cross-picking
A flatpicking guitar technique using alternating up and down pick strokes across non-adjacent strings to create a rolling, banjo-like pattern.
In Depth
Cross-picking is a right-hand flatpicking technique where the guitarist plays arpeggiated patterns across three or more strings using strict alternate (up-down-up) picking, often crossing over non-adjacent strings. The result is a smooth, rolling sound similar to the three-finger banjo roll, allowing a flatpick guitarist to produce arpeggiated textures typically associated with fingerstyle playing. The technique demands precise right-hand control to avoid hitting unwanted strings.
The technique was pioneered by country and bluegrass guitarists, particularly Jesse McReynolds (who adapted banjo rolls to the mandolin) and later developed for guitar by players like Doc Watson and Tony Rice. In modern bluegrass, Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings have pushed cross-picking to virtuosic extremes. The technique is also used in progressive acoustic music and Celtic guitar traditions. Cross-picking challenges the common assumption that complex arpeggiated textures require fingerstyle technique — in skilled hands, a single flatpick can produce equally fluid results.
Doc Watson developed his flatpicking technique partly because he was blind and found it simpler to use one pick than to coordinate multiple fingerpicks — his "limitation" became one of acoustic guitar's most influential styles.