Barry Greene Video Lessons

Barry, I notice that you generally alternate pick. I can tell when you play double time, you use that technique exclusively. However, I also notice when you are playing lines with more space, you're all over the place. Economy picking, and even multiple upstrokes in a row. Is that just a feel thing where you've broken the conventional rules over time? I guess the upstroke thing is what I find most interesting because sometimes players use multiple downstrokes for dynamics, but upstrokes are kinda weird.

You also do the thing where your index finger goes behind the nut and you play the first fret with your middle finger when you're playing lines with open strings. A little muscle memory trick that limits your coverage, but keeps your fingerings consistent.

Barry’s picking style has sent me back to my roots, how I learned. Being left handed (playing right), I concentrate on my right hand. What initially got me out of strict up/down was playing Hendrix. Then I went off on learning sweep picking and other “tricks”; organizing lines to switch strings on downstrokes going down, upstrikes going up. Then I got a Joe Pass book that said “Change strings on a downstroke , because it provides more emphasis.” Joe didn’t do that all the time; he could play any way he wanted. There is no “wrong way”, make music.
That said, I have improved my speed and accuracy by playing Barry’s back cycling exercises. Interesting how the 2 & 4 accents are consistently on the downs or the ups, depending on where one starts. Forcing two string jumps in time is excellent practice for me, and helps me maintain a feel, which I get lost with sweep picking.

Thanks Barry.

My picking sucks, not sure why I can't seem to improve. The pick always gets what I call caught on the strings. I kind of like the way George Benson pics and I've seen a bunch of youtube lessons on it but its very odd to me. But basically I think he holds the pic up and down next to the strings instead of traditional So hes kind of picking with the side edge of the pic, at least that's what these youtube lessons claim

two different topics here. one is how you move from one string to the next (economy vs. alternate) and the other is the angle of the pick against the strings and how you position your hand. I'm going to guess the median age of this group to be about 45. Father time has a lot to say about trying to reinvent your picking style at that age. If I were 15, I might look at the most effective technique to use to improve my dexterity. At this age, I don't kid myself. I may pick up a few bpm over time, but picking technique is far down the list of my deficiencies. The Benson thing is dramatically different than they way I play, so I'll be dead before I could reap the rewards from that kind of change. I will say that it does seem to be of interest to many folks across different message boards.

Barry-when you are alternate picking do you keep the pick height the same and then power through strings when skipping strings or are you slightly lifting the pick to cross over the strings? When I watch your videos it appears the pick always stays at the same height but it is hard to tell because you are sooo fast. Thanks. Tom