
Rethink your approach to pentatonic shapes by pushing the limits of your picking.
Advanced
Beginner
⢠Visualize different string groupings for pentatonic scales.
⢠Understand the basics of economy picking.
⢠Learn how to create lines in the style of Eric Johnson, Shawn Lane, and Joe Bonamassa.
When I first heard about economy picking, the simplicity intrigued me. The concept is relatively straightforward: After a downstroke, if you're moving to a higher string, you make another downstroke. If you travel to a lower string, that requires an upstroke. Many beginners often intuitively do this. It wasn't until a bit later that I adopted a regimen of strict alternate picking for scales and sweep picking for arpeggios. But the idea of economy picking echoed in my mind. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have one picking style that could fluidly transition from arpeggios to scales? As time went on, I explored players like Django Reinhardt, Frank Gambale, and George Bellas, and economy picking naturally found its way into more of my technique.
I want to preface this lesson by saying this picking option may be a useful addition to what you do, but not necessarily replace your picking style.
Picking can be related to drum sticking, where your upstrokes and downstrokes are similar to a drummer's right and left drum strokes. In a fill, the drum strokes aren't always going to alternate, and other sticking patterns are common to make the most efficient movement around the drum kit. For the audio examples here, I am playing everything on a nylon-string Martin 000C miked so that you can really hear the percussive attack, but the ideas in this lesson can be used on electric guitars and in any musical style.
Even early on in my economy picking exploration, I wanted to apply this technique to phrases built on pentatonic scales, which are typically played in a two-note-per-string (NPS), alternate-picking style. Consider this: Arpeggios are often associated with sweep picking, and they're often played in a one-note-per-string style. Major scales and modes typically use a three-note-per-string fingering. The examples presented in this lesson focus on combining these NPS numbers into what we'll refer to as "string groupings." All the examples in this lesson use the A minor pentatonic scale (AāCāDāEāG), so it should be familiar territory for you.
For Ex. 1, instead of playing the minor pentatonic as you commonly would with two NPS, we will play a string grouping that we'll call 2+1. That means we will play two notes on a string, then one on the next, and so on. Pay close attention to the picking directions here and think of it as a sweep picking effect, where the pick simply lands on the next string, ready to play it, without having to jump over it first or change direction.
As for the fretting hand, we'll use a bit of a rolling technique here: If two notes are played by the same finger on different strings, you roll your finger (from tip to pad or vice versa) to fret the next note. It's like a mini two-string barre chord, but the notes sound one at a time, rather than ringing out together.
Ex. 1
Ex. 2 has a different grouping: 1+1+2, i.e., one NPS, one NPS, then two. This will give us an even four-note phrase to ascend string sets, then descend. Also, notice how I tend to start with a downstroke but as the phrase continues, the next pattern starts on an upstroke. In the beginning, you have to really be mindful about the pick direction. But at some point, your hands will develop a synchronicity where your right hand naturally follows the notes that your left hand is playing. This requires less attention than alternate picking, and it allows you to just focus on the notes you're playing.
Ex. 2Ā
Next up is a five-note phrase based on a 2+1+2 formula (Ex. 3). I've always been drawn to the rhythmic accents that phrasing in five gives you over a 16th-note subdivision. Also, pay attention to the left-hand fingering where you roll your index finger across strings. You don't want the notes to ring into each other; instead, strive for a clean separation when transitioning from note to note.
Ex. 3
Ex. 4 features another grouping of five. This example is a string grouping of 1+2+2 NPS. This has a similar sound to licks by Eric Johnson or the late Shawn Lane. Although both these players mostly used alternate picking for pentatonic scales, they would use economy picking to play phrases consisting of odd groupings.
Ex. 4
Ex. 5 delves into playing patterns across four strings at a time. This one uses a string grouping of 2+1+1+2 NPS. Notice that there is a string skip as the pattern begins on the next string set. For that leap, travel in the pick direction of the leapāthis often yields two of the same pick directions in a row. Practice slowly and eventually this movement will become very natural.
