....or expressive...which is the better word.

varying your techniques. keep the pick loose in your finger tips sometimes, choke way up on it other times.
in strumming, stay clear of rigid robotic strumming. keeping the wrist loose is essential.
also essential is keep time. I do it in my head so much I dont have to think anymore; just feel.
then I can change strum patterns easily.
or exertion withn a strum pattern; emphasizing one lyric for example.
then , however, the up down stroke timing can get off.
simply add a stop or non strum and get back into your count.

lastly, dont over think it.

we should all be able to keep time with ur hands. either by clapping or finger snapping.
I used to air guitar as a kid; playing rythm on my jeans. I got good at it.
and it transferred over to the real thing.
so practice strumming even when you have no guitar.

hope this helps.

Yeah for sure i'm not relaxed enough. I have practiced being relaxed for some while now. Maybe i have already incorporated my tension in my playing. The idea to relearn how to play scales and improvise with a fluid up and down motion seems good to me.

And I always overthink everything.. ;)

I have been playing air guitar latley, that might help.

Thanks for your helpful tips.

The whole idea of alternate picking is economy of motion. So if it takes less movement to do two down strokes, then do two down strokes. When I feel myself getting tense, I take a deep breath, let it out and then let the pick fly. You have to feel the music and you can't do that if your tense.

Hey!

I trying to solv my timing problem and i think i'm on to something. But maybe not.. Depends on the answear of this question. ;)

When alternate picking, how important is it to REALLY alternate your picking?
I have noticed that i cheat alot. If i start with a downstroke on the beat i can suddenly end up playing upstrokes on the beat. Is this a sign of bad technique or just normal?

This is really akward:

d u
------
---5--
-5----
------

Should i learn to play this with down up or should i "cheat" with down down?

Thanks.

Hi mate

there are some songs that are played with all downstrums, mostly rock tunes but this is not an easy rhythm to play. When you play you hand always make two movements: one down towards the floor and one up towards the ceiling, so it is a lot easier to play in alternate picking becasue your pick will replicate your hand movement. To play eight notes downstrums pattern you actually have to be able to play a sixteen notes pattern.

let's take an example

sixteen notes pattern (each beat is divided by a slash)

dudu/dudu/duddu/dudu

eight notes downstrums pattern

d(u)d(u)/d(u)d(u)/d(u)d(u)/d(u)d(u)

you can see that the only difference between the two patterns is that you skip the upstrums but the downstrum movements are the same.

Having said so, if you start with a downstrum on beat 1 and play and upstrum in beat 2 unless you're playing some sixteen notes syncopated pattern (like ddu/udu/ddu/udu), i thinks there's a chanche that you're not playing in time. If you are actually playing eigth notes every beat should start with the same strum (downtrum or upstrum if your first strum was an upstrum)

Matteo