on technique [part1]

This is a short article that will get you started with improving your picking technique.

since i did not learn a proper picking technique from an early age on - my first instrument was the piano - this was one of the toughest issues for me.
i took me a long time to figure out the few methods that really produced the results i wanted.
let me share one of these methods with you.

- inside/inside and outside/outside picking

when applying alternate picking to two or more strings there's two movements your right hand will execute: inside/inside and outside/outside picking. so this is the movement you ultimately will have to practice if you aim at increasing your overall picking speed and developing technique.
here is how to properly practice this:
take a pair of strings and apply inside/inside picking for about a minute at a low picking speed. when the minute is over move on to the next pair of strings and apply the same procedure. when you're done repeat the whole procedure but this time apply outside/outside picking.
Doing this takes as little as 15 minutes of practice a day.
Do this over a longer period of time f.E. over a year constantly every day without fail and you will see a tremendous increase of your picking speed. You'll see first results after about 4 weeks.

This is by far the most effective exercise on developing picking speed that i've come across, and i have tried a whole lot.
other exercises like playing scales up and down the freboard in different fashion are useless in comparison. This is extremely effective especially if you're considering the very small amount of time you have to invest.