Rock
String Skipping
By GREG HARRISon
Sequences for Wide-Interval Guitar Shredding
In this lesson, we’ll take a look at “string skipping” techniques.
String skipping can add more color to standard licks by automatically introducing wider intervals. It also offers new insight into the
layout of the fretboard, and opens a few more creative doorways.
While string skipping is essentially a simple concept, there are a
few obstacles to overcome. First, your fret hand has to be extremely accurate and work to mute all unwanted noise. (The picking hand
has to “jump” over one or more strings, hindering its ability to
mute.) Secondly, your pick hand’s movement should be as economical as possible to insure both lightning speed and precision. Keep
these things in mind when working through this lesson and you’ll
excel fairly quickly with minimal frustration.
We’ll start with a string-skipping exercise that’s played exclusively
on the G and high-E strings. Using the C major scale as a catalyst,
the example starts with a pick/hammer/hammer legato move on
the G string, followed by three picked notes on the high-E. The
pattern is then reversed, with the legato line (pick/pull/pull) on the
high-E string, and the picked notes on the G string; this back-and-forth sequence follows through the entire example. Experiment
with different picking directions (outside picking, alternate picking,
economy picking, etc.) until you find the one that suits you.