Ex. 5
Now let's move into some three-note-per-string pentatonic scales. Ex. 6 includes all the notes of a pentatonic scale, but in a grouping of 3+1 NPS. This may be a bit of a stretch, but the sounds and sequenced patterns available in this approach are really captivating.
Ex. 6
One of the patterns achieved from this stretched-out pentatonic shape is found in a string grouping of 3+1+2, as shown in Ex. 7. Hopefully you can hear the smooth sound economy picking offers you. While you could play these same exact notes using two-NPS alternate picking, that would yield a different sound from how it's notated here.
Ex. 7
Now for a fun seven-note grouping: Ex. 8 uses a string grouping of 3+1+3. When you have an odd pattern of notes like this superimposed over a steady current of 16th-notes, it creates an interesting sound. Now, instead of isolating the ascending and descending versions, try playing each grouping up and then back down. Invent your own combinations!
Ex. 8
Since we have stretched to this wider scale shape, let's try it with some of the previous string groupings. Ex. 9 uses the three-note-per-string pentatonic stretch, but only plays the outer two notes. This example is with a 2+1 string grouping that gives you some interesting interval leapsāsome notes are far apart and others close together.
Ex. 9
Our last example (Ex. 10) uses a wider stretch in a 2+1+2 string grouping. It moves around vertically in its five-note phrase. Notice how this is more like arpeggio sweep picking than some of the previous examples.
Ex. 10
Take the ideas presented here and elaborate on them. Imagine these economy picking examples transposed into the four other pentatonic shapes and into other keys. Another approach I love to play with is side-slipping a fret higher or lower in and out of key. Also, instead of playing long streams of notes without pause, try isolating each grouping with sustained notes between them, or use different rhythmic subdivisions, such as triplets. One of the cool things about economy picking is how a specific combination of pick directions can yield a cascade of notes from one smooth movement. Happy picking.
This article was last updated on August 20, 2021
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Some of these are deep cutsāget ready for some instrumental bonus tracks and Van Halen III mentionsāand some are among the biggest radio hits of their time. Just because their hits, though, doesnāt mean we donāt have more to add to the conversation.
Naturally, every recording Eddie Van Halen ever played on has been pored over by legions of guitar players of all styles. It might seem funny, then, to consider EVH solos that might require more attention. But your 100 Guitarists hosts have their picks of solos that they feel merit a little discussion. Some of these are deep cutsāget ready for some instrumental bonus tracks and Van Halen III mentionsāand some are among the biggest radio hits of their time. Just because their hits, though, doesnāt mean we donāt have more to add to the conversation.
We canāt cover everything EVHāJason has already tried while producing the Runninā With the Dweezil podcast. But we cover as much as we can in our longest episode yet. And in the second installment of our current listening segment, weāre talking about new-ish music from Oz Noy and Bill Orcutt.
John Doe and Billy Zoom keep things spare and powerful, with two basses and a single guitarāand 47 years of shared musical historyābetween them, as founding members of this historic American band.
There are plenty of mighty American rock bands, but relatively few have had as profound an impact on the international musical landscape as X. Along with other select members of punkās original Class of 1977, including Patti Smith, Richard Hell, and Talking Heads, the Los Angeles-based outfit proved that rock ānā roll could be stripped to its bones and still be as literate and allusive as the best work of the songwriters who emerged during the previous decade and were swept up in the corporate-rock tidal wave that punk rebelled against. Xās first three albumsāLos Angles, Wild Gift, and Under the Big Black Sun-were a beautiful and provocative foundation, and rocked like Mt. Rushmore.
