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Interesting topic of discussion. I've wondered these things myself. The alternate picking = bebop thing has turned into a bit of a guitar meme. In fact, it seems alt picking is better suited to more contemporary styles of playing (which may of course include bebop vocab.)
Anyway, I think it's good to practice both. I like the smooth, legato sound you can get with alternate picking. And then there's the downstroke on the beat, upstroke on the upbeat thing which I know a few guys do, and again they get a smooth, almost keyboard like sound.
With downstroke/reststroke picking you get more phrased feel though, I think. If that makes any sense. Some notes are louder some softer, and there's a bit of a bounce to it.
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03-13-2015 03:55 PM
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Originally Posted by monk
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Originally Posted by Jonathan Levin
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Well done(vid). Also nice tone from your guitar.
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This thread is fascinating. I appreciate all the different takes on things.
I'm not an expert on any kind of guitar picking, so I'm just listening for now.
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Originally Posted by christianm77
He also used hybrid (pick and fingers) style for his octaves playing,
He also liked to play chords with upstrokes, to emphasise the melody note in his voicings.
He also frequently picked single note lines with his right hand thumb, "for a laid back, Lester Young type sound".
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There's no doubt in my mind going down (or up) across the strings has a huge advantage since you've decreased the travel space for the pick. Playing arpeggios is where it really comes into its own and Frank Gambale lets us know that an electric is well suited to that technique. Where the alternate picking falls down IMO is 'down up' descending where you play down and then up on the string that sits above. I've never mastered that and don't bother trying since the pick needs to travel back up over the first string in a contra motion so you've already lost momentum. Up, up, down is the way to go but I never mastered that either so I just avoid those situations. So the gypsy method is probably superior for speed and arpeggiated playing. However, a lot of jazz uses intervals that means you have to skip a string and although I haven't tried a down stroke in these situations, I'd think alternate picking may be more efficient. You hear many players using hammer-ons and pull-offs and I often wonder if that is to compensate for the shortfalls of alternate picking, for effect, or just because picking is bind anyway.
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Originally Posted by vsaumarez
I think picking sounds better with hammer ons and pull offs. Picking itself can sound a bit dakkadakkadakkadakka. I wouldn't mind a bit more ligado in my playing, I think it would sound good.
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