Double Picking and Scales Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (10:25) Introduction and Double Picking Steve switches gears from left hand technique to right hand technique. In this lesson, you will learn an essential rudimentary right hand technique: double picking. Double picking is also commonly referred to as “alternate picking.” This technique enables a guitarist to play much faster. Repetitious picking in which the pick changes direction with each stroke is known as double picking. If you currently use downstrokes exclusively, your right hand is extremely limited in the range of what it can perform. In this lesson, Steve demonstrates some exercises that will get you acquainted with this important technique. You will also learn some very important scale patterns. Knowledge of scales and mastery of double picking are essential skills when playing any form of melodic material.

A. Double Picking Rules

1. NEVER rest your fingers on the pickguard under any circumstance! Although this may provide you with some stability when you are first learning, this poor technique will severely limit your right hand ability in the long run.

2. Rest the palm of your right hand on the bridge when playing a double picked passage. The palm should also rest on the bridge when playing any scalar line.

3. The palm SHOULD NOT rest on the bridge when playing any passage that involves strummed chords or string skipping. Watch Steve carefully as he demonstrates this technique. The right forearm rests on the upper body of the guitar to provide stability. This technique allows the right hand to move more fluidly. If your wrist is anchored to the bridge, the range of motion of the right hand is not large enough to accommodate the aforementioned techniques.

4. Downstrokes and upstrokes must be identical in tone and volume.

5. Your pick strokes need only be large enough to create a solid tone. Remember the economy of motion techniques that Steve explained in his Phase 1 series. Keep the pick as close to the string as possible at all times. This will enable you to double pick much faster.

6. Only the very tip of the pick should make contact with the strings. Do not dig your pick into the strings. This will hinder your ability to move fluidly from one string to the next.

7. The right hand fingers not holding the pick should remain slightly curled into the palm. They should only fan outwards when playing rapid palm muted passages in the rock and metal genres.

B. Two Methods of Double Picking

There are two ways in which double picking can be performed. Both are equally valid options. Experiment with both options for a significant amount of time. After this initial experimentation period, decide which technique is more comfortable for you.

Method 1 - Use the wrist as a pivot to double pick.

Method 2 - This method almost excludes the wrist entirely. The thumb squeezes inwards toward the palm during a downstroke. For an upstroke, the thumb and first finger relax and return to their normal position. Thus, almost all of the picking movement originates from the thumb and first finger. This technique is generally more comfortable for guitarists that have a hitchhiker thumb.

C. Basic Double Picking Exercises

Exercise 1 - Set your metronome to a slow tempo. Quarter note=70 is a great place to start. Play the open D string in continuous eighth notes using double picking. It is best to practice double picking using open strings. This takes the left hand out of the equation and allows you to focus completely on the movement of your right hand.

Exercise 2 - Set your metronome to an even slower tempo. Starting with the sixth string, play each string for a full measure in sixteenth notes. To keep the rhythm of sixteenth notes nice and even, say the word “Mississippi” at the beginning of each beat. This works well because Mississippi consists of four even, non-stressed syllables. Counting “1 e and ah” is also a great method to subdivide the quarter note into four equal sixteenth notes. Steve discusses pneumonic counting devices in the final scene of the lesson.

D. G Major Scale

Scales are the building blocks of all music. From this day forth, scales MUST become a part of your daily warm-up/technique practice.

Note: Check out Brad and Matt’s Phase 2 lessons for more information regarding why scales are so important.

In this lesson, Steve demonstrates two scales in open position. Keep in mind that all scale patterns on the guitar can be transposed easily to another key. However, the scales in open position (scale patterns that contain open strings) must change their fingering when transposed higher up the neck.

Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for a fretboard diagram of all the “open” major scales discussed in this lesson.

Chapter 2: (9:26) Double Picking with G Major Scale; C Major Scale A. G Major Scale Practice

All scale patterns MUST be memorized. Once you have memorized the fingerings for the G Major scale, continue to practice the scale using double picking. (Every other note should be played with an upstroke.) Instead of playing each note once, pick each note for a full measure of sixteenth notes before moving to the next note. Playing a scale in this manner focuses more attention on double picking technique.

B. C Major Scale

The C Major scale consists of all natural notes. If you are familiar with the piano keyboard, the C major scale is comprised of nothing but white keys. The black keys on a piano represent the accidentals (sharps and flats.)

Before you practice the C scale with double picking, pause the video and take some time to familiarize yourself with the fingering for this scale. Once you can play through the scale from memory, add the double picking technique. Once again, play each note for a full measure in sixteenth notes. You should be counting four “Mississippis” for each note. Watch Steve carefully for a demonstration of how the scale should be performed.

If you happen to hit a wrong note, don’t stop and retrace your steps. Regardless of whether you are practicing or performing, it is always best to keep the rhythm uninterrupted. Otherwise, it is quite easy to fall into the habit of reinforcing your mistakes. Keep Steve’s “bear in the woods” analogy in mind at all times. However, if you notice that you repeatedly have problems with a specific segment of a scale, isolate that portion of the scale and devote extra time to it.

Chapter 3: (5:25) The D Major Scale Repeat the same process you used to learn the G and C scales to practice the D Major scale. Remember that D Major contains two sharps in its key signature: F# and C#.

Steve demonstrates two different fingerings for this scale. The first version works best when playing a memorized melody. The second fingering is best applied to improvised solos. Chapter 4: (4:48) Word Based Rhythm Patterns Steve demonstrates some more great pneumonic devices designed to keep your rhythm even. Most of these devices are common auditory tools that have proven very effective with young children. However, they work just as well with adults. Some people are simply not visual learners. These pneumonic devices serve as a reminder of how a specific rhythmic figure should be played.

A. Mississippi - As discussed earlier in the lesson, this word can be used to count four repeated eighth notes or four repeated sixteenth notes.

B. Stop Pony - This works great for a quarter note followed by two eighth notes. It also works for an eighth followed by two sixteenths

C. Monkey Run - This pneumonic device applies to the rhythm represented by Stop Pony only backwards. It works for two eighths followed by a quarter or two sixteenths followed by an eighth note.

Play each scale in this lesson using each of the rhythms described above. Before tackling this task, watch Steve demonstrate each rhythm.

In the following lesson, Steve will teach you some great bluegrass licks that are derived from the three basic scales demonstrated in this lesson.

Member Comments about this Lesson

Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.