Crosspicking Guitar

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: Stringsinger
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 04:15 PM

I think there are two distinct cross-picking styles. One is an accompaniment style where you play a bass note, then followed by an up-picked chord on an alternate eighth note.
It can be inserted into a standard picking accompaniment for trad or bluegrass. If you employ this with "down-on-a-bass-note and up-on-the-chord", you have a down-up pattern with the pick.

The next "crosspicking" has to do with solo style or fancy runs or fills. Here, the "down-down-up" technique is used to simulate a banjo style roll. A good jazz guitarist can also use an up-up-down technique to run triplets or crosspick the strings. Django used this
on ascendant diminished chords up the neck on three top strings. Sometimes, you glide
the pick over the strings on a "down-down" without using a separate stroke on each "down".

As Rick pointed out, there are many ways to do it.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 04:23 PM

I use a system derived from the way I play Irish tenor banjo,same string down up,adjacent strings going up in pitch down down,adjacent strings going down in pitch,play between the strings.

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 11:06 PM

I picked up this thread by accident when i keyed in "whaling" in the search box. I do like these random finds!

Read all the way down the thread hoping somebody would post a link to show what the cross-picking technique actually looks like. From the detailed notes that come out, I'd assumed it must be a finger-picking style.

Thanks, Murray, for the two links above. I've been figuring out Norman Blake's Church Street Blues for finger-picking on twelve-string, nice to hear an alternative rendition.

And Dick - playing between the strings? I'll have to look out for that at Glasson Dock!

Ross

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 10:45 AM

I would tune my guitar like a tenor banjo, for flat picking irish tunes.daddae,OR DGDDAE 6 TO 1,and just use tenor banjo picking techniques.Which works fine for irish tunes and still involves crosspicking,for jigs I generally use ,Down on ist and fourth beats,either ddu ddu or dud dud,occasionally [lark in the morning]I start udd udd[That is an example of crosspicking,but not the G Shuffler Type].Dick Miles

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 10 Mar 08 - 09:24 AM

The following Youtube clip featuring Brad Davis's "double double down up" technique should give crosspickers something to think about.

Brad Davis demo

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: The Sandman
Date: 10 Mar 08 - 11:18 AM

Tunesmith,thanks thats very useful.Dick Miles

Subject: RE: Crosspicking Guitar
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 10 Mar 08 - 01:36 PM

Here's an interesting lesson/feature on crosspicking.

crossing picking lesson