Pick Technique: Upstrokes and Swing

from: Advanced Flatpicking Guitar with Scott Nygaard

This lesson is part of the course Advanced Flatpicking Guitar with Scott Nygaard.

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Learn the essential techniques of bluegrass flatpicking guitar through classic and lesser-known songs and tunes, from bluegrass blues to old-time fiddle tunes to country swing sounds.

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Home Sweet Home

In Part 2 of the lesson on crosspicking, you'll learn the first part of Scott's arrangement of "Home Sweet Home," which mostly uses the traditional 3-3-2 roll. Since crosspicking is usually used to play song melodies, it's a good idea to learn the melody of a song before tackling a crosspicking arrangement, so Scott starts by making sure you know the melody to "Home Sweet Home" and then takes the arrangement apart phrase by phrase (or roll by roll).

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Pick Technique: Bass Notes and Upstrokes

Pick Technique: Downstrokes and Bass Notes

Pick Technique: Upstrokes and Swing

Upstrokes are important not only for flatpickers playing fiddle tunes and bluegrass solos, but for rhythm guitarists trying to lock in with the rhythmic feel of the people they’re playing with as well as for communicating how much “swing” a song has. Most bluegrass has some sense of swing, though at fast tempos it can be difficult to hear. Scott defines swing and shows you that the timing of the upstroke is what defines whether a song has swing or not.

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Temperance Reel, Part 1 →

Previous Lesson

← Pick Technique: Downstrokes and Bass Notes

Next Lesson

Temperance Reel, Part 1 →

Previous Lesson

← Pick Technique: Downstrokes and Bass Notes

Next Lesson

Temperance Reel, Part 1 →