Guide To Sweep Picking

Hi, welcome to my second lesson, this time on the extremely popular (and feared) technique known as sweep picking (or simply known as sweeping). I'm going to try to keep this simple and leave as much terminology out as possible (I think that it is better if you practice sweep picking with distortion turned on, that way you can hear where you are screwing up).

Defining Sweep Picking

What is sweep picking? First off, sweep picking is a technique which involves the use of the same picking direction to play three or more notes on adjacent strings. Sweep picking allows you to play a large amount of notes at blazingly fast speeds. Players such as Yngwie Malmsteen (Arpeggios From Hell) and JerryC (Canon Rock, Sweeping From Heaven) use this technique all the time to shred through arpeggios. While commonly used for playing arpeggios, once you get it down, sweep picking is actually a very economical technique. Sweep picking is one of those techniques that once you get it down it is relatively easy to do, but getting it down is the hardest part because there are a few tough hurdles you have to jump. For instance, you may have your right(picking) hand's technique perfect, but your left hand is still holding the chords down, or you may have the hand rolling (left hand tech.) down perfectly, but you are picking each individual note, which is a big no no. But either way, sweep picking takes a lot of practice and can become very frustrating to learn at times, but once you know it you'll be glad you did.

Proper Picking Hand Technique

Okay, first things first. You need to get the picking hand used to gliding over the strings. Think of it as a "controlled strum" or a "really slow chord," just say "controlled strum". Either way, I found a video on the net that will briefly show you the proper right hand technique. It is a pretty small file, only 43 kb or something. It is uploaded to a server in Germany, but do not worry it is a fast and safe server. Click here for the 3 second explanation. Okay, you've watched the video now. Really what you should try is placing your left hand over the 12th fret (to mute it) and then use the technique shown in the video to try and get six consecutive "clicks". Like the exercise below.

   U U U D D D U U U D D D U U U D D D  
e|-----x-x---------x-x---------x-x-----| 
b|---x-----x-----x-----x-----x-----x---|
g|-x---------x-x---------x-x---------x-|
d|-------------------------------------|
a|-------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------|

Note that not only does this exercise get your picking hand at a proper rythm, but it also teaches up and down strokes, which are pretty self explanatory anyway. When playing this exercise, try to increase your picking speed while still keeping it in time. Make sure you aren't "picking" each string, but gliding, or sweeping over them. Once you have gotten this exercise down and are confident that your right hand has adapted to "sweeping" over the strings and not picking them then you can move onto the left hand rolling technique.

Left Hand Rolling

Rolling? What the hell are you talking about? Remember earlier when I mentioned that you don't want all of your notes to run together? Left hand rolling(which will be referred to as rolling from now on) is a technique which makes a sweep a sweep instead of a chord. When a note is struck, you lift the finger that was holding that note. It should look something like this file: Left Hand Rolling. So with these two techniques combined you get the sound and look of a sweep. Now that you know these two core techniques, we can start some basic arpeggios/triads.

String Arpeggios

I find that to start the Dm shape is the easiest to start with, so first try this simple upstroke. U=upstroke, D=downstroke:

    U  U  U
e|--------12--|
b|-----13-----|
g|--14--------|
d|------------|
a|------------|
E|------------|

Pretty simple, eh? Well try slowly increasing your speed; start off playing it slow and then increase your speed. Yet again, watch out for a few things. 1)Make sure you're not picking the notes individually; 2) Make sure that you're rolling your left hand; 3) Another hurdle: make sure that your left and right hands are synchronized. This will take some practice, but after you do the exercise again and again it will come to you naturally. There's really no other way to fix this problem except through practice. Anyway, play that exercise until you can play it clean, then concentrate on playing it fast. Once you have speed and accuracy down we can move onto the downstroke.

     D  D  D
e|--12--------|
b|-----13-----|
g|--------14--|
d|------------|
a|------------|
E|------------|

Do the same error checks that you did for the upstroke and yet again, work on playing it clean first, then work on speed, once you have achieved speed and accuracy we can combine the up and down strokes to create a decent sounding arpeggio lick.

