crosspicking chords

[arbarnhart]

Is there a science to selecting the chord form and roll pattern for cross picking chords? I have mostly been using a standard (if there is such a thing) forward roll on the common (again, if there is such a thing) open chords. Some times it sounds great (open G and open C alternated for example), sometimes just okay and sometimes not so good. Do you just try different forms and rolls until you find one that sounds best or is there a method to the madness?

[Peter Hackman]

I don't use cross-picking patterns much but I believe
they work best when introducing higher intervals
(9th, 13th) or a high drone, like the
5th string on a banjo, or dissonace, such as the minor and major third, and sixth, in one roll.

To my ears (or, rather, in my hands)
a backwards roll (D-U-U) usually sounds best.

[arbarnhart]

Acoustic blues rhythm is primarily what I am trying to do, if that makes any difference. I have definitely noticed that for GCD, the chop style C and D sounds better than the open and for just about any form of any chord, when I add the 7, it seems to work best on an inner string, if that makes any sense.

I have also played some general folk acoustic songs along with a guitar and that seems much simpler; you can almost do no wrong holding a major chord and picking pretty much any string on each beat.

[John Flynn]

I do the DUU very often using the open E or open A as a high drone. With crosspicking, I think it is good to experiment and see what sounds good. If you just get a standard roll going with standard chords, it's OK for a measure or two, but it starts to sound mechanical pretty quickly. If I am going to play a roll for a while, I like to vary it. I will "swing it" by "dotting" one of the the notes and letting it ring a little longer and then making up the time on the other two notes. or some other timing variation like that. I will also sometimes alternate bass notes on the roll.