Before we get into this post, I’d like to say that most discussions about the technical side of guitar playing are liable to set off the Finbarr Saunders within you. If you find yourself unable to read the phrase “right hand technique” without sniggering, I suggest you skip this article.

I read this post about alternate picking with interest; I use economy picking a lot, particularly if the passage is too fast for me to play “properly” (whatever that means). I noticed that I also do a similar thing when playing bass, for example using the standard guitarist’s warm-up exercise:
...1.&.2.&.3.&.4.&.1
G -8765-------------
D -----8765---------
A ---------8765-----
E -------------8765-
...imimmimiimimmimi
Rather than strictly alternating index and middle fingers, I’m raking the notes when changing string. The advantage of this is speed, but I have found that this is at the expense of accuracy, because I’ll usually slightly rush the second note if it’s played by the same finger. I decided to experiment and forced myself to play with strict alternation, even to the extent that if a groove started on an “ee” or “ah” I’d begin with my middle finger, effectively never breaking the alternating pattern. For example, in “Reuben’s In”, an instrumental tune taken from the Ocean’s 11 soundtrack that Casa play:
...1.&.2.&.3.&.4.&.1
G ------------------
D ------------------
A -----5--7-5-5-5---
E -0--7------7----70
...i..mi..m.mim.m.mi
I find that I’m a lot more accurate on the semi-quavers using this pattern than if I begin each group of notes with my index finger. (Don’t even ask why I’ve chosen to finger it this way; I found it a stretch to play in first position, so accepted the string skip in the third beat in favour of rent tendons.) I guess it’s all about generating some sort of internal metronome, and if I imagine my fingers are constantly playing semi-quavers even if they aren’t, it helps to keep my timing more even. The first really tricky thing I’ve found while using this technique is skipping strings, e.g. a pattern from the bassline of “There’s Only So Much Oil In The Ground”:
...1.&.2.&.3.&.4.&.1
G ---55--55--55--55-
D ------------------
A -3~--3~--3~--3~---
E ------------------
...i.imi.imi.imi.im.
For some reason my fingers just don’t like playing this, though I think it might simply be a matter of practice. However, after this experimenting with my technique, I checked out this video of Simon Merrick playing Space Cowboy. I think I can see rakes and on-beat notes played with his middle finger, so the kind of rigid pattern I’ve been using isn’t the be-all and end-all (not that I thought it would be).

I’m considering doing a similar exercise on guitar, forcing myself into relearning a few pieces adhering to strict alternate picking; potentially it’ll clean up my often sloppy timing. At the very least it’ll make me think about what I’m playing again, which is always a good thing!