An Introduction To Sweep Picking
Author: Randy Spur
The famous sweep picking technique is one of the latest things around at the moment, thanks to the rebirth in the guitar music scene of old-style shredding The classical shred scene had been a non discussion area for a lot of guitar enthusiasts across the nu-metal and grunge years, here and now it is back with a hollering revenge, and is used by a great number of guitarists. What is the appeal of this method of playing? Sweep picking is an awesome thing to utilise when soloing, providing a different type of sound that is equal quantities exciting and mystifying to the listener.
Sweep picking is straightforward to start with, but very hard to do properly. The basic idea of sweep picking is playing an arpeggio with the left whilst only performing one down-stroke and one upstroke with the right hand. So, if performing an easy arpeggio on 4 strings, those 2 strokes will make eight notes. It is straightforward to get accustomed to fingering arpeggios, but it is the sweeping right hand motion that might be hard to get the swing of. As a guitar strummer, you will automatically want to pick each individual note on its own, the sweeping motion needs to be one fluent up and down actions rather than 8 single string hits. It is this pattern that brings sweep picking its unique sound and the appearance of speed.
At the end of a swept run of string hits, you could even add to the music by way of drumming the following notes up the neck, which adds a superb sound to any rapid solo. Have a go with different arpeggios to give yourself and concept of the sound and form of the concept, then you can experiment yourself and make some phenomenal solos that are very contemporary in nature.
There is a lot of intricate exercises you can try to get used to the idea of sweep picking (otherwise known simply as 'sweeping' ). Focus on the very top three thinnest strings and start around the twelth fret ( The notes at the top are more clear and better to pick apart, hence why no-one truly sweeps particularly low on the neck ). Have a go at the following sequence for starters: A-C-E-A-E-C-A. As you can see, the end point is identical to the beginning place, giving the sweep a cyclic nature that sounds wonderful when performed right.
While finding out how to to use sweep picking in your guitar music, it is critical you practice a fluent right hand motion, as that is the key. You can be fantastic at performing notes on the fretboard, but without a good, fast right hand motion, the sweep picking will sound sloppy and some notes may even be be muffled. So keep practicing with the movement of your hands, and you'll soon learn the knack of sweep picking. For some great examples of sweep picking in action, try the music of Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Micheal Angelo Batio, John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Chris Broderick, Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), and Chris Impellitteri (as the band Impellitteri). You'll shortly learn just how much could be achieved with sweep picking!
Andy is a guitar veteran who is eager to help the next generation of guitar heroes discover their own style! You too can learn sweep picking quickly, and be shredding with the best!
Sweep picking is straightforward to start with, but very hard to do properly. The basic idea of sweep picking is playing an arpeggio with the left whilst only performing one down-stroke and one upstroke with the right hand. So, if performing an easy arpeggio on 4 strings, those 2 strokes will make eight notes. It is straightforward to get accustomed to fingering arpeggios, but it is the sweeping right hand motion that might be hard to get the swing of. As a guitar strummer, you will automatically want to pick each individual note on its own, the sweeping motion needs to be one fluent up and down actions rather than 8 single string hits. It is this pattern that brings sweep picking its unique sound and the appearance of speed.
At the end of a swept run of string hits, you could even add to the music by way of drumming the following notes up the neck, which adds a superb sound to any rapid solo. Have a go with different arpeggios to give yourself and concept of the sound and form of the concept, then you can experiment yourself and make some phenomenal solos that are very contemporary in nature.
There is a lot of intricate exercises you can try to get used to the idea of sweep picking (otherwise known simply as 'sweeping' ). Focus on the very top three thinnest strings and start around the twelth fret ( The notes at the top are more clear and better to pick apart, hence why no-one truly sweeps particularly low on the neck ). Have a go at the following sequence for starters: A-C-E-A-E-C-A. As you can see, the end point is identical to the beginning place, giving the sweep a cyclic nature that sounds wonderful when performed right.
While finding out how to to use sweep picking in your guitar music, it is critical you practice a fluent right hand motion, as that is the key. You can be fantastic at performing notes on the fretboard, but without a good, fast right hand motion, the sweep picking will sound sloppy and some notes may even be be muffled. So keep practicing with the movement of your hands, and you'll soon learn the knack of sweep picking. For some great examples of sweep picking in action, try the music of Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Micheal Angelo Batio, John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Chris Broderick, Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), and Chris Impellitteri (as the band Impellitteri). You'll shortly learn just how much could be achieved with sweep picking!
Andy is a guitar veteran who is eager to help the next generation of guitar heroes discover their own style! You too can learn sweep picking quickly, and be shredding with the best!
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