Hey guys! I decided to break down some cool economy-picked licks. Economy picking is a great technique to aquire in your repetoire of shred-tastic abilities, so take your time and make sure to pay close attention to the picking-direction details given in the provided tablature.
Economy Picking Fundamentals
To get down to the nitty-gritty, and explain the reasoning behind economy picking, things are quite simple. From simply being able to play licks more "economically" that may be difficult other-wise, down to a difference in pick attack and tone, the technique is very practical. Often used for covering wider intervals in shorter amounts of time, it's also a very common technique for more scalar ideas that could be other-wise alternate picked. It seems, for whichever reason, most people seem to think you either do one or the other. Well I say, why stick with one when you can be awesome at both? The more techniques you have under your belt, the more ready you'll be when you're put in situations where you're working outside of your comfort zone. Given in this introductory video is a quick example highlighting the technique and making it obvious for everyone to be on track with regards to what the technique actually is.
Descending Am Scale (Triplets)
This one is a very rudimentary economy-picking excercise that I often teach. It's a very benficial type of excercise for grasping the over-all use for economy picking, even if it might seem easier to use alternate picking (should that be what you're more used to). Note that the scale begins with a down stroke, and then each string transition after-wards happens with the use of two up-strokes.