ALTERNATE PICKING LESSON WITH NICK GREATHOUSE Nick starts his series with Alternate Picking part 1.

Improve your timing, speed, and execution with this important lesson. Chapter 1: (2:34) Series Introduction

Welcome to my "Speed and Technique" lesson series! The purpose of this series is to give you an overview of some of the essential techniques for rock guitar playing. The three main topics of the series are Alternate Picking, Legato Playing, and Sweep Picking/Arpeggios. As the series moves forward the lessons for each topic will get progressively more difficult, so be sure that you are comfortable with each lesson before moving on to the next. Chapter 2: (4:17) Lesson Introduction This first lesson in my "Speed and Technique" series focuses on alternate picking. Alternate picking is, of course, the constant "down, up" or "up, down" motion of the right hand. This technique is the cornerstone of playing scale lines with speed and rhythmic accuracy. The goal of this lesson is for the student to get comfortable using the technique on a single string so that it becomes second nature to alternate pick. Developing the technique this way is essential so that when you begin playing more complicated lines or full scales, you dont have to think about the picking pattern. The 15 exercises in this lesson are designed so that a simple fret-hand pattern is repeated with continuous alternate picking. Be sure that you do not "re-start" the picking pattern each time you repeat the fret-hand fingering, for that is one of the biggest pitfalls for beginning players. Chapter 3: (6:40) Fret Hand Fingerings This scene covers the fret-hand fingerings for this entire lesson (as well as the first legato lesson). All three fingerings are in the key of A and they are all three notes per string. Be sure to use the fingering indicated on the tablature so that each finger is developed equally. The first and second positions are both one finger per fret positions, the second one is especially good for strengthening the troublesome 3rd and 4th fingers. The third position is meant to slightly stretch your left hand so that youll be able to do more difficult reaches later on. All three of these fingerings are absolutely essential to three-note per string scalar playing, and theyre all played on the third (G) string. Chapter 4: (10:39) Alternate Picking Exercises This scene demonstrates all 15 of the picking exercises in this lesson. Be sure that you practice each example with the rhythm written in the notation. Examples #1-#9 are all triplet rhythms (three notes per beat), examples #10-15 are 16th note rhythms (four notes per beat). Once again make sure that you use the correct fingering, and constant alternate picking for each exercise.

Chapter 5: (20:05) Effective Practice Though each picking exercise is only one measure long, they are meant to be played many times. Alternate picking is a technique that requires many, many, repetitions to get under control and to start building speed. The best thing for me to do has been to practice each example continuously for a predetermined amount of time (i.e. one minute, five minutes, etc.). Though you could practice each example for longer, I recommend the one minute time limit. I also recommend that you take as minimal a break as possible between exercises so that the entire set takes about 15 minutes total. Important things to remember while practicing this lesson: 1. Play the correct rhythm, with a metronome. 2. Synchronization is key! Always try to pick a note at the exact moment it is fretted. 3. Always try to pick from the wrist and fingers of the picking hand, dont use the elbow joint to move the hand up and down. The next step will be to incorporate "speed bursts" into your practice. This is a "jogging, sprinting, jogging" approach that will help you in the development of speed. When playing a speed burst you double the written rhythm. The triplet based examples will become 16th note triplets (six notes per beat) and the 16th note examples will become 32nd notes (eight notes per beat). When attempting this, try to seamlessly switch between the slower and faster rhythms without breaking your momentum. Start at a slow enough metronome setting so that you can play the faster rhythms cleanly. Eventually you will be able to sustain playing faster rhythms for longer periods of time. Chapter 6: (21:25) Wrap Up Thanks for watching, and be sure to get a good handle on this technique before attempting later installments of this series.