Downpicking, sometimes referred to as down-stroke picking, is a technique used by musicians on plucked string instruments in which the player moves the plectrum, or pick in a downward motion, relative to the position of the instrument, against one or more of the strings to make them vibrate. If down-strokes are played without the addition of upstrokes (as in alternate picking), the tip of the pick never comes in contact with the strings as the hand moves back up to repeat the down-stroke.
Usesedit
Guitarists in hard rock and metal genres, especially thrash metal will often use downpicking to create a "heavier" and tighter sound than what can be achieved with alternate picking, which generally produces more cleanly melded strumming sounds. Downpicking also effectively doubles the effort one would need to alternate pick at the same tempo, however this is hardly noticeable at medium to low tempos. Downpicking can also be used in a technique called sweep picking, or 'raking'.
Extremely fast eighth-note downstroke picking was used in the mid 70s and beyond by famous punk guitarist Johnny Ramone, who used the technique to play full live shows in high tempos (usually around 180 to 200 bpm). This required extreme levels of stamina, but produced a very high-energy, aggressive sound. This extremely demanding, then uncommon and somewhat innovative style contributed to Johnny Ramone's reputation as a guitar player, and it influenced many now-famous rock guitarists. Downstroke picking has become a common technique in metal and thrash rhythm playing, notably exemplified by James Hetfield of Metallica (who has been regarded as 'the King of Downpicking'[1]), as well as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein of The Misfits, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Kerry King of Slayer, Bobby Gustafson of Overkill, and Scott Ian of Anthrax among others. The guitar work of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is almost entirely played using downstroked eighth-notes at a tempo of 212 BPM (about 7 downstrokes per second).[2]
Up-tempo down-stroke picking requires a strong wrist to keep muscle movements as tension-free as possible. For long or extended passages, endurance becomes the focus, as fast down-picking can quickly cause a burn in the wrist, sometimes extending up into the arm and causing the muscles to seize up. If the guitarist has a difficult time keeping the strokes smooth, the quality of the music can suffer, often sounding sloppy or strained. While down-picking in general is sometimes considered a good beginner's technique for learning at low tempos, it requires skill to perfect in faster applications.
downpicking, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2020, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Downpicking news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Downpicking sometimes referred to as down stroke picking is a technique used by musicians on plucked string instruments in which the player moves the plectrum or pick in a downward motion relative to the position of the instrument against one or more of the strings to make them vibrate If down strokes are played without the addition of upstrokes as in alternate picking the tip of the pick never comes in contact with the strings as the hand moves back up to repeat the down stroke Uses editGuitarists in hard rock and metal genres especially thrash metal will often use downpicking to create a heavier and tighter sound than what can be achieved with alternate picking which generally produces more cleanly melded strumming sounds Downpicking also effectively doubles the effort one would need to alternate pick at the same tempo however this is hardly noticeable at medium to low tempos Downpicking can also be used in a technique called sweep picking or raking Extremely fast eighth note downstroke picking was used in the mid 70s and beyond by famous punk guitarist Johnny Ramone who used the technique to play full live shows in high tempos usually around 180 to 200 bpm This required extreme levels of stamina but produced a very high energy aggressive sound This extremely demanding then uncommon and somewhat innovative style contributed to Johnny Ramone s reputation as a guitar player and it influenced many now famous rock guitarists Downstroke picking has become a common technique in metal and thrash rhythm playing notably exemplified by James Hetfield of Metallica who has been regarded as the King of Downpicking 1 as well as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein of The Misfits Dave Mustaine of Megadeth Kerry King of Slayer Bobby Gustafson of Overkill and Scott Ian of Anthrax among others The guitar work of Metallica s Master of Puppets is almost entirely played using downstroked eighth notes at a tempo of 212 BPM about 7 downstrokes per second 2 Up tempo down stroke picking requires a strong wrist to keep muscle movements as tension free as possible For long or extended passages endurance becomes the focus as fast down picking can quickly cause a burn in the wrist sometimes extending up into the arm and causing the muscles to seize up If the guitarist has a difficult time keeping the strokes smooth the quality of the music can suffer often sounding sloppy or strained While down picking in general is sometimes considered a good beginner s technique for learning at low tempos it requires skill to perfect in faster applications See also editDown bowReferences edit Waters Jeff Annihilator Interview Warmup Riffs METAL HAMMER Metal Hammer Germany uploaded Jan 20 2011 accessed Jan 04 2018 Notes Per Second Calculator Study Guitar www study guitar com 2021 04 04 Retrieved 2022 08 06 nbsp This article relating to guitars is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Downpicking amp oldid 1177210376, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
