Alternate
Vs. Directional Picking

By
Mike Philippov

There
is a somewhat common argument in the guitar playing community
on whether one should learn to play using alternate picking (strict
up/down strokes all the time) or directional (also referred to
as economy or sweep picking).

Just
to be clear, let me explain what I mean when I say “directional
picking”. If you were to play a major scale using 3 notes
per string, directional picking would call for you to play down/up/down
on the first string followed by DOWN/up/down on the next (higher
in pitch) string, followed by DOWN/up/down again on the next higher
string and so on. As you see 2 down strokes are performed consecutively
when changing strings. If strict alternate picking was to be used,
the player would pick down/up/down all the way through the scale.
If you were to descend the scale using directional picking, you
would play up/down/up, UP/down/up, UP/down/up and so on. Again
notice that when you cross strings you perform 2 of the same pick
strokes in a row.

Now
that we are clear on what both terms mean, let us look at why
some people choose to discredit the value of directional picking.
I have seen comments such as: “Alternate picking will leave
you more free when improvising because you will not have to limit
yourself to prearranged patterns since the picking motion is always
down/up/down” or “Directional picking is not as powerful
and it distorts the rhythm and precision that can be obtained
by strict alternate picking.”

Let’s
examine the above points more closely. The first argument was
that strict alternate picking leaves you more free when improvising
since the motions become automatic. Well the reason why the motions
FEEL automatic is because your muscles remember ANYTHING they
do enough times and are able to automatically execute whatever
they have been trained to do. If you were to take the trouble
to relearn your picking technique, the new motions will eventually
become so ingrained in the muscle memory that they will become
natural as well.

Directional
picking when approached correctly is simply the most logical way
to pick. In school we were taught that the shortest distance between
two points is a straight line. With directional picking we use
the straight line approach to minimize the motion that is needed
to get to the next required note. When you see the string you
are going to play next, you go DIRECTLY to it (hence the name
for the technique). There is no need to memorize predetermined
picking patterns. Once you master the technique, you will be able
to execute extremely fast lines without much thinking at all.
The result? Since less motion is required for the pick to travel
to the same destination brings greater speed, accuracy and flow.

Moreover,
with the extra motion that is involved with alternate picking
(that is required to cross over the string to maintain the constant
down/up/down motion of the hand) puts extra strain on the muscles
and makes you more likely to get injured. Why would anybody want
to compromise their own playing ability?

Moving
right along, lets look at the second argument. Some people claim
that directional picking disrupts the rhythm and the precision
(articulation) obtained by alternate picking. Interesting. When
one takes a look at guitarists such as Tom Hess, Mike Walsh, George
Bellas, Ney Mello, Chris Kalkbrenner, Frank Gambale or Jimmy Bruno
(all extremely high caliber virtuoso players who use directional
picking), it is obvious that their playing is always incredibly
metrical and precise with no loss of rhythmic control whatsoever.
The reason why players tend to believe the argument against directional
picking is because the technique can be tricky to learn correctly,
but once mastered results in much greater ease of playing and
greater speed. The challenge of directional picking lies in training
the forearm stability to correctly stop the pick when needed.
This requires a great deal of strength of the stabilizing muscles
of the forearm which must be developed through special training.
Most players never take the time to master the technique properly
and this leads to loss of control in playing. When I say that
this technique is more efficient than alternate picking I am not
saying that it is much easier to learn. The point that I am trying
to make is that this technique gives you greater results per amount
of time spent (then alternate picking). As with anything, I cannot
overemphasize the need for a great teacher who can explain and
teach the technique well.

Another
common argument is that if the vast majority of guitar virtuosos
such as Rusty Cooley, John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert and Michael
Angelo use alternate picking with such success why would anyone
bother learning directional picking?. When looking at these players
it immediately becomes obvious that alternate picking can be and
is being used with tremendous results. So what is going on here?
I am not discrediting alternate picking. It is obvious that it
can bring great results. However it takes a LONGER time to master
alternate picking (than it does directional picking) due to excess
movement that the technique requires. Moreover, it is not as ergonomically
efficient thus increasing the risk of possible injury. However
it is entirely possible to become equally fast using both techniques.
The question is: how much time do you wish to spend developing
your technique?

Now
I can hear people ask: then why do the majority of guitar players
use alternate picking if it is less economical? This is a valid
question and I think that the reason for this is because of certain
traditions and conventions that have been followed in guitar playing
through the years. However, as in any other science (and guitar
technique is a science that obeys the laws of physics- this is
of course entirely different from the art of making music) certain
advancements are continually being made. The discovery of directional
picking proves that. It is already being used by players with
great success. Guitar technique is still in its early stages of
development (I mean do you realize that electric guitar is less
than 100 old?) therefore it is only natural that new discoveries
in areas such as technique will occur.


Speaking from personal experience, I actually (when I first began
playing) started out intuitively using directional picking because
I was self taught for the first year that I played. When I got
my first teacher, he told me that I was picking "incorrectly"
and I switched to alternate picking for about two years. Then
when I realized the advantage of directional picking I switched
my technique again (for the second time) and now I use directional
picking almost all of the time with great success. I can also
testify to the fact that directional picking felt very natural
to me when I first learned it on my own, and later alternate picking
felt just as natural when I changed my technique for the first
time. Now that I have changed to directional picking for the second
time it feels more natural than ever.

Hopefully
this article opened up your eyes to a new technique that you may
not have considered trying out before.

You can contact
me at mikephilippov@yahoo.com I would be happy to answer any questions
you may have. I reply to all e-mails.

Visit
Mike’s sites:
www.enigmatheband.com
www.myspace.com/grimthesweeper

©2006
Mike Philippov All Rights Reserved