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Guitar Technique:
String Skipping and Crossing

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STRING SKIPPING AND CROSSING:

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Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers a viewers question...

From Mark: YouTuber; soblindwhobuddy

Q: Would you be able to do a video on string skipping like the sweep picking video, (which I found incredibly helpful). I know there are other people with string skipping videos on you tube but the way you do your lessons, they always come across really well.
Kind regards - Mark in U.K.

A:  When it comes to this technique I actually think of it in two different ways.

STRING CROSSING:
I think of, String Crossing Technique, as going between two different strings, while performing non-repetitive melodic lines.

STRING SKIPPING:
I think of, String Skipping Technique, as performing a repetitive pattern of notes for a riff in a song's section, (intro., verse or chorus melody. i.e., Sweet Child of Mine).

 

 

To develop this technique guitarists will have to spend a great deal of time working on left and right hand co-ordination. There are several pieces of music that I would recommend, including but not limited to;

- Cliffs of Dover / Eric Johnson
- Sweet Child of Mine / Guns & Roses

Guitar players like Paul Gilbert and Nuno Bettencourt have mastered this technique and for lessons by Gilbert check out his videos:

- Intense Rock
- Intense Rock II
- Terrifying Guitar Trip

String skipping is often used to play scalar passages known as Pedal Point riffs. Guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen have these concepts down to a science.

String skipping can be quite difficult to do, but if you nail it down you can create brilliant sounding licks and runs that can truly help your songs and solos stand out from the rest!

The PDF Document below contains a 3-page String Skipping handout covering several exercises

To Download > Right Click > Select: Save Link As