Crosspicking

A flatpicking technique in which the pick moves in rolling patterns across non-adjacent strings, imitating the sound of fingerpicked rolls.

Crosspicking came from mandolin and banjo playing and was carried into bluegrass and country guitar by players who wanted cascading arpeggios without putting the pick down. Instead of striking adjacent strings in order, the pick rolls across a set pattern such as down-up-down on three different strings, so the notes overlap like a mandolin roll. The technique needs a loose wrist and a clear picture of which string comes next, because the pick never gets a rest.

Example: A bluegrass break that rolls across the top three strings in a repeating down-up-down pattern is crosspicking rather than straight flatpicking.

Crosspicking

See also