Beginning String Skipping

Playing Technique
#1

Hi folks.

I’m just getting started with string skipping and would appreciate some recommendations for any good beginners’ exercises which would help me get up and running as quickly as possible; ideally some melodic phrases which are more fun to play and that I can incorporate into my improvisations and solos.

After watching the CtC videos and reading posts on the forum, I’ve come up with the following 3NPS string skipping pattern which is very loosely based on Nuno Bettencourt’s solo from (It’s a) Monster.
I’ve only shown the basic pattern, but I repeat this phrase descending the neck one fret at a time:

StringSweep_v1

I appreciate that there may be easier ways of playing this by including hammer ons and pull offs, but I’m trying to avoid doing this to really concentrate on my right hand picking technique.

I’m finding that if I play it as shown, the downward skip from G to E string comes fairly easily; but the tricky bit is the upward sweep / skip from E string back to the G string (shown in red). I’m trying to navigate this by briefly switching from downward pick slanting (DWPS) to upward pick slanting (UWPS). as I skip over the B string.

Being a die hard DWPS player previously, pronating and supinating my wrist with each phrase feels unnatural; but this may just reflect my unfamiliarity with this technique.

Am I on the right lines here, or would a different approach be faster / more economical?

I’d be grateful for your advice and feedback . Best wishes.

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#2

Hey Donutz,

to be honest I’m a little concerned about the consecutive downstrokes/upstrokes on the string skip. I can’t think of a movement to acomplish this without involving string-hoppiness. But I would be very interested if you found one, a video might be a good idea.

You have to get up+down (perpendicular to the guitars surfaces) to get over the b-string. If you do that up+down using the same muscle pair, it will build up tension and limit the speed IMHO.
Your approach could possibly “work” with a sweep through a muted b-string, but at least for me that would not be what I want.
so: Good solution for that particular pattern on two adjacent strings, but there is no way around the old-fashioned alternating up/down approach for this pattern if you want to pick every note. You can choose if you prefer starting with an up- or downstroke.

Thomas

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#3

Hi Tom

Many thanks for your speedy and helpful reply.
Sounds like I was over-thinking things!

I’ve tried your suggestions: using alternate picking and keeping the pick perpendicular to the strings, and straight away it feels much more natural and easier to play at speed. :slight_smile:

Sorry I haven’t been able to make a video, but I’ve been paying more attention to my picking hand since I joined this forum, and I’ve noticed that when I use alternate picking on this lick, I play the first bar starting on a downstroke (in red), as this feels more natural (I’ve been brainwashed into always starting phrases on a downstroke as a result of a mis-spent youth playing Gypsy jazz…), then second and subsequent bars starting on an upstroke (in blue). The picking pattern for the rest of the phrase is the same alternate picking pattern (black)
as shown:

StringSkip_v2
StringSkip_v2837×277 21.8 KB

Now I’ve got a picking pattern that is efficient and hopefully won’t result in a repetitive strain injury, all I’ve got to do now is build up the speed…
Is the best way to do this just to play along with a metronome and slowly increase the bpm, backing off the speed when I start to make mistakes; or is there another approach which works better ?

Many thanks for your help. Best wishes.

#4

I agree with @Tom0711 that consecutive downstrokes or upstrokes across a string skip is never going to be your optimal solution. Imagine if you were running at top speed and every ten steps you did a jump with two left feet or two right feet. How fast would that be?

The question you should be asking here, which I don’t hear you asking, is what picking motion should you be using. Different picking motions have different capabilities. If you are using a USX motion, then you want all your string changes to always be upstrokes. If you’re using a DSX motion, then all your string changes should be downstrokes. Those are your fastest ways to play this.

The way you have this written, you have a repeated note on the top string. This is not what Nuno does but it makes the picking easier because it gives you an even number of notes on both strings. This is the simplest possible way to play this because this is what single escape (USX and DSX) motions require. If you are using a DSX motion, then you want to start this pattern on a downstroke and pick every note. This will cause every string change to be a downstroke. If you are using a USX motion, then you want to start on an upstroke and pick every note. This will cause every string change to be an upstroke. The “string skip” will play very little role and this phrase won’t be very different from doing the same exact thing on two adjacent strings.

But again, which motion are you using? If you haven’t figured that out yet, I highly recommend filming a clip of your playing and looking at what your motion looks like. Choose the picking for this lick based on what you discover. It’s a journey of discovery and that’s cool!

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#5

I’ve seen Michael Romeo do string skipping arpeggios with a “sweep” over the skipped string. He basically swipes through the muted string, so it’s not really skipped.

In general, he uses 2WPS alternate picking to accomplish this, as do Gilbert and others - probably the most common solution.

Hybrid picking might be the best way to facilitate pure speed/efficiency with a string skip and keeping a 1-way DPS position.

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#6

Ok you got me here, I’m a dummy! @Donutz the way you have written this you only added the extra note on the top string. You also have to add one on the lower string. This way both strings have an even number of notes. Once you do that, this will become a single-escape lick and you can do this with one alternate picking motion.

The GIlbert / Nuno versions of this have odd numbers of notes on both strings. Paul uses two wrist motions for this and picks every note. Nuno uses a pulloff on the top string so he can use one atlernate picking motion.

But again, all of this is putting the cart before the horse. If you don’t know what alternate picking motion you’re using, then you’re flying blind here. To determine which motion that is, again, film yourself and see what you’re actually doing.

#7

@Troy and LuckyMojo
Many thanks for your expert analysis and advice.

After playing the first bar, I only use the picking pattern shown for the second bar for the second and all subsequent bars. Its effectively a repeated 6 notes per string pattern - ie. an even number of notes per string - so I guess this is why the pattern works well with alternate picking from there onwards.

As you say, I really need to see film myself to see exactly what type of alternate picking motion I’m using and how to improve the efficiency of this: I’ll try to find a way of setting up a camera, and maybe post a clip if that’s OK?

Are there any other string skipping patterns that you’d recommend which are good practice for someone starting out to develop their picking technique; and any tips on how to efficiently build up speed (without getting injuries!) ?

Many thanks

#8

There’s a lot of good string skipping exercises in Romeo’s Guitar Chapter

#9

Of course we’re happyt to take a look at any technique critique shots you film. Here are some tips on filming:

In general I wouldn’t worry about string skipping as a “thing”, per se. What you want is to get your picking motion in order. If it’s a single escape motion, feed it with single escape phrases. Whether those phrases move from one string to another, or occasionally move two strings away makes much less of a difference at first. If the number of notes are even, and the line is matched with your motion, you’re going to be in the ballpark.

The classic “Paul Gilbert” type of string skipping is really just outside picking back and forth. This requires two slightly different picking motions and that’s going to be true whether it’s adjacent strings or skipped strings. So once again, learning to do those phrases isn’t really about learning to “skip strings”. It’s about learning whatever type of picking motions will get you across a downstroke string change followed by an upstroke string change - or vice versa. And there are lots of ways to do this.

Get a camera up there and see what you’re doing, that’ll be a nice step forward.

1 Like
#10

Thanks Troy - I really appreciate this insight: it all makes sense.
Thanks for your support and encouragement