I'm a big economy picking fan. I think it's better than alternate picking in most cases, though not all. But economy picking is pretty pointless unless you do one particular thing, and a lot of people who are just getting into it miss it.
That thing is momentum.
What economy picking is for ▶ 0:51
The idea of economy picking is to reduce movement and save energy, so you can get through the strings more freely and more quickly. It's all about string changes.
Take a really basic idea: 5th, 7th and 8th frets on the low E string, then the 5th fret on the A string.
e|----------------| B|----------------| G|----------------| D|----------------| A|-----------5----| E|--5--7--8-------|
Alternate picking that would be down, up, down, up. To economy pick it, you go down, up, down, down. You pick down twice in a row because the pick is already moving downwards, towards the next string.
The mistake: two separate downstrokes ▶ 1:21
That only makes sense if you actually keep the momentum going. What I see a lot of people do is play down, up, down, down, but the two downstrokes are two separate swings. They swing at one note, stop, and then swing at the next.
At that point you're changing direction and changing momentum, which is the whole thing economy picking is supposed to avoid.
What it should look like is one movement. There shouldn't be any change as you go from the low E to the A string. When I play down, up, down, the pick is actually landing on the A string after that third note, because the momentum has carried it there.
At speed this is almost essential. If you go down, up, down, stop the pick halfway between the strings and then start again, you've killed the momentum that's the entire point of economy picking.
Exercise: let the pick land on the next string ▶ 2:11
You can build this up on its own:
- Play down, up, down on one string.
- Let that last downstroke carry on and land on the string below. Don't pick it yet, just rest there.
- Once that feels natural, pick the string you've landed on. Down, up, down, down.
Do it on any pair of strings you like. Once the movement is one continuous push, you can start to get really fast with it. If you stop and swing at the next string again, you're never going to get it that fast.
Practise it in the other direction too ▶ 2:38
It's very important to practise this coming back the other way, and it's harder. Play the 8th, 7th and 5th frets on the A string, then the 8th fret on the low E.
e|----------------| B|----------------| G|----------------| D|----------------| A|--8--7--5-------| E|-----------8----|
The same thing happens in reverse. You go up, down, up, and that last upstroke lands on the low E string. Then you go up again, straight through it.
I'm honestly not as good at this direction as I am going down. That's not a reflection of the technique, it's just my technique not being quite as good as it should be.
Move your arm, not just your wrist ▶ 3:15
One bonus tip. When you move across the strings, change which string you're on by changing the height of your arm, not just by turning your wrist.
If you pick through a scale and just rotate the wrist to reach the higher strings, the pick ends up at a different angle on each string. It sounds a bit funny, and you feel a different weight and sensation on every string. You don't want that.
Instead, the arm should just keep moving down through the strings as you economy pick, and draw back upwards as you come back. Then the pick stays at the same angle whichever string you're on. As a bonus, you can conveniently mute the thicker strings as you pass them, which is particularly important when you're playing with more distortion.
Control the speed ▶ 4:04
It's a simple tip, but it's hard to do. Pushing through the strings is such a fast movement that the technique can run away from you a bit. So, if anything, you have to learn to control the speed, which is the opposite of the usual experience on guitar, where you're struggling to speed up.
Take your time with it. Put on a metronome, play the two little phrases above in both directions, and make sure every double downstroke (or double upstroke) is one smooth push rather than two swings.
