Alternate picking is a widely used guitar playing technique which uses the basics of what is needed to play the guitar....

A guitar, a plectrum and hands!

Alternate picking is pretty straight forward and the name of it suggests exactly what it is. With alternate picking, you use downward and upward picking in a continuous run. This technique is used in all styles of music from Blues to Heavy Metal.

Within this hub i am going to show examples of excersises that you can play to improve your alternate picking technique.

This is one of the most important things that beginners and more advanced players overlook. The most important part of doing these exercises is to build technique and be able to use this technique well. This means that if done correctly, these exercises will make it possible for you to alternate pick cleanly and effectively.

The basics of what i'm trying to say is to start slow and gradually build up speed. A good idea is to also use a metronome so you can make note of your progress and also develop the correct amount of space between each note.

This third exercise is a good one for beginners to try when learning to change from string to string while quickly alternate picking.

E|-----------------12-----------------
B|--12--13--15------15--13--12--
G|-------------------------------------
D|-------------------------------------
A|-------------------------------------
E|-------------------------------------

This is a good repeating lick and is great for developing speed when changing from string to string.

This first example is a run that uses the 'A Dorian' mode. This is the entire position 7 shape and is also the same as the G major scale in position 1.

E|-----------------------------------------------5--7--8--
B|--------------------------------------5--7--8-----------
G|-----------------------------4--5--7--------------------
D|--------------------4--5--7-----------------------------
A|-----------3--5--7--------------------------------------
E|--3--5--7-----------------------------------------------

Go through this slowly and pay close attention to your picking direction. You should start of by first using a down pick. When you are comfortable with this though, you should try starting it with an upward pick to see what different sounds and options are available. When you have mastered this run, you should then play it backwards:

E|--8--7--5-----------------------------------------------
B|-----------8--7--5--------------------------------------
G|--------------------7--5--4-----------------------------
D|-----------------------------7--5--4--------------------
A|--------------------------------------7--5--3-----------
E|-----------------------------------------------7--5--3--

This second example is a four string alternate picking exercise and is good for developing your ability to quickly change finger patterns. This type of lick is used by many guitarists such as Paul Gilbert and Yngwie Malmsteen.

E|---------------------------------------------------------------5--7--8--5--7--8--
B|-------------------------------------------5--7--8--5--7--8--------------------
G|----------------------4--5--7--4--5--7--------------------------------------
D|--4--5--7--4--5--7--------------------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again, when you have done this, you should try playing it backwards and remember to start slowly!

This fourth exercise is another one that is used by the great Yngwie Malmsteen. It's great for learning to change finger patterns quickly and is a good lick to add to your lick repertoire.

E|---------------------------------------------------------------8--5--7--8--7--5--
B|-------------------------------------------8--5--7--8--7--5--------------------
G|----------------------7--4--5--7--5--4--------------------------------------
D|--7--4--5--7--5--4--------------------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------------------------

This example requires a lot of thought, so pay attention to your fingering and start slowly.

This fifth exercise is another one in the style of Paul Gilbert. This one is quite tricky so as always, i would advise you to take it slowly.

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-------------------------------------------------------4------------------4--5--7--
A|-------------3-------------------3--5--7--3--5--7-----7--5--3--5--7------------
E|--3--5--7-----7--5--3--5--7------------------------------------------------------

This sixth example is a tricky one! It's an asymmetrical run that has position shifts which take the run through different fingering patterns.

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8--10--12/14--12--10--
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------8--10--12----------------------------
G|------------------------------4--5--7/9--7--5--------------------7--9--11----------------------------------------
D|---------------------4--5--7-------------------9--7--5/7--9--10--------------------------------------------------
A|------------3--5--7--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|--3--5--7------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continued...

E|------------------------------12--14--15/17--15--14--17--15--14--19--17--15--19--17--15--17--
B|--13--12--10/12--13--15----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you all enjoy this article and more importantly, benefit your guitar playing!

I plan on doing more of these, so let me know if any of you would be interested!

Thanks for taking the time to look and put into practice these exercises :)