I like Steve Morse’s 80/20 rule when learning a lick or run which is to play at slowly 80% of the time without making any mistakes, but play it as fast as you can 20% of the time so that you have the experience of both and they eventually meet in the middle. Simply follow the number sequence and repeat it ad nauseam using alternate picking starting on a downstroke. Whenever I can, I like to use these numbered diagrams instead of tab or notation as a lot of people seem to like them. Here’s the first pattern (we’ll use an A Major arpeggio as you’ll see by pattern 4).
There are a couple of benefits here: a) you won’t get frustrated by starting off with a big shape, and b) you’ll practice all the nuances of changing strings on an upstroke and a downstroke. To get this technique going, I like to start off with a pattern across three strings, then add in the others. This exercise also adds another dimension to your alternate picking as you’re going from linear scalar-type picking to applying vertical movement to alternate picking. If you’re new to this technique, it basically involves alternate picking an arpeggio instead of sweep-picking it that’s really all there is to it. I remember my first guitar teacher showing me these exercises in the early 90s, but it was a fair few years later before I discovered the benefits of them.Īlternate Picking Arpeggios provide a gratifying workout for your picking hand, as well as improving your overall hand coordination no end. I personally prefer the sound of alternate picking arpeggios to sweep-picking arpeggios as they’re not as obvious-sounding as when you change to sweep-picking on the fly. I think this is a great technique to have under your belt as it really heightens the dexterity of your picking hand, as well as giving that sweep-picking sound without having to learn to sweep pick. If you’re a fan of Steve Morse’s playing, one of his most prominent techniques is alternate picking arpeggios instead of sweeping them.
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