Demo: alternate picking
Five steps to learn to alternate downstrokes and upstrokes, from an open string to three-notes-per-string phrases.
Essential
Content under musical review. It may contain inaccuracies.
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Five steps to learn to alternate downstrokes and upstrokes, from an open string to three-notes-per-string phrases.
Essential
Alternate picking means playing down, up, down, up, never repeating two strokes in the same direction. It's the foundation of speed and evenness with a pick. This demo moves through five steps; in each one you'll see the notes on the fretboard and can listen to them.
Step 1 of 5 · One open string
Hold the pick between your thumb and the side of your index finger, with just the tip showing. Play the open first string: down, up, down, up. The motion comes from the wrist, not the elbow, and it's small: the pick barely clears the string.
String 1, Open: E4 · 1 · Root