Hey Friend,

Economy picking expands on alternate picking by incorporating downstrokes or upstrokes based on the next string you’re moving to. 

I’ve read that economy picking is the combination of alternate and "sweep picking," but based on what I know about sweep picking, I prefer to separate that as different style of picking. We’ll talk about “sweeping” in a future email.

The whole premise behind economy picking is to be as efficient as possible in the movements your picking hand is making.

The idea comes from the principle of “economy of motion,” where the aim is to minimize motion as much as possible. This helps to conserve energy and increases efficiency and speed.

We’ve all experienced hand fatigue while playing our guitars. Have you ever wondered how shred guitarists can maintain their timing and play an entire set of songs without burning out?

Stamina and practice, to be sure, but they’ve also learned to use picking techniques that allow them to play faster and more efficiently.

The idea behind economy picking is simple.

When you are playing notes on one string, you use alternate picking. If you need to play a note on a string physically below where your pick is, you’re going to use a downstroke to move to that string.

If the next note is on a string above where you’re playing, use an upstroke to get to that string.

For example, let’s say you’re playing notes on the sixth string (E).

Starting at the fifth fret on the A note, play frets 5 - 7 - 8 using pick motion of Down - Up - Down. You’ve played A - B - C.

To play the next note in the scale, you move to the A string (fifth) which is physically below the E string on your guitar, so your next pick stroke would be downward to play D on the 5th fret. The E note on the 7th fret would then be an upstroke.

If you were to then change direction in your riff where you wanted to play the C note on the E string, you continue the upward motion of your pick and use an upstroke on the E string to play the note.

So here’s the picking motion:

Pickstroke:  D - U - D - D - U - U

Notes:         A - B - C - D - E - C

See how your pick motion is dictated by the direction of the next string in the riff?

That’s why economy picking is also known as “directional picking,” a term coined by my former instructor Tom Hess. He believes “directional” is a more accurate descriptive word for the picking movement.

So whatever school of thought you subscribe to, economy and directional picking are essentially the same thing.

The end goal is to play each note with the least amount of movement and energy possible.

Tabs are forthcoming to better demonstrate this and give you something to practice. 

Gotta roll… time to go play in traffic… Have a great Friday!

Peace~

Dave