Inside vs. outside picking

[SixStringSuicide]

Ive been working on my "inside picking" lately- for those of you unfamiliar with my choice of words, inside picking would be, for example, picking the low e with an upstroke, then hitting the a with a downstroke, hence "inside" the strings. anyways...this is a very uncomfortable tecnique for me. Is it an absolutely necessary thing to know? Is there any way to get by with out it, or would i be cheating myself? Any tips or excercises you guys use? Thanks.

[Ace]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

You can get by without it, I guess, but I am always in favor of trying new techniques. I think of them as different brushes that can be used to paint my picture. Or for us manly types, think of them as different tools. Yeah, maybe you can free that nut with a crescent wrench, but maybe a socket set is the right tool for the job. Ever try and cut down a tree with a coping saw? Or trim your nails with a belt sander?(I have) Anyways, the more options you have the better off you are.

[jgcable]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

Whatever blows your skirt up bro. Up and down strokes are a must for speed but you should use what feels most comfortable to you. Lots of players circular pick but that doesn't make them any better or worse than those of us up and down stroke pickers.

[delt]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

I'm trying to develop speed on "outside" picking. I always used to do mini-sweeps ("economy" picking) in these cases where you skip over the string you're -about- to play and pick it from the opposite direction.

Anyway outside picking is much less natural for me than inside picking, no idea why.... seems to be the other way around for most other guitarists. Even John Petrucci mentions in one of his videos that it's awkward for him to feel the pick is "stuck" between the strings when inside-picking.

A good exercise i found for this is: play 2 notes on one string, and 2 notes on the adjascent lower string, repeat this pattern using strict alternate picking starting with a downstroke. Then do the same starting with an upstroke.

[delt]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

Here's a simple but cool riff from Helloween's song "Immortal" that demonstrates what i just said:

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">----------------------------------|----------------------------------
----------------------------------|----------------------------------
----------------------------------|----------------------------------
--2-2-----2-2-----4-4-----5-5-----|-2-2-----2-2-----4-4-----5-5------
------2-2-----2-2-----2-2-----2-2-|-----3-3-----3-3-----3-3-----3-3--
----------------------------------|----------------------------------</pre><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

[MetalChef]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

I have a problem with inside picking too, and I have been steadly working to remove that problem.

It has not been easy, but I am slowly smoothing it out.

Just stick with it and keep working on. I think it's better to work out ANY problem you could have in your picking. It's just another thing that is stopping you from being able to play without thought.

Remember-the goal of having good, solid technique is to be able to play anything your mind can create without having to think about how to play it.

[delt]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

> I like the double-picking sound and feel.

With good technique, it shouldn't -sound- different if you do mini sweeps or alternate picking.

[fuel0707]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

Philosophically, why not learn different ways to pick? Of course, I think you'll find that you tend to gravitate to certain picking styles for certain situations but try them all out. Even if you don't end up using a certain picking style, you'll not know what works for you until you try it.

I must admit that I'm lazy, but with your excerpt from the Helloween tune, I've been working on a similar sequence (from Joe Stump's "Shred Metal Chop Builder" DVD) and I use a simple alternate picking (down-up down-up) pattern for each set of two notes. I like the double-picking sound and feel.

[joblo1978]

Re: Inside vs. outside picking

Inside picking is great for those 2 string three note triplets and just takes a little practice.

----21p17----21p17----21p17----21p17----
---------17--------17-------17-------17-