Switching Strings

For clean, fast string changes, you must match the phrase you’re playing with the kind of escape motion you’re using. And not every player learns all escapes.

So the amazing reality is that your vocabulary must match the escape motion you can do, while avoiding phrases that don’t fit. Elite players do this subconsciously, by pursuing phrases which are easy and fast. So the learning process doesn’t feel artificial to them. They are not creatively limited by escape requirements, and they don’t sound like they are painting by numbers either. They are simply following grammatical rules which they learned in a hands-on way, just like speakers of human language.

In this section, we’ll learn the rules of escape and how to find phrases which match your technique. With practice, this will become automatic, allowing you to move around the fretboard at will, and leading to more creativity, not less.

The Rule of Evens

Chapter 1 - Switching Strings With Even-Numbered Groupings

Single-escape motions and the simplest kind of string switching

Chapter 2 - Odd-Numbered Groupings With Double Escape

Using semicircular escape for complicated string changes

Chapter 3 - Escape Motion Picking Styles

Picking techniques can involve complex motion blends

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