Picking

Devon8822

I am NOT going to buy this book not knowing what gypsy picking is or if I want to pursue it. Before I make such a decision I want to have a basic understand of what exactly is done for the rest stroke, I have no idea which way you move the pick to play this... is it all downpicks? Is it all alternate? is it all economy? WHAT IS IT? I dont understand which way you pick moves, I need to know what exactly is done atleast before I try and get a book, because I am not going to get a book just to decide that I don't want to learn it.

Please, its not hard, I dont see why someone cant type a sentence telling me which way to pluck. how about this... a 3 note per string major scale in A... I would normally altenate pick it, so it would be down, up, down, up, down, up... For economy picking it would be down, up, down, down, up, down, down... For gypsy picking rest strokes... how would the same thing be picked?

BluesBop Harry

It was all right here already:

Bones wrote:

Alternate up and down picking on the same string.
Every time you change strings use a down stroke.
Pick into the strings on a down stroke so that the pick comes to rest on the next string (I think that's what they mean by 'rest' stroke).

So for your 3-note-per-string scales: DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD Going back: DUD (or DDU) DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD Assuming you want to pick every note.

-All downstrokes are reststrokes.
-Almost all the downbeats are downstrokes.
-"Alternate up and down picking on the same string.
Every time you change strings use a down stroke."

If you dig around this section of the forum you should be able to gather enough info.
As I said in my first reply to your post, whether you should learn this technique or not depends on how serious you are about sounding "authentic" in Gypsy jazz, if you're just into it for light kicks it's probably not your while, if on the other hand you really love this music learn how to gypsy pick.

Devon8822

I figured out on my own that it is essentially, economy pick while ascending and it is alternate pick up except always a downstroke when changing strings. I would think that this would allow for plenty speed ascending but fery slow while descending...

BluesBop Harry

Some principles are similar to economy picking but gypsy picking uses a particular motion and hand posture.

Devon8822 wrote:

but fery slow while descending...

Just check out Jimmy Rosenberg to contradict that!
Or this:
Stochelo Rosenberg (Listen around 1:15 and 1:50)


I seen Stochelo and other players play faster but this should be enough to prove that you can play fast with gypsy picking... and the tone! That's what this technique is really good for as well as volume and minimum muscle fatigue.