Last year, X released a new album, Smoke & Fiction, and, after declaring it would be their last, embarked on what was billed as a goodbye tour, seemingly putting a bow on 47 years of their creative journey. But when PG caught up with X at Memphisās Minglewood Hall in late fall, vocalist and bassist John Doe let us in on a secret: They are going to continue playing select dates and the occasional mini-tour, and will be part of the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in April 12.
Not-so-secret is that they still rock like Mt. Rushmore, and that the work of all four of the foundersābassist, singer, and songwriter Doe, vocalist and songwriter Exene Cervenka, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer D.J. Bonebreakāremains inspired.
Onstage at Minglewood Hall, Doe talked a bit about his lead role in the film-festival-award-winning 2022 remake of the film noir classic D.O.A. But most important, he and Zoom let us in on their minimalist sonic secrets.Brought to you by DāAddario.
Gretsch A Sketch
Since Xās earliest days, Billy Zoom has played Gretsches. In the beginning, it was a Silver Jet, but in recent years heās preferred the hollowbody G6122T-59 Vintage Select Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. This example roars a little more thanks to the Kent Armstrong P-90 in the neck and a Seymour Duncan DeArmond-style pickup in the bridge. Zoom, who is an electronics wiz, also did some custom wiring and has locking tuners on the guitar.
More DeArmond
Zoomās sole effect is this vintage DeArmond 602 volume pedal. It helps him reign in the feedback that occasionally comes soaring in, since he stations himself right in front of his amp during shows.
It's a Zoom!
Zoomās experience with electronics began as a kid, when he began building items from the famed Heath Kit series and made his own CB radio. And since heās a guitarist, building amps seemed inevitable. This 1x12 was crafted at the request of G&L Guitars, but never came to market. It is switchable between 10 and 30 watts and sports a single Celestion Vintage 30.
Tube Time!
The tube array includes two EL84, 12AX7s in the preamp stage, and a single 12AT7. The rightmost input is for a reverb/tremolo footswitch.
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Big Black Sun
Besides 3-band EQ, reverb, and tremolo, Zoomās custom wiring allows for a mid-boost that pumps up to 14 dB. Not content with 11, it starts there and goes to 20.
Baby Blue
This amp is also a Zoom creation, with just a tone and volume control (the latter with a low boost). It also relies on 12AX7s and EL84s.
Big Bottom
Here is John Doeās rig in full: Ampeg and Fender basses, with his simple stack between them. The red head atop his cabs is a rare bird: an Amber Light Walter Woods from the 1970s. These amps are legendary among bass players for their full tone, and especially good for upright bass and eccentric instruments like Doeās scroll-head Ampeg. āI think they were the first small, solid-state bass amps ever,ā Doe offers. They have channels designated for electric and upright basses (Doe says he uses the upright channel, for a mid-dier tone), plus volume, treble, bass, and master volume controls. One of the switches puts the signal out of phase, but heās not sure what the others do. Then, thereās a Genzler cab with two 12" speakers and four horns, and an Ampeg 4x10.
Scared Scroll
Hereās the headstock of that Ampeg scroll bass, an artifact of the ā60s with a microphone pickup. Doe seems to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this instrument, which has open tuners and through-body f-style holes on its right and left sides. āThe interesting thing,ā he says, āis that you cannot have any treble on the pickup. If you do, it sounds like shit. With a pick, you can sort of get away with it.ā So he mostly rolls off all the treble to shake the earth.
Jazz Bass II
This is the second Fender Jazz Bass that Doe has owned. He bought his first from a friend in Baltimore for $150, and used it to write and record most of Xās early albums. That one no longer leaves home. But this touring instrument came from the Guitar Castle in Salem, Oregon, and was painted to recreate the vintage vibe of Doeās historic bass.
āSometimes, Iād like very much for my guitar to sound exactly like a supa cobra.ā
Luthier Creston Lea tells us about his favorite dirt pedalāan Athens, Georgia-made stomp that lets his guitar be a hero.
