Guitar Crosspicking Technique (Paperback: 160 pages)

Useful crosspicking ideas to beautify one's playin

By Joe  Dec 4, 2005

Pros: Right-hand technique, exercises, and patterns

Cons: No companion CD

When someone thinks of crosspicking, they usually think first of mandolinist Jesse McReynolds. On guitar, however, the technique can also be very useful to enhance one’s playing, provide interesting fills, and embellish melodies while supporting other lead instruments. Crosspicking involves playing a series of three notes, usually on adjacent strings, and fitting these notes into a four-beat measure. In this book, Mickey Cochran teaches basic crosspicking patterns, as well as variations, that simulate banjo rolls.

With a large section of songs in tablature, this book is a good resource for musicians wanting to build their crosspicking repertoire. Once a student masters the right-hand technique, exercises, and patterns, they will start viewing crosspicking as a conceptual approach to playing. By working through the tab, more advanced guitarists should find a number of useful crosspicking ideas to beautify and enrich their playing. Because of the relative complexity and difficulty of crosspicking (as compared to flatpicking, for example), it would have been nice to have a companion CD with this book to demonstrate the patterns and songs at slower tempos. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)