Gypsy picking technique

Some players who attempt to learn the Gypsy Jazz style balk when it comes to learning the standard Gypsy approach to picking: a judicious use of downward rest strokes (especially when changing strings) and lots of sweep picking (especially on ascending arpeggios). These players argue that technique really doesn't matter that much if one just plays stylistically appropriate arpeggios and licks. YouTube has numerous videos of aspiring players doing just this. The notes and the phrasing they use are OK, but their sound is incredibly limp and weak, and this is due to the fact that they use a strict up/down picking technique throughout their songs. There's simply no way around it: Gypsy Jazz requires an agressive and sometimes fierce style of playing that can only be achieved with the downward rest stroke technique. This music is played on acoustic instruments, and the only way to make them bark is to dig in with some emphatic picking. Moreover, it is very difficult to play those lightning fast ascending arpeggios using the up/down approach.

An excellent book on this topic is Michael Horowitz's "Gypsy Picking" (available at http://www.djangobooks.com/), which contains an in-depth exploration of the rest stroke technique and numerous exercises to help a player get this approach down. It takes a little time at first (in my case, a little over a month), but once you get it in your muscle memory, you'll find that it's so much more logical and requires less of an expenditure of energy. As Michael mentions in his book, both Joe Pass and Tuck Andress used/use the downstroke approach, and we all know of their jaw dropping mastery of the guitar. Once you get the technique down, strict up/down picking will likely seem downright weird and awkward.

I personally find that the thicker the pick, the easier it is to play. The weight of a heavy pick, working in tandem with the force of gravity, makes sweeping and playing rest strokes much simpler. Simply put, I have to expend very little energy to get the pick through the string. In addition, I feel a thicker pick produces a warmer and more attractive tone. I currently use a Wegen pick (purchased from Michael's website), but I can't recall the thickness of it off the top of my head.

Tip: When working out licks, try to arrange them so you get two notes per string. This will not only allow you to use alternate up/down picking (which means you can play faster more easily), but it will also guarantee that you use a downward rest stroke each time you change strings.