String skipping and tremolo picking

Two picking-hand skills extend what single-note lines can do. String skipping jumps over a string, giving wide intervals and octave shapes that sound fresh compared with running up a scale. Tremolo picking is very fast, steady alternate picking on one note, which sustains it like a mandolin or violin, and is used in surf, rock, metal and folk music.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Skip a string accurately without hitting the one in between.
• Play octave shapes across a muted string.
• Tremolo-pick a steady note and change notes without breaking the motion.

String skipping means moving from one string to a non-adjacent string, jumping over the one in between. Scale runs on neighbouring strings sound smooth and predictable; skipping a string gives wider intervals and lines that sound more surprising and more like a vocal melody. The challenge is accuracy: the pick has to clear the middle string.

A very useful string-skipping shape is the octave: a note on the low E string and the same note two frets higher on the D string (or A string to G string). The string in between is muted by the underside of the index finger, so you can even strum through all three. Melodies played in octaves sound thick and focused; it is a classic jazz and rock sound.

Tremolo picking is very fast, steady alternate picking on a single note, so fast that the note seems to sustain. It is how a mandolin holds a long note, and it is used in surf rock, metal, folk and film music. The secret is relaxation: a small, loose wrist motion and a light grip. Once the motion is steady, the fretting hand changes notes while the picking hand keeps going.

Clean skipping.

1. Play the low E string at fret 5 with a downstroke.
2. Arc the pick over the A string and play the D string at fret 5 with an upstroke.
3. At first make the arc exaggerated. As it becomes reliable, shrink the movement until it is barely visible.

The octave shape. Index on the low E at fret 5, ring finger on the D string at fret 7. Let the index finger lie lightly against the A string. Strum all three strings: you should hear only the octave A. Slide the shape to play a tune.

Tremolo. Rest the picking hand lightly on the bridge for stability. Hold the pick near its tip and alternate pick a single note from the wrist, in a movement no wider than a few millimetres. Start with even sixteenths, then gradually let it speed up.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Skip a string

  4 min · 60 → 90 BPM

  1. In A minor pentatonic box 1, play the low E string at fret 5, then the D string at fret 5 (skipping the A string).
  2. Then fret 8 on the low E and fret 7 on the D. Continue the pattern up the box, always skipping one string.
  3. Alternate pick: down on the lower string, up on the higher one.

  You have it when

  • You never hit the skipped string.
  • The skipping pattern is even at 80 BPM.
  I practised this one

• 2.Octaves

  4 min

  1. Index finger on the low E string at fret 5 (A). Ring finger on the D string at fret 7 (A, an octave up).
  2. Let the index finger's underside mute the A string. Strum all three strings: you hear only the octave.
  3. Play a melody in octaves: A, C, D, E using frets 5, 8, 10 and 12 on the low E, keeping the shape.

  You have it when

  • Only the two octave notes sound when you strum through the muted string.
  I practised this one

• 3.Tremolo

  4 min · 80 → 120 BPM

  1. On the high e at fret 5, alternate pick sixteenth notes for one bar, with a small wrist motion.
  2. Go faster, until the notes blur into one sustained sound, while staying relaxed.
  3. Keep tremolo picking and change notes on the same string every beat: frets 5, 8, 7, 5.

  You have it when

  • The tremolo sounds continuous and even, and the note changes don't interrupt it.
  I practised this one

String skipping: 60 BPM, two notes per beat, rising to 90. Tremolo: start with sixteenths at 80 BPM so it stays even, then let it go faster while staying relaxed.

• Hitting the string you meant to skip. Exaggerate the arc of the pick over the skipped string at first, then make it smaller as accuracy improves.
• Tensing up for tremolo. Use a small, loose motion from the wrist and hold the pick lightly. Tension slows you down and tires the arm.

Octaves are a classic jazz and rock sound for melodies; string-skipped phrases sound wider and more surprising than scale runs. Tremolo picking turns a simple melody into something dramatic. Take a melody you know and play it once in octaves and once tremolo-picked on one string.

Short version (10 minutes)

Skip-a-string through box 1, then one minute of tremolo on one note.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then play a four-bar melody in octaves, then the same melody tremolo-picked.

• String skipping: arc over the string, alternate pick, stay accurate.
• Octave shape: two frets up, two strings over, middle string muted.
• Tremolo: small, loose, fast alternate picking.
• Change notes without breaking the picking motion.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can play a string-skipping pattern through a pentatonic box at 80 BPM.
• I can play a melody in octaves with the middle string muted.
• I can tremolo-pick a melody on one string.