Crosspicking ( also referred to as "string skipping" )

Crosspicking guitar has roots that date back to the Wild West. A plethora of many styles, artists, and instruments utilize the technique of crosspicking, especially in country music. Since the guitar itself dates back many centuries ago, there have been many different approaches to playing the guitar. Usually the style of music relevates the approach to the sound you want.

The guitar has usually been categorized as an added instrument when using the crosspicking genre. Many times a guitarist will fail when they need to play a solo piece with a crosspick unaccompanied by anything else. In this case, yes, with a crosspick style, chordal accompaniment can be used. In spite of its ability as a lead instrument, the guitar has always been forgotten as a crosspicking solo instrument. There are very few crosspicking artists that can carry the guitar's own harmonic support while still playing a crosspicking lead line. Doc Watson, however, really uses the crosspicking method at its best.With applied crosspicking technique, the guitar becomes a forceful picking solo instrument that can fill a room with really cool melodies. As it is similar to the banjo, crosspicking guitar doesn't pause much. A continuous succession of notes establishes the melody while filling in all of the spaces with harmony notes. Not only does the guitar support itself, with spaces filled harmonically, but crosspicking technique works effectively for supporting other lead instruments and vocals.

You say, "well, that's great, but how do you focus on a new technique when you are so used to playing the same way over and over?"

There are many approaches to playing the guitar. The more you can learn about your chosen instrument, the closer you come to realizing your musical sound and aspiration. Whether you play the guitar as a fill or instrumentalist, your cache of licks, chords and techniques is what you depend on. If you haven't already, once you've incorporated crosspicking into your forte, you'll wonder how you've played so long without this cool style

To become oriented in the task of learning crosspicking, you must set short-term goals. Reward yourself with the sense of accomplishment that follows after mastering a crosspicking exercise or arrangement. And, don't let anybody tell you that crosspicking is easy. There are times when you will hit the wall and feel like you're not getting anywhere fast. Your best strategy in this case is to go back over what you've learned up to this point and keep on practicing. Before long, you'll find yourself smoothly moving forward to other goals.

There are as many ways to position the right hand as there are guitar players. Many of the positions limit the right hand from moving freely. This restricts the playing capability of the right hand and will limit speed and dexterity. With crosspicking, it is critical that the right hand is loosely positioned above the strings so that it can move completely free of any obstruction. For instance, many guitar players rest the heel of the hand on the bridge; this restricts the right-hand picking movement and does not allow the hand to take advantage of playing closer to the fingerboard for a mellower tone. Crosspicking technique can be accomplished efficiently by keeping the wrist loose. Imagine trying to jump from string to string for every other note with a stiff wrist. Although, it can be done, your whole forearm has to move for every note; whereas, with a loose wrist, the movement is much more concentrated and can be easily accomplished with minimal movement. The forearm does not need to be completely stationary, in fact, by playing with both a loose wrist and forearm you'll have optimal movement for speed and efficiency.

Begin the first lesson: "Forward Roll Patterns" here