     U  U  U  D  D  D    U  U  U  D  D  D
e|--------12--12--------------12--12--------|
b|-----13--------13--------13--------13-----|
g|--14--------------14--14--------------14--|
d|------------------------------------------|
a|------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------|

While it's not too hard, it is a somewhat challenging lick at first. Yet again, run through the same error checks as before (I just realized that I am talking like a programmer, error checks). Ugh, anyway, work on your accuracy and then build up your speed to where there is barely a second in between notes. Once you can do that, building up speed on the larger arpeggios won't be even half as hard. Anyway, once you have mastered the basic 3 string sweep, why don't we add in some hammer ons and pulloffs?

e|-----------12H15P12----------------12H15P12--------|
b|--------13----------13----------13----------13-----|
g|--12H14----------------14P12H14----------------14~~|
d|---------------------------------------------------|
a|---------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------|

Nothing too fancy, but it sounds cool and it adds some variety to what you're playing, plus it puts your dexterity and accuracy to the test. Once you have mastered this little trick, you should be able to mix things up a little with not problem. Like below:

     U  U  U   D  D  D  U  U  U   D  D  D   U  
e|--------12--14--------------12--14------------|
b|-----13--------13--------13--------13---------|
g|--14--------------12--14--------------12--14~~|
d|----------------------------------------------|
a|----------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------|

This lick'll really test your dexterity and your accuracy. Yet again, try and play this as clean as you can, and then try and play this lick as fast as you can. Once you can, try this next lick out.

Suggested fingering:
     3  2  1  3  2  1  3  2  1  3  2  1  3  2  1  etc...
e|--------12H14-------------12H14-------------13H15-------------14H16----
b|-----13-------13-------13-------13-------14-------14-------15-------15-
g|--14-------------12H14-------------12H15-------------13H16-------------
d|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
a|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

e|----------15H17-------------16H18-------------17H19-------------16H18-
b|-------16-------16-------17-------17-------18-------18-------17-------
g|-14H17-------------15H18-------------16H19-------------17H18----------
d|----------------------------------------------------------------------
a|----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|----------------------------------------------------------------------

e|-------------15H17-------------14H16-------------13H15-------------12H
b|-17-------16-------16-------15-------15-------14-------14-------13----
g|----16H17-------------15H16-------------14H15-------------13H14-------
d|----------------------------------------------------------------------
a|----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|----------------------------------------------------------------------

e|14---------|
b|---13------|
g|------12~~~|
a|-----------|
E|-----------|

Lengthy, I know, but trust me once you can play it accurately quickly it sounds really really cool and it'll impress more people than you thought. From here on in, doing 4, 5 and 6 string sweeps will be no trouble at all.

String Sweeps

     1  4  3  2  1  3  1  2  3  4  1
e|--------------12H15P12--------------|
b|-----------13----------13-----------|
g|--------14----------------14--------|
d|--12H15----------------------15P12--|
a|------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------|

The only real challenge here is using the pinky finger, while it's a no brainer for most people, some people get stuck in the habit of never using their pinky, so you need to get out of that habit if you wish to be a decent guitarist! Okay, anyway. So that's 4 string sweeps, not too difficult, though they're not too common either.

String Sweeps

Perhaps the most common sweep, along with the 6 string sweeps of course, 5 string sweeps are relatively easy and are almost dare I say it fun to do. Here is an example of a 5 string sweep:

     1  3  3  1  2  1  3  1  2  1  2  3  1
e|-----------------12H15P12-----------------|
b|--------------13----------13--------------|
g|-----------12----------------12-----------|
d|--------14----------------------14--------|
a|--12H15----------------------------15P12--|
E|------------------------------------------|

A C Major Arpeggio, one of my personal favorites, next to the Am triad. Pretty simple huh? Well try and do this next one.

