Alternate picking trainer
Alternate picking trainer gives you exercises that build an even pick hand. The tab shows every note with its downstroke or upstroke. You can practice on one string, change between strings, play scales and sequences or move a fingering up the neck.
How to use it
- Pick a type of exercise, for example one string, scale or sequence. Pick a note value.
- Set the string and fret, or the scale, root and position for the scale exercises.
- Follow the tab: an open bracket is a downstroke and a V is an upstroke. The table below the tab is read out by screen readers.
- Pick a training mode and tempo. Start at a tempo you can play cleanly and raise it in steps.
- The session is saved in the practice log. Clean sessions that beat your record become a new personal best.
What is alternate picking?
Alternate picking is striking down and up in turn on every note. It is the base of fast solo playing and riffs because the hand never has to skip a stroke. Downstrokes land on the beats and upstrokes between them.
- Keep alternating even when you change string, or you lose evenness.
- String changes are what usually fail, so practise them separately.
- Start slowly with a click and raise the tempo in small steps.
How do I read the pick direction in the tab?
An open bracket means downstroke and a V means upstroke. The table under the tab is read out by screen readers, so the exercise can be followed without seeing the tab.
Frequently asked questions
Should I start with a downstroke or an upstroke?
Start with a downstroke. Downstrokes land on the beats and upstrokes between them. The tab shows the direction of every note, so you can follow it all the way. Keep the same motion through the whole exercise, even when you change string.
What does an order like 1-3-2-4 mean?
The numbers give the order in which the notes in a group of three or four are played. The order 1-2-3-4 takes the notes in sequence, while 1-3-2-4 jumps back and forth and is harder for the picking hand. Begin with the simple orders and switch only when they sit evenly at a calm tempo.
How do I practise string changes?
Choose the exercise with two or more strings. Keep alternating even when you change string. String changes are what most often fail, so lower the tempo until the changes are as even as notes on one string.
Why do my upstrokes sound weaker than my downstrokes?
That is common. The upstroke is often less controlled. Lower the tempo, keep the same pick depth in both directions and listen for even volume. Raise the tempo only when the upstrokes sound like the downstrokes. The click helps you hear whether the upstrokes land as exactly as the downstrokes.
Which alternate picking exercises are in the tool?
Exercises on one string, on several strings, with scales and sequences, with position shifts up the neck and with string skipping. The tab shows downstrokes and upstrokes for every note, and you practise freely, timed or with repetitions.
How long should I practise alternate picking each day?
Ten to fifteen minutes with full concentration is enough. Choose one exercise, keep a tempo where downstrokes and upstrokes sound the same and raise the tempo in small steps. Ask yourself after every repetition whether it was clean.
Related tools
- Tremolo trainer: Practise tremolo picking with eighth notes, triplets or sixteenth notes on one or more strings.
- String skipping trainer: Practice jumps between strings with fixed patterns and interval jumps on a scale.
- Speed trainer: Raise the tempo step by step, with timed rounds or clean repetitions.
- Metronome: Click or drums with a bouncing ball, step sequencer, spectrum, fullscreen and tap tempo.
- Gallop trainer: Practice typical metal rhythms: gallop, reverse gallop, triplets and syncopation, at your own tempo.
- Timing analyzer: Measure how close to the click your notes land, using a microphone or audio interface. The audio never leaves your device.