Alternate Picking with Upstrokes Guitar Lesson
Alternate Picking with Upstrokes
Brad Henecke presents alternate picking exercises that start with an upstroke.
Taught by Brad Henecke in Speed and Technique seriesLength: 3:26Difficulty: 0.5 of 5
When an alternate picking pattern begins with a upstroke, the upstroke occurs on all of the metrically strong beats in a measure. This will force you to play upstrokes that are equal to downstrokes in volume and tone. Also, it should be noted that certain string crossings may be easier to play if they are started with an upstroke as well. This relates to a technique known as economy picking. This topic will be discussed in detail in a later lesson in this series.
In this lesson, Brad demonstrates how you can play the same rhythmic/picking exercises presented in previous lessons starting with an upstroke. Make sure that you don't accidentally reverse the picking pattern halfway through the measure. This is a common mistake of most beginner students when practicing these exercises.
Half Note Exercise
Instructions
1. Always play these exercises with a metronome.
2. Play an upstroke on beat 1 and a down stroke on beat 3. Repeat this exercise for about half a minute.
Remaining Exercises
Repeat the same process with quarter notes, eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes. For eighths remember to count "1+2+3+4+etc." For sixteenths, count "1 e + ah." Triplets are especially difficult because the pick direction alternates on each downbeat. Play the triplet exercise as slowly as possible to help your brain adjust to these confusing picking patterns. Also count "1 trip-let, 2 trip-let, etc." to help keep the rhythm consistent. For an extra challenge, try playing this exercise in groups of fives. Count "un-i-ver-si-ty" for each group of five.
Supplemental Learning Material
Speed and Technique
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsTechnique is extremely important to playing in any style of music. Perfect technique combined with blazing speed can take your playing to a whole new level.
Lesson 1
Series Introduction
Brad introduces his Speed and Technique series.
Length: 1:15 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Picking and Timing
Brad Henecke covers proper picking technique and gives a basic lesson on notes/timing.
Length: 6:10 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Picking and Downstrokes
This lesson is all about the downstroke. Brad discusses technique and shows you how to pick in different rhythmic groupings.
Length: 5:20 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Upstrokes
Brad covers the proper way to perform an upstroke.
Length: 4:16 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Alternate Picking
Brad Henecke covers alternate picking and how it can speed up your guitar playing.
Length: 5:00 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Alternate Picking with Upstrokes
Brad Henecke presents alternate picking exercises that start with an upstroke.
Length: 3:26 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Sweep Picking
Brad explains the basics of sweep picking in this fun speed building guitar lesson.
Length: 9:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Economy Picking
Brad explains the basics of a technique called economy picking.
Length: 5:33 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Series Review
Brad provides a brief review of this series. He gives information regarding why technique is so important.
Length: 2:00 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
String Skipping
Brad covers proper string skipping technique and gives you some exercises that will speed up your playing.
Length: 8:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Hammer-on / Pull-off
This lesson is all about improving speed by applying hammer-ons and pull-offs. Learn some exercises that sound great and boost speed.
Length: 11:27 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Hammer-On Lick
Brad Henecke demonstrates a speed building lick that makes heavy use of hammer-ons.
Length: 0:00 Difficulty: 0.0 Members Only
About Brad Henecke
View Full Biography
Brad Henecke was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on May 5th of 1963. He has been a fan of music for as long as he & his family can remember. You could always find him running around the farm wailing on his cardboard guitar, pretending to be a member of the rock band KISS. Additional inspiration came during his first concert when he got the chance to see Boston & Sammy Hagar in the early 1970's.
This opened up a whole new world of rock and roll music for him; his parents noticed his growing interest in music and enrolled him into guitar lessons when he was 13.
From there he jumped into two years of lessons at a local music store in Cedar Rapids. After discovering Eddie Van Halen, Brad knew that the
guitar would always be a part of his life. He took his love throughout the city as he played as a pit musician & jammed at parties for friends.
This made him thirsty for more. He enrolled classes at Kirkwood Community College & also took lessons from the one & only Craig-Erickson (www.craig-erickson.com).
His love for music landed him a gig opening for Molly Hatchet in Cedar Rapids with a band called "Slap & Tickle". He has also played in the Greeley
Stampede show for quite a few years with "True North".
Brad is currently playing in Greeley, Colorado with a rock band titled "Ragged Doll". They play a wide variety of music with an emphasis on
classic rock from the 60's to present, with Brad playing electric guitar in the five piece lineup.
He currently jams on his all-time favorite guitar: a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24. Beyond guitar, he plays also plays drums & bass guitar. He has
also been known to thrash a banjo from time to time. He is still actively playing & passing his 31 years of playing experience on to others (you!).
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Thanks for the lessons Brad.. I've been learning/playing for 9 months now and I've never known how to play sixteenths or triplets because, I never knew how to count them out. Thanks!
Enjoying the lesson. Little prob with the 'triplet' picking. Each note starts with alternating strokes, right? I mean 1 is up and then 2 starts with a down right? That's tough to take in...