Letās face it: Nobody can tell what overdrive pedal youāre using. Whether youāre in a carpeted suburban basement accompanying the hired clown at your nephewās fifth birthday party or standing on the spot-lit monitor at Wembley, not one person knows whether the pedal at your feet cost $17 or $700, has true bypass, or has an internal DIP switch. Nobody leaning against the barn-dance corncrib or staunching a nosebleed up in the stadiumās cheap seats is thinking, āHeavens yes!! THAT is the sound of a silicone diode!ā
So, why buy another overdrive pedal? Or six more? Are they different? (Iām asking myself.) Of course theyāre different. (Iām telling myself.) A Turbo Rat is not aKlon. ATube Screamer is not a DS-1. Or is it? I canāt keep track. Why? Because itās fun to see what the talented manufacturers of the world have to offer. And because any reader who picks up a guitar magazine for any reason other than to swat a fly is curious about whatās new and what other players are using to good effect. You can blow your savings on a guitarāIād be happy to build you oneāor an amp (or vacation or college or discount merlot or a regrettable whole-back tattoo), or you can spend $100 to $300 to satisfy your curiosity. Will anybody in the audience notice? Unlikely. Will you feel better for five minutes or the rest of your life? Maybe. Seems worth rolling the dice from time to time. Nobody gets hurt. And sometimes youāll find a pedal that pulls something good out of your playing simply by responding to the way you play ⦠which makes you play in new ways, etc., etc., in an infinite loop of delight. Or at least infinite till the next pedal comes along. It feels good. In a troubled and imperfect world, is it so wrong to feel good?
I bought my first overdrive pedal, a well-usedMXR Distortion+, for $25 in 1991. Surely, I could have stopped there. But many others have come and gone in the years since. Have I bought a pedal, sold it, bought it again, sold it again? More than once.
Iāve mostly, finally outgrown the desire for new pedals, but Iām not immune to the occasional itch. Sometimes a trusted brand introduces something I just haveto hear for myself. Thatās particularly true in the case of smaller-scale builders whose ears Iāve learned to trust. Iām going to like everythingChris Benson of Benson Amps or Brian Mena of Menatone ever makes, for example, so why not hear it all? Sometimes itās alluring copywriting that makes me reach for my wallet. Sometimes they just look cool.
Maybe in my case, I just canāt resist a name like Supa Cobra. Sometimes, Iād like very much for my guitar to sound exactly like a supa cobra. When Greer Amps first introduced their Supa Cobra six years agoādescribed as delivering āchewy medium gain overdrive to awesome crunchy grind!āāI was immediately intrigued.
Oh, how I love the Supa Cobraāa woefully underappreciated pedal now only available from Greer by special request. Iām sure there are smart players who have discovered the joys of its lower-gain settings, but for me itās perfect for punching through sonic mud and letting my guitar be heard. It lets my guitar be a hero.
I like it best with its 3-way clipping switch set to the middle position, which, according to Greer, bypasses the other modesā clipping diodes and lets the op ampās natural drive come through. I canāt say I know exactly what that means, but I know itās loud and clear and compressed in just the right way to let sustained notes really sing out in a natural, power amp-y manner.
The Supa Cobraās greatest feature may be the body control that dials in low-end presence without adding any murk. At higher body settings, the notes push on my chest in a way that I find thrilling. I like it around 60 percent with the gain knob turned nearly full up. Perhaps excessive, but life is short. When itās time to sound big, itās the biggest-sounding pedal Iāve found. Lots of overtones, but not at the expense of clarity. Itās quick to jump into harmonic feedback at the gain-y settings I like best, but in a beautifully controlled way.
As a matter of fact, I think people do notice what overdrive pedal Iām using. Not that they know itās a Supa Cobra, but it makes my guitar leap out in a way that so many other pedals have not. To borrow a word from Greerās Lightspeed Organic Overdrive (also fantastic), it sounds organic. Or, very much unlike a wasp in a tuna can. I think it sounds like music. Loud music.