What Is String Skipping?
Quite simply, string skipping occurs when you pick a note on one string and the following note is not located on an adjacent string. Switching from one string to an adjacent string is known as a string crossing. You may be skipping from the 6th string to the fourth. Or, you may need to skip as far as the low E string to the E string. The more strings you skip, the harder it is to maintain a high level of exercise. With a little practice and proper technique however, all string skips will seem equally effortless. String skipping occurs most frequently in arpeggiated chord progressions. Villa Lobos’ Etude no. 1 consists almost entirely of arpeggiated chords. (A transcription of this piece can be found in the “Supplemental Content” section of Matt Brown’s ninth jazz lesson.) “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” by Radiohead and “December” by Collective Soul are two popular songs in the rock genre that consist almost entirely of arpeggiated, string skipping patterns. Notated excerpts from these song
