John McLaughlin’s Alternate Picking Techniques for Guitar

Hi Guys,

Today, two exercises for building jazz fusion 16th note double timed improvised guitar lines.

This is applied in the way that guitar great John McLaughlin exploits his alternate picking guitar technique.

This is a “Line builder” that builds through connecting key concepts together and at the same time creating familiarity with them as you do so.

For Example:

The key is to connect them together in a melodic single note manner that is musical and at the same time logical for the alternate picking.

This exercise starts with an upstroke with an open E string on an “Up beat” [anacrusis].

This then employs an F Major arpeggio with a C to B note resolution.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

Straight away, it’s easy to hear the melodic content of the wider intervals of an arpeggio and the resolution.

From here we will now add some chromatic colour.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

To complete this phrase we will add the John McLaughlin scale. This slots in nicely to the chromatic scale that we’ve just applied.

It’s smooth, quick and creates that very fluid liquid line sound: Also, notice the offset of the rhythm.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

To descend, we will exploit the use of the semitone interval. This is easy for the fretting hand to sequence as it employs repetitive fingering and so is easy to cross the strings with. [The semitones are in the orange marker].

2nd part “Descending”

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

Finally, we finished with a CMaj9 chord that is then shifted up.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson-chords

This exercise is similar to the one above, but, in a different key and different chords.

As before, we start on an up beat with an upstroke. We employ the arpeggio, but, this time it is a suspended fourth with the A note moving down to the G note.

From here, we ascend and exploit the Bb note to emphasise the D Augmented chord. This is then rounded off by slotting in a fragment of our old friend the John McLaughlin scale once more .

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

We descend with a pentatonic fragment this time and once again exploit the interval of a semitone and sequence it. But, this time with the last 5 notes we also have the intervals of a tone a major 3rd and a minor 3rd.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

Finally, we cadence with the chords of E/G# [or E 1st inversion] that then raises the 5th to make it augmented. This then resolves to a hanging A9 chord.

john-mclaughlin-chords-guitar-lesson

IN CONCLUSION:

These are only exercises, but, they do show the melodic/musical nature of the improvised line in regards to alternate picking.

In the jazz fusion style, motifs, melodic content, chromatics, pentatonic’s, rhythmic offset, etc, all work to great effect as they all slot together creating sophisticated double time lines.

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Master the Robert Fripp Cross Picking Technique | Guitar Lesson

Robert Fripp Cross Picking Guitar Technique Lesson

Hi Guys,

Just a short blog to explain what I mean by employing the “Down Down Up” guitar picking technique.

If we look at the patten below we can see the “Down Down Up” Picking pattern:

fripp-guitar-cross-picking-lesson-example

This is a very useful picking pattern/device that will hold you in good stead: But the key is to employ it sparingly.

Why is this?

This is because sometimes the rhythms we see and sometimes feel can be different than our natural inclinations when picking/plucking the strings.

So, if we look below we will see that the picking hand/subconcious wants to pluck a group of 5 notes and 3 notes to make up the 4 and 4 groups of 16th notes.

This is because of the “Crossing” of the strings, the order of the notes or the way the actual groups of notes on the guitar fingerboard work out:

fripp-guitar-cross-picking-lesson-example

fripp-guitar-cross-picking-lesson-example

The other reason to put this “Down Down Up” into what would otherwise be an alternate picking pattern is because:

This can be because of one note that has to be played on a down or upstroke specifically otherwise the whole passage is awkward to play. So, to execute “Down Down Up” for that one part makes sense.

Below, is the full exercise that deliberately mixes up “Down Down Up” and “Down up” Alternate Picking”. It’s only an exercise [Larks Tongues in Aspic III Style] but, hopefully it gets the point across.

fripp-cross-picking-lesson-guitar-technique-tab
fripp-guitar-cross-picking-lesson-example-tab
fripp-guitar-cross-picking-lesson-example

This technique can also be found in Al Di Meola’s REH video from the 1980’s. Al di Meola employs this for chordal/Arpggeio Picking, [as does Fripp sometimes].

Again, if used sparingly this right hand picking pattern/technique is absolutely essential for this type of art/creative style guitar music.

Lastly, picking one note per string is way more difficult and precise than plucking standard 3 notes per string as there’s so much string crossing going on.

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Robert Fripp Guitar Picking Exercise for Unique Phrases and Patterns

Robert Fripp Guitar Picking Lesson and Exercises

Hi Guys,

Today, a Robert Fripp style Guitar Picking exercise that incorporates various Fripp/King Crimson guitar picking patterns.

These are angular, string skipping and awkward intervals that can be picked with either strict alternate picking or “Down Down up”. I employ alternate picking mostly, but, there are parts where I exploit the “Down Down Up” pattern purely because some string skipping intervals are too wide and awkward for alternate picking alone.

The first bar is quite awkward and so I “Float” with my right picking hand. This way I am not stuck in any one position and I can freely pluck the passage without any intrusions.

king-crimson-fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example

At this part of the bar you will notice the awkward string skipping part between the C and C# down to the E note. You will need to pivot with the fretting hand for this. [Please see video above for detailed info].

fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example-intervallic

The next bar is starting on an “Upstroke” with strict alternate picking:

fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example

The next Phrase is reminiscent of “Larks Tongues in Aspic III” by Fripp. Notice the C note to the open E string to the C# note. This connects the phrase nicely by breaking the chromaticism up and at the same time making it fluid.

robert-fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example

In the next part we can see how phrases might be counted or felt as groups of 5 or 3. [See video above]

crimson-fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example

To round the phrase off I employ a descending Eb Dominant pentatonic scale: This employs alternate picking starting on an upstroke. [I finished on the note F# purely becasue I like the sound].

fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example

The final part employs a 5/8 chordal picking vamp:

The picking pattern I use is : “Down down down up up” and “Down down up down up” with the plectrum.

fripp-guitar-picking-lesson-example

This was just an exercise/example by taking some King Crimson, Robert Fripp signature licks, patterns and phrases and making a little etude from them. This in turn creates some familiarity with the right hand picking in order to create patterns of our own.

Making your own patterns and coming up with your own original and unique phrases is the key rather than to just copy.

There are so many variations to exploit, which gives any player a mountain of material to work with. So, anyone can make some really original, colourful and interesting music from this.

Fripp-guitar-lesson