     1  3  2  2  2  1  3  1  2  2  2  3  1  
e|-----------------12H17P12-----------------|
b|--------------14----------14--------------|
g|-----------14----------------14-----------|
d|--------14----------------------14--------|
a|--12H16----------------------------16P12--|
E|------------------------------------------|

Tricky, tricky huh? Can't play that without those three notes running together can you? Well there is one more technique that you must now, it is a different type of rolling. It is called "finger rolling" which is different from hand rolling. In finger rolling, you literally ROLL your finger accross the strings.

Finger Rolling

I guess the best way to explain it is:

1) you push the tip of your finger down on the 4th string, strike the note.
2) release the tip of the finger and push the middle part of your finger(adjacent to the middle of the fingernail), strike the note.
3) release the middle of the finger and push the end part of you finger, the first joint from the nail, down.
4) Release the finger and continue the sweep.
5) To go back simply reverse the process; it will take some practice. Actually it will take a lot of practice, and it is a pain in the ass to learn and be able to pull it off clean, but it is much more efficient and looks better.

String Sweeps

Here is an example of a 6 string sweep tap, though to be honest it is very similar to 5 string sweeps, if not identical. But either way, here is an example.

     1  2  3  2  1  1  3  1  1  2  3  2  1
e|-----------------12H16P12-----------------|
b|--------------12----------12--------------|
g|-----------13----------------13-----------|
d|--------14----------------------14--------|
a|-----14----------------------------14-----|
E|--12----------------------------------12--|

See how similar it is to the 5 string sweep? Now one last thing: Sweep Tapping.

Sweep Tapping

Sweep tapping is nothing special really, it sounds and looks cool, but it's not all that hard to do. Here is an example of a sweep tap.

                          T
e|-----------------12H17-19P17P12-----------------|
b|--------------14----------------14--------------|
g|-----------14----------------------14-----------|
d|--------14----------------------------14--------|
a|--12H16----------------------------------16P12--|
E|------------------------------------------------|

See, not too difficult! By now you should be able to sweep fairly well, so I leave you with this final lick.

e|--------------------------------------------------------------------12H15
b|--------------------------------------------------12H15-------12H15------
g|--------------------------------12H14-------12H14-------12H14------------
d|--------------12H14-------12H14-------12H14------------------------------
a|--------12H14-------12H14------------------------------------------------
E|--12H15------------------------------------------------------------------

e|P12-------------------12H14-------------13H15-------------14H16---------
b|----15P12----------13-------13-------14-------14-------15-------15------
g|----------14P12H14-------------12H15-------------13H16-------------14H17
d|------------------------------------------------------------------------
a|------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|------------------------------------------------------------------------

e|-----15H17-------------14H16-------------13H15-------------12H14---------
b|--16-------16-------15-------15-------14-------14-------13-------13------
g|--------------15H16-------------14H15-------------13H14-------------12H14
d|-------------------------------------------------------------------------
a|-------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                T        T          T
e|-----12H14-------------12H14-16P12H14-17P12H15---17P12H15P12-------------
b|--13-------13-------13---------------------------------------13----------
g|--------------12H14---------------------------------------------12-------
d|-------------------------------------------------------------------14----
a|----------------------------------------------------------------------15P
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------

e|-----------------12H15P12-----------------|-----------------12H16P12----
b|--------------13----------13--------------|--------------12----------12-
g|0----------12----------------12-----------|-----------13----------------
d|0-------14----------------------14--------|--------14-------------------
a|--12H15----------------------------15P12--|-----14----------------------
E|------------------------------------------|--12-------------------------

e|--------------|-----------------12H17P12------------------|
b|--------------|--------------14----------14---------------|
g|-13-----------|-----------14----------------14-----------0|
d|----14--------|--------14----------------------14--------0|
a|-------14-----|--12H16----------------------------16P12---|
E|----------12--|-------------------------------------------|

Congratulations, now you can(or should be able to) sweep pick. So this concludes my second lesson, I hope that it was useful to you and you enjoyed doing it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Comments

[Aftertime]

great stuff man, thanks!
i've been struggling to learn how to sweep

[Ontropium]

Thank you very much.

