Acommon question advancing flatpickers have is how and when to play up the neck. In genres like blues, rock, and jazz, the answers are somewhat intuitive because those styles primarily use closed shapes that feel natural to move around. But in acoustic flatpicking, things are a bit more nuanced. The essence of flatpicking is rooted in the open position, so moving up the neck must be done in a way that doesn’t betray that sound. I like to think of up-the-neck passages as brief departures that typically start and end in open position. The previous two Pickin’ columns give nice examples of these types of passages. In this lesson, you’ll look more deeply into another.
“Salt Creek” is an old favorite tune that can be heard at any bluegrass jam. The arrangement through bar 17 shows how this tune is commonly played on guitar. It utilizes open strings, slides, and slurs, and the B section requires a substantial fretting-hand stretch. This arrangement is mostly based out of open position, and as such it has that classic flatpicking sound.
I’ve also included an alternate way to play the B section in a closed, up-the-neck position that avoids the fourth-finger stretch. This is nearly the exact same melody, but in a higher position it takes on a different quality. It has a warmer tone, and playing across three strings offers more connectedness between melody notes compared to mostly moving along the first string. The only difference is the added D at the end of the second and sixth bars, a drone note that can be sustained underneath the following passage and can’t easily be done in the lower register. This alternate approach isn’t necessarily better sounding or easier to play—it offers its own set of advantages and challenges, and it’s up to each player to decide which approach they prefer.
Back Up And Push
Notice how the last measure uses the open second string to leave the closed position and drop back down the neck. This “escape note” is critical when moving along the neck so that there are not audible gaps when changing positions. One other point worth mentioning: when playing with a band, a guitarist usually needs to start playing rhythm immediately after their solo. Dropping back down to open position at the end of the passage helps create a seamless transition into accompaniment mode.
Try both versions of the B section and see which one works best for you. Even if you end up choosing the first approach, learning the alternate can help with understanding the neck a little better. If you wish to explore the fretboard even more, try working out the A section—or another fiddle tune you may know—in a closed position. You’ll probably find that playing a whole tune in that manner doesn’t sound the best, but maybe a brief passage up the neck is the exact thing a piece needs in order to reach its full potential.
Alan Barnosky is a guitarist based in Durham, NC. He performs solo as a songwriter as well as in bluegrass and folk bands.Definition: Crosspicking is a technique for playing the guitar or mandolin that involves using a flatpick to pick a group of three or more strings in a pattern that repeats. The crosspicking style is best known as an element of the flatpicking style in bluegrass music, and when played on guitar, it sounds very similar to the “rolls” that you hear from a banjo player. Crosspicking is essentially the guitar version of the fingerpicked banjo roll.
Shady Grove Guitar Tabs
There are several crosspicking songs that you’ll hear at bluegrass jams all the time. Learn how to play some of the best songs for bluegrass crosspicking with our crosspicking guitar lesson videos. Each crosspicking guitar lesson comes with a complete lesson video and guitar tablature.
Crosspicking was introduced on acoustic guitar in the 1950s by Stanley Brothers guitarist George Shuffler. Shuffler developed this technique to use for playing backup fills and lead guitar. Other well-known crosspickers in the bluegrass genre include Doc Watson, Clarence White, and Tony Rice.
A traditional bluegrass crosspicking pattern is based on groups of three eighth notes. In 4/4 time, one measure consists of eight eighth notes, and as a result, three-note crosspicking patterns don’t fit evenly into a 4/4 measure. To build a complete one-measure pattern, guitarists often pick through a three-note grouping twice and then add two more eighth notes on the end. A common crosspicking pattern over a C major chord, by string number, would be 4-3-2, 4-3-2, 4-2.
Bluegrass Guitar Tablature By Eric Beaty
Guitar and mandolin players in bluegrass typically use two primary crosspicking patterns — the forward roll and the backward (reverse) roll. A forward roll is when you pick across a group of strings from lowest to highest in pitch. Many would consider a three-note forward roll to be the most common crosspicking pattern used in bluegrass music. A backward roll is when you pick across a group of strings from highest to lowest in pitch. Practice your forward and reverse crosspicking rolls on guitar over a basic bluegrass progression using two examples tabbed out below.
The direction you pick the strings when crosspicking a standard three-note roll is a personal preference. Many guitar players prefer a down-down-up, down-down-up, down-up pattern. This method closely mimics the traditional banjo roll. The other common technique is a strict alternate picking pattern of down-up-down, up-down-up, down-up.
These two picking patterns have a slightly different feel to them — the “down-down-up” pattern sounds fairly smooth and fluid while the alternate picking pattern tends to sound a bit more dynamic as each downstroke and an upstroke produces a slightly different tone. Try out each of the practice progressions below and see if you can tell a difference in sound.
Guitar Lesson: Use Bluegrass Flatpicking To Add Excitement To Your Accompaniments
Guitar and mandolin players in bluegrass typically use two primary crosspicking patterns — the forward roll and the backward (reverse) roll. A forward roll is when you pick across a group of strings from lowest to highest in pitch. Many would consider a three-note forward roll to be the most common crosspicking pattern used in bluegrass music. A backward roll is when you pick across a group of strings from highest to lowest in pitch. Practice your forward and reverse crosspicking rolls on guitar over a basic bluegrass progression using two examples tabbed out below.
The direction you pick the strings when crosspicking a standard three-note roll is a personal preference. Many guitar players prefer a down-down-up, down-down-up, down-up pattern. This method closely mimics the traditional banjo roll. The other common technique is a strict alternate picking pattern of down-up-down, up-down-up, down-up.
These two picking patterns have a slightly different feel to them — the “down-down-up” pattern sounds fairly smooth and fluid while the alternate picking pattern tends to sound a bit more dynamic as each downstroke and an upstroke produces a slightly different tone. Try out each of the practice progressions below and see if you can tell a difference in sound.
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