Is there a master list of skills for picking?

Playing Technique
#1

Since I am a totally unorganized person I always fantasize about lists of things and plans etc (which I never have)

So Id love to see a “master list” of the skills needed to be a great picker. I mean, we already sort of divide things into dwps, uwps, 2wps, crosspicking…so it would be nice to see it broken down into the individual skills needed.

of course we could just take an Anton Oparin solo and list everything he does and that would be close lol.

We wouldnt have to list EVERY possibility but it would be nice to have a list so we could make sure to hit a variety of them in our practice sessions. Im mainly thinking of right hand string changing challenges but we could throw in left hand challenges too such as finger rolling arpeggios on the same fret etc.

Some examples of what I have in mind:

  1. going to a higher/lower string after an upstroke/downstroke

  2. string skipping to a higher/lower string after an upstroke/downstroke

  3. picking only one note on a string and then going to a higher/lower string

  4. every variation of 2/3/4/5/6 string arp (huge master list in itself)

  5. alternating between 2 strings with inside or outside picking (such as pedal point ideas)

  6. 2nps pent type licks ascending and descending with both uwps/dwps

what other picking challenges am I missing?

Thanks, JJ

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#2

Well, one of the things I think I’ve seen in CtC, is you don’t necessarily need to be able to do ALL these motions to be an exceptional guitarist. There are definitely players Troy has analyzed who combine multiple approaches - Andy Wood being primarily a crosspicker on midtempo playing but transitioning more into downward pickslanting in his faster playing - but then you’ve got guys like Yngwie who just build their entire approach around a downward slant/upwards escape, and I don’t think anyone would say he’s been a less successful musician for not being able to crosspick, exactly. All or virtually all of those challenges are things he’s solved in a escaped upstroke universe, and the ones he hasn’t, he just doesn’t incorporate in his vocabulary. Limitations as a form of creative stimulus.

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#3

It really depends on the style of music, and there are so many different ways to tackle picking.
But for me, as a double-escape picker… I’ve loosely followed this:

  • 4 basic xfers ( Asc. Inside, Asc. Outside, Desc Inside, Desc Outside)
  • 2,4 NPS Asc/Desc (outs/inside)
  • 3 NPS Asc/Desc
  • circular 2NPS, 3NPS, 4NPS,
  • asc/desc 3’s,4’s,5’s,6’s… (1 & 2 notes at a time)
  • 1 NPS Asc/Desc
  • 1 NPS alternating adjacent. (outs/inside)
  • 2,3,2,3 patterns (ie blues scale) asc/desc/circular
  • 1,2,1,2 patterns (ie 7th arps) asc/desc/circular
  • 3 note repeating patterns (1,2 patterns, 3 string fwd & reverse rolls)
  • string skipping alternating (outs/inside) (single, double, triple)
  • string skipping asc/desc/circ (1,skip,1,skip,1)
  • mix & match all of the above
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Do we actually even KNOW how to get faster?