What is Alternate Picking?
When we play guitar, we pick the strings down or up to create a sound. Alternate picking combines both of those motions together and creates what we know as "Alternate Picking". There are a few pros and cons for this method, so lets take a look in to it.
Pros:
- It allows you to play many more notes in a fluid motion.
- It builds up strength in your picking hand.
- It helps you pick for longer as movement is reduced.
- It will be a necessity when we look at future picking techniques and speed.
Cons:
- The picking motion alters the sound, it has not got as much bite as traditional downward picking
As you can see, there are many more benefits than there are downsides, and with it being such a valuable skill it's something that I would highly recommend learning.
There will soon be video showing the motion of the technique and how to do it efficiently!