[fingersofflame]

sorry the links don't work guys! I uploaded the files like a year ago and they've been taken down by now ^_^

[eueueu]

The videos are off, if you put them on youtube it would be much better. The lesson looks to be great, but I'm still reading it.

[rockinlespaul]

maybe im just bad...but a few of the last licks were kinda hard for me. very good lesson though, this helped me with the basics of sweeping.

[Dansolmania]

Great lesson dude, is really helping with my sweeping. One thing, is the finger numbering on the 2nd string sweeps tab correct ?? seems abit odd

[fingersofflame]

Dansolmania wrote:

Great lesson dude, is really helping with my sweeping. One thing, is the finger numbering on the 2nd string sweeps tab correct ?? seems abit odd

Yeah the fingering is wrong, I made a typo...when you hammer to 15 it should be your pinky, my bad ^_^

Also when it says "string sweeps" there should have been a number next to it...but no biggie

[B345T]

At the risk of sounding very stupid lmao.. Are your up and downstroke labels not the wrong way round or am I just being silly?

[wolfchild666]

nice lesson, I wasnt sure how to sweep pick but this ll help me, ty ^^

[fingersofflame]

B345T wrote:

At the risk of sounding very stupid lmao.. Are your up and downstroke labels not the wrong way round or am I just being silly?

Lol I think they added those in, they are incorrect though...I think the idea I had when I wrote this was which way your fretting fingers were supposed to go...idk, I wrote this a year ago and it just got approved ^_^ But yeah, the U's should be D's and vice-versa

Michael

[Triviutallica]

Thanks fingersofflame i was about to ask the same question

[AlkalineCharlie]

The video links don't work anymore! i think.

[Shivahandlove]

thanks heaps man, this lesson was great, realy helped me get my head around the ominous demon of the sweep. peace love etc...

[Colton165]

i think your up and downstrokes are flip-flopped!

[Colton165]

Colton165 wrote:

i think your up and downstrokes are flip-flopped!

sorry, i saw you corrected yorself.

[Colton165]

i can do a 3- and 5-string sweep, but i cant incorporate hammer-ons and pull-offs! any tips?

[Free2Live]

great lesson, sweep tapping still confuses me a bit but i get what you mean. thanks.

[erock82190]

good lesson, this stuff is really hard for me though

[syn_7]

nice lesson ^_^ but i dont quite understand finger rolling lolz,it would be a lot easier if you put some video or smthng..
anyway nice work

[fingersofflame]

Initially I did have vids for all of the stuff, but I wrote this lesson a while ago and it was FINALLY approved and by that time the hosting site had dumped all the vids...If I can find them again I'll post some links...

erock82190 wrote:

good lesson, this stuff is really hard for me though

Well if it was easy for you then you wouldn't be reading a lesson on it, now would you? ^_^

Colton165 wrote:

i can do a 3- and 5-string sweep, but i cant incorporate hammer-ons and pull-offs! any tips?

By that do you mean that you can't do the hammer-on at the end of the sweep or somewhere in the middle?

[Pittman]

I find your lesson helpful except I dont see how the fret tapping sweeping thing is easy XD other than that,great lesson,I learned a lot.

[rossnabinger]

Correction: In the first sentence underneath "String Arpeggios", the "Dm shape" should be correctly labeled "Am shape". Besides that it's a great lesson.

[*~-=[D3V!L]=-~*]

GR8!!

[PS2178]

AWESOME, simply awesome. This has really eagered me to learn to sweep pick. Thanks.

[SirToasty]

How exactly do you incorporate h-o's and p-o's into it?
Do you just pause your picking hand for the h-o or p-o then continue as normal?

[fingersofflame]

rossnabinger wrote:

Correction: In the first sentence underneath "String Arpeggios", the "Dm shape" should be correctly labeled "Am shape". Besides that it's a great lesson.

Lol yeah I noticed that typo, but at it wasn't til I hit submit and my browser started ticking away and uploading it ^_^

SirToasty wrote:

How exactly do you incorporate h-o's and p-o's into it?
Do you just pause your picking hand for the h-o or p-o then continue as normal?

