lesson summary
Lesson 1 of 9 in our Series: Alternate Picking Part 1
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 don’t 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 you’ll 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 they’re 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:
- Play the correct rhythm, with a metronome.
- Synchronization is key! Always try to pick a note at the exact moment it is fretted.
- Always try to pick from the wrist and fingers of the picking hand, don’t 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.
about Nick Greathouse
Nick Greathouse: Skilled Performing Musician, Educated Guitarist & Experienced Teacher
Nick Greathouse was born on December 11th, 1980 in Canton, Ohio. He was exposed to many different musical styles from a very young age. Growing up in the "MTV generation"� some of his earliest memories involve watching
Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Guns n' Roses with his brother and cousin. His mother played piano, sang and filled the house with the sounds of singer-songwriters Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne and Elton John and his
father was always listening to country music along with classic rockers Tom Petty and Bob Seger. He never had to look far to hear great music.
Though he was constantly surrounded by music, it wasn't until Nick heard his first Beatles album (Revolver) when he was 10 that he became interested in being a musician. Shortly thereafter, his older brother got an electric
guitar which Nick began to play (while his bro was out of the house!). The moment his fingers touched the strings for the first time, he was hooked and had to have one of his own.
Throughout high school Nick took guitar lessons and would jam with his friends as much as possible, his skills on the instrument improved significantly. He would spend hours with his cd player learning Led Zeppelin and Jimi
Hendrix songs by ear. But after hearing Steve Vai's album "Passion and Warfare"� guitar playing became an all out obsession.
After high school, at age 18, Nick began teaching guitar lessons at a local music store. He also entered the music program at Kent State University where he studied classical guitar with George Bachmann. During this time he
performed many solo guitar recitals and also played with the guitar ensemble. When he honed his reading chops to a high level he started playing in pit orchestras and band for local theaters.
Nick took a break from Kent in 2004 when he moved to Hollywood, California for a short time to study at Musician's Institute (GIT). While there he had classes with Daniel Gilbert, Joy Basu, Tom Kolb, Carl Verheyen, and his
private lesson instructor Jean-Marc Belkadi.
Nick returned to Ohio in order to finish his college education. He joined a local metal core band called Last Second Decision which was formed by his brother. During his tenure with Last Second Decision Nick began taking
lessons from one of his heroes, Cleveland based guitar virtuoso, Neil Zaza. They became fast friends and since then Nick has gone on to perform with Zaza numerous times including television appearances, local club gigs and
the holiday spectacular "Neil Zaza's One Silent Night"� at Cleveland's Playhouse Square. Nick also appears on the 2007 CD "Neil Zaza's One Silent Night: A Night at The Palace"�.
Nick is a graduate of Kent State University (BA Music) and continues to teach privately at a music store in Kent, Ohio and also at his home. He is very excited to be a part of the JamPlay team!
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