Economy picking or alternate picking: which should you use, and why? Honestly, it doesn't matter that much. That's the short version.
But there are real pros and cons to both, so let's go through them. Then I'll explain why I think the bigger lesson is that neither one really matters, and the one thing that does.
Alternate picking: the pros ▶ 0:41
Alternate picking is simple. You pick down, then you pick up, and you just keep alternating, whatever string you're on. The concept isn't hard to understand, so you can get practising pretty much straight away. There's no mechanics to learn first, you just have to do it.
It also seems to give you a bit more pick attack. You're consistently swinging the pick at the strings, so when I listen to aggressive alternate pickers they have a bit more snap in their tone. With economy picking you end up pushing through the strings a bit more, which gives you a softer sound. That's a choice, though. You can have that sound or not.
And even though I'm an economy picker, I actually switch to alternate picking on certain passages.
Pick slanting closes the gap ▶ 1:20
If you look into pick slanting, you can get some more efficient movement out of alternate picking. Troy Grady is the guy who I believe started this whole thing, and Ben Eller has a great lesson on it too. Done well, it gets you awfully close to the economy of movement that economy picking gives you.
I do find that with pick slanting you're constantly changing your pick angle, which feels a bit weird to me. You need to do that when you economy pick as well, but in my opinion it comes more naturally when you're pushing through the strings.
Economy picking: the pros ▶ 1:44
Economy picking is super efficient. When you change strings, you just pick in the direction you're already moving. Going from a lower string to a higher one, the pick carries on down through the next string, and going the other way it carries on up.
It also lends itself to sweep picking. If you want to get into sweeping, you're already half doing it just by economy picking.
Economy picking: the drawbacks ▶ 1:56
The first drawback shows up when you're playing something pattern-based that repeats. You'll quite often find that the first repeat gets picked one way and every repeat after that gets picked slightly differently, and that can throw things off. Some more rhythmic patterns also just feel more comfortable when you're alternating.
There's also a higher barrier to entry. You need to get the technique right, otherwise you don't get the efficiency benefits at all. You need to be really pushing through the strings rather than picking each one. Just because you're picking down, down, down across the strings doesn't mean you're being efficient. If your pick is coming away from the strings between each one, you're not being very economical.
Why I economy pick ▶ 2:30
Economy picking is my choice, but partly by luck. I was about 11, reading a Guitar Techniques magazine, and I just happened to stumble across the idea. I fell into it and kept using it. But the fact is, alternate picking can get you pretty fast too.
Pick one and commit to it ▶ 2:47
So here's what I'd suggest: pick one and work with it.
You could probably find a legitimate answer to which method is better. But there are guitarists at far higher levels than me who economy pick, and there are ones who alternate pick. How did they get there? They settled on something, did it a lot and mastered it.
So if you lean towards one, lean into it. I'm not saying be lazy and don't explore. You should definitely try ideas. But every bit of time you spend in limbo thinking "maybe I should do this, maybe I should do that" is time and mental energy you could be spending on your practice.
Option paralysis is very real, especially with so many lessons online telling you to do one thing, while another tutor tells you to do the exact opposite. It ignores the fact that playing the guitar a lot is the main thing that makes you a better player. If stepping forward is just a case of playing quite a lot, at least you've got your answer.
It doesn't matter which one you commit to. Commit to the one you like the most.
Or commit to the one your favourite guitarist uses. If you want to sound like them, picking like them is probably a good start.
The thing that does matter: pick angle ▶ 4:13
The one thing I would consider, whichever way you pick, is your pick angle. This is where that pick slanting idea is well worth a look.
If you're economy picking and pushing through the strings, but your pick is slanted the wrong way for that direction, you'll be catching every string the wrong way. The same goes for alternate picking. You don't want your escape angle wrong so that you end up catching the other strings on the way out.
So pick a method, and spend your energy on getting your pick angle right for it. Take a simple scale run, set a metronome somewhere comfortable, and keep an eye on whether the pick is clearing the strings cleanly as you cross them. Then just play loads.
