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The use of this technique is very interesting from a melodic point of view, because it allows the development of sequences of notes, even with large intervals. String skipping is done by playing strings that have alot of distance between themselves, for instance between the second and fourth strings, or the fifth and first. As stated before, you can obtain large intervals of execution, similar to the sweep picking technique. With sweep picking, you generally work with large intervals, but on strings in succession, instead with the string skipping technique you jump between the strings.
Neither technique is easy to play, but this is an obstacle that can be overcome with practice. Therefore, we will give sweep picking its own section and concentrate on string skipping.

How string skipping is used. It can be said that the best quality of this type of picking is the fact that you have total control of all the strings. The following series of exercises will help you obtain good control of string skipping, as well as improve your coordination between the right and left hands. For this reason, string skipping is recommended for everybody. With string skipping you can obtain some very interesting melodic effects. The first exercises are quite basic, but useful for those who are facing string skipping for the first time. The exercises increase in difficulty as you go down.

Ex. #1

The first exercises are fairly geometric, in that they include combinations of string skips based on fingerings that are not related to any particular scale or harmony. They are simple exercises to work on the technique.
In the first exercise we will work on the sixth and fifth strings with a series of notes divided into groups of three notes per string. With this system you can see how the picking is made easier, in that it is always alternate and contains the movements for the two strings that you are working on. The exercise is played in the first position (for the first six notes), then in third, fifth and seventh. The usual rules apply, which is to play slowly and use a metronome to control the timing.

Ex. #2

Now we will work between the sixth and third strings using the previously illustrated concepts. Pay attention to the string skips for the pick.

Ex. #3

Now we work on the sixth and second strings...

Ex. #4

... and now on the sixth and first strings.

Ex. #5

Now we will increase the difficulty. Here the string skipping will be continuous, in that every note corresponds to a different string. Therefore, pay attention to the picking and play the exercises very slowly at first, then gradually increase the speed.
The exercise develops in two patterns, starting from the first position (bar 1) and from the fifth (bar 2) and advancing a fret (and a string) every four notes. Alternate picking is mandatory.

Ex. #6

Flipping the preceding exercise we pick in the opposite direction. This exercise is clearly more complicated because the fingerings are crossed, and you therefore need to pay attention to how the sequence of notes evolves on the fretboard.

In the next page you can continue this series of exercises using string skipping.

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