Hi Art. A good way to start cross picking is to think of it like a banjo roll done with the fingers. Form a C chord and then pick down on the 5th, and 4th. Use an up stroke on the 3rd. Repeat those notes..down, down, up. Then play a downstroke on the 4th and an upstroke on the 3rd. You come out with....543, 543, 43.

Although Doc Watson got a lot of people cross picking in the 60s, and Clarence White made it hip for young rockers to play bluegrass, one of the finest cross pickers was Hank Snow who apparently was doing it in the late 40s. Tony Rice is of course a great one but I love Norman Blake's feel. It's very relaxed. When Sandy Paton loses his tuner pouch he can become quite a cross...picker!