Flat Pick Down and Up as Needed or Constantly Alternate

Many guitar players may be interested in learning very early in the process of learning to play the guitar that there is a bit of controversy about the use of a flat pick. You might at first think that this is based simply on the brand of the pick you select to use and there is certainly debate which is best. Thin picks are flexible and this flexibility seems to give a little extra kick to the process of flat picking, but they can break more easily. Heavy plastic flat picks can produce a strong sound and don't break so easily.

No matter what kind you like, you should get several, they do tend to get lost. Some guitarists hold one in the strings, some put one or two inside the body of the guitar, but they are sometimes hard to get out and they may rattle a bit as you play. It is probably best to simply keep them in your guitar case. The most important point however may be the actual pick pattern.

You can pick a string or strum a chord with a down stroke or an up stroke. Most guitarists realize that chords sound different when played downward from those that are played upward. Typically down strokes may be indicated by a down arrow or "d" and the upstroke by an up arrow or "u". Other marks are used at times. A pattern like this might be a common pattern.

.C...........Am..............Dm..........G7..etc.
d..u..d..u..d..u..d..u..d..u..d..u........etc..
1..&..2..&.3..&..4..&..1..&..2..&.......etc..

Because down strokes sound different than up strokes they can be used to create a great deal of variation in the patterns used in a song. This means that not only are the chords changing in a song, but the pattern of up strokes and down strokes may also change the character of the progression of chords. In this article however, emphasis will not be placed on this variation, but instead on the down and up strokes of single notes.

It stands to reason that if down strokes for chords sounds different than up strokes for chords then down strokes for notes and up strokes for notes may also sound different, but then you may think that because only one note is played, then perhaps it is not different. The truth is that there is possibly a very slight difference that is caused by the different firmness when the pick pressure is on the thumb side of the pick as opposed to the finger side of the pick, but this is not the main difference. The main difference may result from a very subtle difference in timing. When you pick in a down up pattern constantly, you have a rather uniform time between strokes with the pick. The problem that arises is that most guitar players when shifting from one string to the next may simply drag the pick down to the next string which in effect causes two down pick stokes in a row. Because this is easier, it tends to be slightly quicker. If however, you had just completed a down stroke with the pick of a single note and then, no matter what string you went to next, played the next note with an up stroke, this would force you to spend a very slight amount of extra time to get into the proper position to complete an up stroke.

Some guitar players feel that absolutely constant up and down strokes is essential to maintain consistent timing. Some feel that the movement from one string to the next does not require a constant up and down stroke pattern. Each will have an effect on the process and this difference can affect your pattern of playing. If you are a player that drags from one string to the next you may partially abandon some melodic patterns that you would use if you were instead a perfect alternating up and down picker. On the other hand a perfect up and down alternate picker might get the timing so precise, that they may sound a bit mechanical in their approach to music.

If you have ever heard of a guitar player being called a great "technician" this could be referring to similar aspects of technique in the process of playing music. Music must convey not only the notes, but also the feeling. This does not mean that you should think that playing the way you want causes you to cause the music you play to have more feeling. Great technicians, can put feeling into their music. Sometimes they have to work at getting the feeling back into their music after they have mastered the technical challenges of the music.

Much more about strum patters and single note patterns still needs to be covered, but this one is important because once you have learned to be a drag pick guitar note player, it is hard to change to an absolute up and down pick player. This may only become significant if you want to become a professional guitarist, but think about it now rather than later.

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