Alternate-picking is a guitar playing technique, necessarily used only by pick-users, that employs strictly alternating downward and upward picking strokes in a continuous run. It is the most common method of plectrum playing. If this technique is performed on a single note at speed then it may also be referred to as tremolo picking. A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ... A plectrum (plural: plectra) is a device for plucking or strumming a stringed instrument. ... Tremolo picking is a technique of picking on the guitar. ...

"Good" alternate picking involves a continuous up-and-down motion of the picking hand, even when not picking a note (except when the gap lasts longer than one full up-and-down motion). In this manner, an up-beat (e.g. an even-numbered eighth note or, at faster tempos, sixteenth note) will always be played with an upward picking stroke, while the down-beats are always played with downward picking strokes. This allows for fluid incorporation of legato notes in the middle of picked phrases. See also the beat disambiguation page. ... In musical notation legato indicates that musical notes are played smoothly. ...

Alternate picking can be heard in almost all styles of picked guitar music, from Jazz to Bluegrass, to Heavy Metal. Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music with its own roots in the English, Irish and Scottish traditional music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. ... It has been suggested that metal music be merged into this article or section. ...

It has some advantages and some disadvantages, largely depending on the licks the guitarist is attempting to play. For example, most scalar runs are most easily played using alternate picking. Similarly, the complex, syncopated rhythm guitar patterns found in death metal require a good alternate picking technique to play fast and accurately. apopular music, a lick is a rock term [meaning]...something like a stock pattern or phrase (Middleton 1990, p. ... It has been suggested that Florida death metal be merged into this article or section. ...

On the other hand, large arpeggios (especially spanning more than one octave) are very difficult to play using pure alternate picking, and almost impossible to play at great speeds, which is why many guitarists choose to employ sweep picking to play these arpeggios. Similarly, some kinds of licks are easier when played using such specialized techniques as legato playing, economy picking, or tapping. Despite this, some guitar virtuosos (especially Al Di Meola and Steve Morse) emphasize the near-exclusive use of alternate picking, even in situations where another technique would be easier, claiming that pure alternate picking leads to a more consistent sound and allows for greater control of tone. This article will be merged with Italian musical terms at some point in the near future. ... Developed in the early 1980s into how we know it today by Australian guitarist Frank Gambale, sweep picking is a technique used on the guitar in which a sweeping motion of the pick is combined with a matching fret hand technique in order to produce a specific series of... In musical notation legato indicates that musical notes are played smoothly. ... Economy picking is a guitar-playing technique, for a guitarist who uses a pick. ... Tapping is a playing technique (generally associated with electric guitar playing, though the technique can be performed on any string instrument) executed by using the fingers of the picking hand to tap the strings against the fingerboard, sounding notes. ... Kiss my Axe (1991) Al Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, known, among other things, for his incredible technique and the discipline with which he plays. ... Steven J. Morse is a rock guitarist and guitar virtuoso, best known for his position as guitarist in the Dixie Dregs. ...

External links

• Alternate picking guitar lesson