to bizarro or any other economy pickers

[nemesis]

hi everyone. i've just ended my recovery from a nasty bit of tendonitis and i think i'm ready to start practicing again. this time however and going to switch my picking technique over to economy picking and i was wondering if any of you have any advice or background about your development of with this style. to me its pretty much identical to alternate picking except i find my doing more inside than outside picking on a lot of runs. i'm thinking that if i break down the technique into more mechanical exercises( ex.inside picking,mini sweeps on 2 or more strings,sweeping scales,etc.) kind of like troy stetina does in his speed mechanics book that I might move faster towards making it feel more natural. Did anyone else have trouble trying not to think about picking direction and does anyone have any advice or artists i can look into for using this tech. to make more interesting licks.

[DanF]

As a jazzer I learned economy/sweep picking from Jimmy Bruno - check him out if you get a chance. http://www.jimmybruno.com

-Dan

[bagman]

Frank Gambale, Jazz/fusion uses waht he terms speed picking which is essentially economy picking. Wrote an instructional book with alot of exercises with scales, arps, etc.

[nemesis]

thanks for some quick responses guys. one of the things i want to avoid is the usual 3 note per string and basic arpeggio licks that are usually provided as an intro to sweeping. bizarro had some good ideas in his article but what kind of things were Gambale or Becker doing that made for interesting licks. i've tried finding tabs or lessons from gambale on the net but have only found things for his videos.

[DemonSorcerer]

Gambale also made a video clinic called Monster Lciks and speed picking...it covers all the basic 3nps patterns arranged to fit his economy pickin' theory...he created this formula for economy pickin' ya know??

David

[TheJeffinator]

The basics of economy as you probably know are just to use alterate picking with one twist - if you can play an odd number of notes on a string, do it - this enables you to 'recycle' your downstrokes, basically, and by continuing a down or up stroke across 2 or more strings you save a bit of motion. I'd say Frank Gambale is the authority on this one.
As for the 'usual 3NPS' licks, if you think your 3NPS licks sound 'usual', then make new ones. There's really no difference between the actual notes in any 3, 4, 5, whatever NPS scales, they're just in different places. If you don't want to sound like you're using 3NPS patterns (Oh, God, help me! I'm playing triplets and they just won't stop!), use them just like you would play other scale patterns. I could play a scale with 3 or 5 or 9 notes per string (nothing wrong with tapping with your thumb, folks) and they would all sound very similar - apart from differences in timbre as you go up the neck and on different strings, which has more to do with physics than with position playing - because all the notes are the same. So if you want to avoid 3NPS pattern hell, just treat those scales like you would another fingering of the same scale. There's no reason to make distinctions between them, they're the same notes wherever they're played, so if there's something you want (or don't want) to do, there's no reason you can't (or have to) do them with different scales. FG's video, which DemonSorcerer beat me to mentioning, is basically the Bible on this topic, except without the cryptic language and dubious stories. Feel free to PM me or anyone else you think might be able to help, but never forget that it's your playing and however the hell you want to make the notes come out is your deal - so long as it sounds good, rules are irrelevant.

Rock On,
The Jeffinator

[Sir Speedy]

Many people , use economy picking without really thinking about it unless they go out of thier way to play staight alternate picking , which actualy alot harder , and you get basically the same result .
i know cause i used to alternate pick everything , till i saw De Petro , Zakk Wylde , Michael Shenkner , Jake E Lee, and Tony Iommi play up close , and Realized they all used some form of economy picking .

Check it out ...

[nemesis]

thanks again for some replys guys and i love those kind of licks that sir speedy posted. great stuff for some quick flash. i think i might have to check out one of those frank gambale instructionals but which should i probably go for? and another thing; gambale doesn't just economy pick exclusively does he? i have a feeling that he only uses it for certain picking situations and alternate picks the rest of the time like other i-breathe members seem to do.

[TheJeffinator]

Monster Licks and Speed Picking goes completely through economy/sweep picking. His other video is primarily a workout, so I'd get the other one first. It's really good, but doesn't explain how to do it.

Rock On,
The Jeffinator

[Bizarro]

Economy picking is a tool. I don't use it exclusively, but it certainly is useful in many situations. I absolutely agree that you'll do more inside picking if you are an accomplished economy picker. It just works out better...

I find it extremely useful to be competent at both alternate and economy picking. If I were you I'd find a way to work on both.

The Paul Gilber lick is a great alternate picking exercise. So is your basic 3NPS stuff. These two exercises should keep your AP strong while you focus on EP.

Good luck! :)