Outside picking: a string-crossing exercise for guitar
Two strings, one note on each in turn, the pick going down on the lower and up on the higher, so it moves around the outside of the pair. Riffs and licks cross strings all the time, and crossing cleanly, without missing a string or catching an extra one, is what makes picking sound tidy. Outside is the easier direction for most players: learn it first, then the inside one.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 100 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 100 bpm
- Starts at
- 60 bpm
- Length
- 2 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
Down on the lower string, up on the higher one: the pick passes outside the two strings.
Each beat alternates between a note on the G string and one on the B. With strict alternate picking the downstroke always falls on the G and the upstroke on the B, so the pick travels around the outside of the two strings rather than between them.
Keep the motion a small arc: the pick should only just clear each string. The fretted notes change every beat or so, but the picking pattern never does.
Mistakes to watch for
- Swiping across both strings at once instead of picking each one separately.
- Catching the high E on the upstroke: make the arc smaller.
- Letting the notes ring into each other until it sounds like a chord. Lift the fretting finger slightly as you leave each note.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 60
- 65
- 70
- 75
- 80
- 85
- 90
- 95
- 100
That's 16 loops and about 2 minutes before you're playing at 100 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play String crossing, outside?
The goal is 100 bpm in 16th notes, which is 6.7 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 60 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What's the difference between inside and outside picking?
Outside picking means the pick goes down on the lower string and up on the higher one, so it moves around the outside of the pair. Inside picking is the opposite: down on the higher string, up on the lower, so the pick has to get in between them. Most players find outside easier.
Do I need to learn both?
Yes, if you alternate pick. Which one a line needs depends on where the string change falls, so the weaker one will keep showing up. Learn outside here first, then practise String crossing, inside.