As you can see, I am using a pick to play this part and strum the rhythm with down strokes. But the picked part is played with up strokes from the high E string down to the G string. In effect, I am raking the pick across those four stings to achieve that broken chord / arpeggio effect. So let's take a look at that and slow it down so we can get the notes picked in the right place. Listen closely, and you can hear that the picked part consists of four notes that start on the 3rd beat of the bar. Those four notes are simply the top four notes of your E chord played backwards from the top E string down to the G string with an upward rake of the pick. Quite easy after all!

So, first I want you to play an E chord, but just like with the picking part, just play it from the top E down to the G string so you get just the top four notes. Remember, just play it backwards with an upward rake of the pick.

(See camtasia video, pick rake).

Set your metronome to 80, and practice this exercise playing two notes for every beat, repeating it just the way it is in the video. Then, notch your metronome up 5 bpm every two minutes until you reach 100 bpm. Remember to take short breaks between tempos to give your hands time to adjust.

Now that you've done that, your right hand may be hurting a bit because it's likely to be a new movement for you, using muscles you seldom used before. Don't worry, though, this is perfectly normal and part and parcel of learning any instrument. Let's shake our hands and stretch our fingers a bit to loosen them up so we can move on to putting this picking pattern together with the strum.

The E chord is strummed with a downward stroke on the first beat of the bar & rings through until the picking starts on the third beat of the bar. Check out the following video:

Camtasia video

Let's try this exercise at 80 bpm, and as before, work up in increments of 5 bpm until we reach 100. That's the toughest part dealt with. Once you have this chord sounding tight, the rest is easy!

For our final step in this lesson, let's try playing the first 8 bars of Mark's song again starting at 80 bpm. For homework, work up from 80 bpm in increments of 5bpm every two minutes, until you reach 100bpm. Stick with it, and you will see results!