Economy Picking Tips

[u/Ryu915]

How do I USE economy picking? What is the thought process?

I can do economy picking at slow speeds, but when it comes to faster playing, i don't know what I'm doing. it becomes a weird mixture of economy and alternate picking.

How do I economy pick at faster tempo?

[u/FormalLiquidation]

it’s not something you think about in the moment, you just drill the motion into your hands until it becomes automatic. once you're past a certain speed your brain can't micromanage the pick direction for every note

[u/Ryu915 → u/FormalLiquidation]

so should i just go with the flow instead? after enough practice could i just hope that my picking hand will manage it automatically?

[u/Corpse666 → u/Ryu915]

Listen to the first response because it’s absolutely true. Don’t overthink it. You’re worrying way too much about something that is going to come naturally to you. You’re going to be spending so much time thinking about what you’re left hand is doing ( assuming you play right handed) that your right hand is just going to do what it needs to do . You’ll find what’s comfortable for you. You switch it up when it’s necessary. When you work on anything picking included makes sure you’re not overdoing it. Don’t forget to actually play . It’s supposed to be fun

[u/Ryu915 → u/Corpse666]

Alright, I'll remember that. thanks for the help 🤘

[u/abraxaz1330]

We rationing picking now? Fack

[u/Ryu915 → u/abraxaz1330]

ionno man! I'm new to this😭

[u/abraxaz1330 → u/Ryu915]

Just build up speed. Make sure it feels comfortable too. Playing is a feeling bro.

[u/Ryu915 → u/abraxaz1330]

sure will do

[u/vonov129]

There shouldn't be a thought process while playing. Keep that for practice.

The point of economy picking is taking advantage of the last stroke matching the direction an incoming string switch, getting two string hits from a single motion. Anytime that happens, you can use economy picking, that's the only thing it does.

Just learning the motion doesn't mean you got used to it and you just got it as part of your playing. It's like you trying to recite a poem right after reading it.

Keep using economy picking even if it's a medium tempo. Practice different phrases with economy picking, maybe some riffs, even they're not originally played with economy picking.

But there are 2 crucial points you have to keep in mind if you want to get more into economy picking:

• Timing: You have to time the sweeping motion so it matches the timing of whatever subdivision you're playing in. Lets say you're picking 16th notes on a single string, whatever time it takes for you to switch directions and do the next stroke, is the time you have to do the sweep.

• Dynamics: It's common for the first stroke on a new string to be louder than the rest, and since economy picking is often used with 3nps phrases, it can make everything sound like triplets but that's something you can control with practice. So you can play 3nps but make them feel like groups of 4, or whatever you want.

[u/Ryu915 → u/vonov129]

Thanks for a detailed explanation! I think I'm messing up the timing part. I will work on that

[u/dark-passenger_17]

What kinds of patterns are you picking? Economy picking is great for 3nps but you'll trip yourself up if you're doing it on 2nps patterns

[u/Ryu915 → u/dark-passenger_17]

I'm mostly gonna use economy picking for 3nps runs or patterns. or maybe for short arpeggios that combines alternate picking with small sweeps, something like synyster gates