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Alternate Picking (Part 2)

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Over the last two video courses we have covered the basic mechanics of the picking technique. You should now be comfortable with alternate picking, as well as crossing and skipping strings in any combination. In this course we are going to take the next logical step with the picking technique and explore ways to play parts that do not begin on a downbeat. This will involve the use of something that I call the 'silent downstroke'.

1 – USING SILENT DOWNSTROKES (PART 1)

In this video we'll be looking at the basic concept of 'silent downstrokes'. Understanding how these work will help us play lines that begin on offbeats, or which feature syncopation.

2 – USING SILENT DOWNSTROKES (PART 2)

This video continues the ideas that were examined in the previous lesson. This time we'll be playing some lines exclusively with upstrokes and looking at a line that features some ties.

3 – EXERCISE #3

This is a simple rock bassline that will help you get comfortable with silent downstrokes.

4 – EXERCISE #4

This exercise contains a few tied notes but the technique of playing silent downstrokes remains the same.

5 – EXERCISE #5

This exercise starts with an anacrusis, a brief pickup bar before the main line begins. This short phrase begins on an upbeat, and therefore starts with an upstroke.

6 – EXERCISE #6

This is another rock bass groove in A minor. This time we'll be tying some notes across the bar line, creating further opportunities for silent downstrokes.

7 – EXERCISE #7

This bassline is another rock groove that features an anacrusis before the first bar. This idea is reused at multiple points throughout the line and in addition to this, there are many parts that begin on an upbeat.

8 – EXERCISE #8

This exercise is a rock and roll-style bassline with a quicker tempo. There are a lot of ties to consider here.

9 – EXERCISE #9

This exercise is a development of the examples that we looked at in the first video of this course. There are ties to watch out for at the end of every bar.

10 – EXERCISE #10

This is a tricky rock bassline that uses a lot of ties as well as a lot of string crossing! Take your time with this one.

11 – EXERCISE #11

This exercise is another uptempo rock bassline with a lot of notes tied across the bar-line.

12 – EXERCISE #12

This is another line that begins with an anacrusis phrase. There are also ties from the last note of each bar into the first note of the next.