2.3 Guitar Pick Strokes, UP as well as Down

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This is another really important point that really needs emphasis. Self-taught guitarists often fall into the trap where they only use down strokes with their pick for the first few years. You should get used to both up and down strokes right from the beginning as it is crucial if you want to play faster songs. In the previous example (1.5 How to Read Tabs), the picking would be:

Guitar Pick Strokes

The picking is shown above the tab in this illustration. It shows the picking direction for each of the notes. Just to clarify things, a down stroke is defined as plucking the string away from you (towards the bottom of the guitar) and an up stroke the exact opposite.

The picking pattern is often not shown in tabs so it is up to you to determine what it should be.

| 2.2 Form a Band | Back to Free Guitar Lessons | 2.4 Use a Metronome |