In the previous lesson the riffs were played with a downward pick motion (a). To increase the speed and accuracy of your playing, a combination of down (a) and up (s) picking is used. This is called alternate picking and is very useful for playing eighth notes. The following riff contains all eighth notes, so use alternate picking, i.e.:
Use a down pick on the beat (the number count) and an up pick off the beat (the "and" + count).
Another common ending is used in bar 12 of this example:
Play examples 210 and 211 using alternate picking. As a general rule always use alternate picking when playing eighth notes.