HARLEM72 ROCCO’S ADVICE ON PICKING APPROACHES

“I have always considered picking techniques to be quite fluid depending on the musical context. I’m as interested in using alternate picking as economy picking or sweeping. Each has unique phrasing potentials although sometimes one can be physically more comfortable to execute than the other. So I consider both primary technique choices for strong note and chord articulations. When you add in legato approaches the choices get even broader: picking drives rhythmic approaches and strong note definition and legato provides fluidity and a degree of softness, evoking dynamics akin to wind instruments. So the combination of the two, together with the use of wide fingerings, represents my fundamental technical approach and negated the need to learn other techniques to speed up my playing or help me save energy. I have never felt the need for a super fast technique for my music or the music of others that I play. Maybe if I played very aggressive styles, that could change but otherwise I’m fine! My main interest lies in melodic and sequential phrasing, with a keen focus on guitar timbres. When tapping was popular, I was very young: I tried it too but I ruined my picking-hand hand nails! As I like the expressiveness and the touch of nails, both on electric and acoustic guitars, I mostly avoided tapping. If I was to start again, I would spend a little more time on economy picking as I like its logic; plus there are many guitarists who use it in extraordinary ways!”