Lesson Series: “0 To 60, An Introduction to Alternate Picking” - Lesson 94
LESSON #94 - Intense alternate/economy picking
Lesson Series by Todd Simpson
In this lesson we are going to complete our Trilogy of Intense Alternate / Economic Picking work that we started in Lesson 88. Each of these has used the same backing so all of the licks will work with that backing. And all these licks are in the key of A Minor. So you can use all of them to solo in A Minor agaisnt just about any A Minor Backing.
Let's warm up and get going!
FINGER YOGA!
Let’s do our usual Finger Yoga stretches. Here is a link to the video for references.
We are going to need our stretch and our speed today. Let's start with the stretch. We are going to dive back in to our "Tripeggios!". Here we go.
WARMING UP TO PREP FOR FINGER TORTURE
(The Warmup is actually also Part I ) Let's try our new Tripeggio pattern for today. It's our same Tripeggio shape form the other two in this series but we are adding a twist. Once we get the pattern down, we are going to play it twice and march it down the neck and try it on other strings. It will get really, really, really hard the further down the neck we go. Once we reach the firs fret, if you can pull this off, congratulations, you are there 
Let's work on a fairly complex descending pattern. It's in A Minor per usual.
EXTENDED "CRAZY" TRIPEGGIOS
Now that we have some muscle memory built up, we are going to use the modified tripeggio in key, as a solo lick with our backing track. First, let's look at the shape.
This can be played as a sort of sweep and hammer/pull off, or it can be picked. Let's try it both ways. So let's loop this, march it up the neck, and try it on other strings. This will work the living daylights out of your fingers and maximize your stretch. It will pay off by making your pinky much stronger and faster.
Once we get it up to speed, let's play it with our backing! You should be very familiar with our backing at this point.
DOWN BY FOURS
Let's give our fingers a tiny break and focus on a descending pattern called "Fours" or going down four notes, then back to what would have been the next note in a give scale. We are going to continue to use a Minor. Be sure to Palm Mute this and alternate pick it.
Let's double pick it if possible. And try it in different octaves.
Now let's attack the "Boss Level" so to speak. This is something we are going to try to play at a very brisk pace with our backing. First, let's just get the pattern down. This is a great workout for your alternate picking and will help your speed, accuracy, and palm muting. It contains a shape that will make you happy you have been working on your stretch!
This concludes our TRIPEGGIO TRILOGY! If you made it this far, you RAWK!
Todd
