String skipping can present your playing with new melodic possibilities that were previously out of reach. Make like Paul Gilbert, Slash and Nuno with these wide-ranging exercises
String skipping can introduce fresh arpeggios and wide interval phrases to your playing. Look no further than Sweet Child O' Mine for an example of its musical effectiveness
(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)
String skipping is a technique often required when phrases feature wide intervals that would prove too stretched if attempting to use only adjacent strings. Traditionally, melodic phrases have favoured small interval based lines using adjacent strings, moving fret by fret, string by string.
This yields wonderfully musical results. However, string skipping allows us to create phrases with wider intervals that often sound more arresting. It also allows for fluid arpeggios to be performed without having to resort to sweep picking; an approach favoured by both Paul Gilbert and Nuno Bettencourt to emulate the fluidity of Yngwie Malmsteen’s sweeped arpeggios.
As with any new guitar technique, string skipping can be challenging at first. One of the obstacles to overcome is not accidentally striking adjacent strings when skipping over them. Paul Gilbert, whose playing is fantastically fast and fluid, often opts for an outside picking technique to help avoid this situation.
Outside picking is where the lower string is picked with downstrokes and the higher string is picked with upstrokes. While this may be challenging for players who prefer other styles of picking, its advantage is that it avoids hitting any unwanted adjacent strings.
Of course, there will be times where conventional picking is preferred, such as when playing two-notes-per-string pentatonic lines. So observe the picking directions provided in the following five examples and study piece, to see what approach I have used and, at times, a suggested alternative approach. As always, experiment to see which suits you best.
As well as using this technique to play arpeggios in the style of Paul Gilbert, string skipping can also create intervallic licks and phrases. Guthrie Govan’s track Waves is a great example of this. The main melodic themes couldn’t have been created without the use of string skipping. Guthrie’s use of wide intervals here creates a sound somewhat different to the norm, making it melodically interesting and appealing.
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (Official Music Video) - YouTube
Another player known for his use of string skipping is LA session guitarist, Carl Verheyen. Carl released a tutorial video back in 1992 entitled Intervallic Rock and it was quite a game changer for those learning guitar via REH and Hot Licks videos. Again, the technique helps to create lines and phrases that sound modern, not least because it pushed guitar technique forward.
String skipping can be found in many classic songs too. Slash’s intro to Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses is a great example, where Slash skipped strings to create one of the most iconic guitar intros in history. Another would be the octave string jumps in Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.
The following examples offer ideas for integrating string skipping into your playing. Enjoy your journey into string skipping!
The more gain you use for any new style like string skipping, presents opportunities for unwanted noise that can negatively impact the final results. Therefore start the process using a clean or mildly overdriven amp tone, so you get the fundamentals sorted first. Then be very mindful of using any spare fingers and your picking hand’s palm to reduce string noise.
Examples
Example 1 Diatonic 6ths are good intervals to work on your outside string-skipped picking. Hybrid picking could be used to play this example, although using a plectrum exclusively is a fantastic way to improve your overall picking technique.
Example 2 Playing octaves is another great way to help develop your string skipping skills. The challenge here is to not accidentally strike the skipped string either side of the picked notes due to nature of the picking direction.
Example 3 We build on the octave idea with this example by adding the 5th interval degree to the second string. A combination of inside and outside picking – economy picking – is used here. However, the lower strict alternate picking suggestion is more akin to how Steve Morse, John Petrucci and Martin Miller would play this.
Example 4 Paul Gilbert style string-skipped arpeggios feature here. Legato is used for two notes on a string alongside outside and inside picking, adhering to strict alternate picking principles. This may take some practice to begin with but it is well worth the effort.
Example 5 Here’s an A minor pentatonic idea using a descending lick on the first and the third strings. Intervallic lines such as this can help you break out of those tried and tested licks to breathe new life into your playing. Try both outside and inside picking suggestions to see what works best for you (hint: ideally master both).
Study Piece
We begin in bars 1-8 with a repeated melodic idea where you are required to skip between the fourth and second string before a final leap up to the first. Outside picking is preferred here to help avoid striking the adjacent strings by accident.
Bars 9-16 follow the same basic chord progression but with string-skipped arpeggios outlining each chord. Outside picking is featured as well as strict alternate picking principles, to help navigate the strings.
The initial theme is reintroduced between bars 17-20 before a string-skipped descending A minor pentatonic lick in bar 21 is followed by an ascending run (also A minor pentatonic) using octaves in bar 22. I have notated my preferred picking directions, but feel free to experiment with your own.
Simon is a graduate of the UK's Academy of Contemporary Music and The Guitar Institute, and holds a Masters degree in music. He teaches, examines and plays everything from rock to jazz.
