Economy picking masterclass
Economy picking which is also known as ‘speed picking’ is an extension of alternate picking. The idea is that all your picking movements are as economic as possible avoiding any unnecessary movements. It can still involve alternating between up and downstrokes but when you change strings on an odd sequence you would maintain the same picking direction to the next string (similar to sweep picking).
For example, if you were starting on a downstroke and ascended three notes on the low E string you will end up on a downstroke for the third note and then use a downstroke again as you moved to the A string. Vice versa if you started on an up stroke on the high E string and descended three notes the third note would be an upstroke and then you would use an upstroke again on the B string. This creates one sweeping movement in one direction.
I often use both alternate and economy picking in my playing. It can take some time to get used to economy picking but it’s well worth the practice time. Check out the video link for some exercises to help you with this technique.
In today's video I share my insights into the awesome guitar technique ECONOMY PICKING! For me it has been one of the hardest techniques to grasp! I am in no way perfect with this technique but I have made sufficient gains that I feel I can share my insights with you guys! It's well worth the pain to get on with!
Approaching Economy Picking As A Beginner
Here are a few steps you can follow to learn economy picking on guitar as a beginner:
- Start with alternate picking: Before attempting economy picking, practice alternate picking, which involves playing consecutive downstrokes and upstrokes. This helps to develop the basic motion required for economy picking.
- Study the concept: Economy picking involves playing multiple strings with a single down- or upstroke. Read and watch tutorials to understand the basic principles of economy picking, including sweep picking, string skipping, and crosspicking.
- Practice exercises: Start with simple exercises that involve playing two or three notes per string. Increase the difficulty as you improve by adding more strings, faster tempos, and more complex sequences.
- Apply to songs: Once you've mastered the exercises, start incorporating economy picking into songs that you already know or are learning. This will help you develop the technique in a musical context.
- Focus on accuracy and consistency: As with any technique, the key to mastering economy picking is to practice slowly and accurately, focusing on developing clean, consistent motions.
Remember that economy picking is an advanced technique and requires time and patience to master. Keep practicing regularly and you will see improvement over time.
GET RESULTS WITH A metronome
As with everything you practice make sure you use a metronome and start super slow to make sure you are playing the lick correctly with the right fingers, technique and attack (it's fine to not use a metronome at first while first learning it).
I recommend starting at 60pm and use 8ths notes until you can play the lick without mistakes three or four times in a row then speed up the metronome by 5bpm. If you are really struggling playing the whole lick break it down to a bar or two. CLICK HERE to get a metronome.
The best way to really get any licks under your fingers is to practice them over a backing track and this may help inspire your own lick ideas as well. I have a free backing track channel http://www.killerbackingtracks.com
ESSENTIAL LEAD GUITAR TONE
In terms of gear for getting a good lead tone I recommend getting a healthy amount of gain on your amp (not too much maybe at 12 o'clock !) and add an overdrive pedal to really help boost the guitar signal going into the amp making the notes a lot clearer.
I like to use an Ibanez Tube Screamer
🎛 CLICK HERE to get a TubeScreamer
FRET WRAPS & STRING DAMPENERS
Not essential but you can use fret wraps or string dampeners to keep any unwanted noise at bay. This can be frown upon by some players as they believe you should be able to control the noise without any extra help! I have to agree to some extent but if some of my favourite players such as Guthrie Govan and Greg Howe use them it's ok with me!!
I like to use the Gruvgear Fretwraps which I am using in this lesson. You can get these in lots of different fun colours!
CLICK HERE to get a fretwrap.