Better strumming and picking

Take control of your timing and rhythmic accuracy with TG’s alternate picking workout

It may not sound like the most exciting part of playing the guitar, but how you pick the strings has a big effect on both rhythm and lead playing. And, whether you’re an aspiring shredder or you prefer a relaxed campfire style jam, certain principles are the same for every guitarist who uses a pick – in particular, timing downstrokes and upstrokes. Think of a bar of music (in 4/4 time) divided into 16 equal rhythms – these are known as 16th notes (aka semiquavers). Generally 16th notes are quite quick, so playing down-updown-up is loads easier than constant downstrokes. As for constant upstrokes, well, no one really does that anyway.

This down-up approach is known as ‘alternate picking’ and you can use the technique with a whole variety of rhythms. Simply avoid contact with the strings on one or two pick strokes for musical effect. So get stuck into the following tab exercises where we take a look at a mixture of single-note and strummed ideas.