Lol, well in the final sweep exercise that I leave you guys you aren't supposed to sweep the 12-15 and 12-14 parts, you pick them as you normally would, and then do the final sweeps; I suppose you could sweep them but that can be tough unless you've really gone through this lesson and gotten decent at sweeping;

Pittman wrote:

I find your lesson helpful except I dont see how the fret tapping sweeping thing is easy XD other than that,great lesson,I learned a lot.

Lol, I say it's easy because if you can tap pretty well than you can sweep tap pretty well; The trick is to get your sweeping hand closer to the neck before doing the tap w/ your middle finger(since you're holding the pick w/ your index) so there's a tip I should have put in the lesson ^_^

[chrismacker]

awesome lesson
so for something like
12 15 12
13 13
14 14
i would do v v v ^ v ^ ^

[chrismacker]

sorry that should be something like
-----12-15-12-----
-----13-----13-----
-14-----14-

[chrismacker]

-----12-15-12-----
-----13-----13-----
-14-----14-
god damn

[chrismacker]

ok i give up 12 15 12 on the high e u should know what i mean right?

[JumpKickDance]

Woah... just what I need :-D

Thanks!

[006schecter]

great lesson, very informative this has helped alot!

[fingersofflame]

Lol Chris, yeah I think you have the patter right; Basically for the first 3 notes you do a downstroke, then you hammer to 15 and while doing that you get your pick ready go up, then do 12 13 14 again...or whatever your pattern s ^_^

[NirvanaFan101]

wow thanks this really helps.. my goal for this summer is to be amazing at sweep picking LOL

[Froston]

yeah this is awesome ´cause it goes step for step! cool lesson

[WhiskeyGuitar]

very good I like that lesson!

[SayDie123]

****ing great!! > i can finally sweep like a pro thx to this lesson

[Madhur Damn]

Great lesson, still can't do it... Damn stubby Italian fingers... My left hand doesn't like to do the things I tell it to most of the time.

[fuzzybird5]

Just having a minor question. Because I usually anchor my hand over the scratch plate when playing, is it advisable to sweep anchored? Or is sweeping easier to do when un-anchored?

[fenderules]

im practicing this now, but out of peer curiosity, how long did it take some of you guys to finish this lesson?

[gibsonxgirl667]

Great lesson! Thanks, this will take me awhile to master, but so worth it!:

[minichibi]

awesome, really handy. One thing, when I lift my fingers when Im rolling, i leave the note ringing like open and it sounds funny. shud I just leave my finger on the string? that makes it so much harder

[minichibi]

Oh... Question. With this part:

e|-----12H15P12-----12H15P12-----|
b|-----1 3-----13-----13-----13-----|
g|--12H14-----14P12H14-----14~ ~|
d|-----|
a|-----|
E|-----|

The part with the hammer ons and sweep picks, wud the picking pattern b:

|-----|
|-----x-----x--|
|----x-----x-----x-----|
| -x-----x-----|
|-----|
|-----|

Is that right?

[Moe91]

a good lesson, but i'm having trouble with whatever the lesson said you shouldnt have trouble with, and whatever it says is hard comes easy. can anyone help me here? lol

[Metalhead3333]

Uhhhh.... I'm a bit dumb, but if these were upstrokes...
U U U
e|-----12--|
b|-----13-----|
g|--14-----|
d|-----|
a| -----|
E|-----|
wouldn't it be:
U U U
e|-12-----|
b|----13-----|
g|-----14----|
d|-----|
a| -----|
E|-----|

[fingersofflame]

Metalhead3333 wrote:

Uhhhh.... I'm a bit dumb, but if these were upstrokes...
U U U
e|-----12--|
b|-----13-----|
g|--14-----|
d|-----|
a| -----|
E|-----|
wouldn't it be:
U U U
e|-12-----|
b|----13-----|
g|-----14----|
d|-----|
a| -----|
E|-----|

Yeah I explained that the upstrokes and downstrokes were fudged up

[fingersofflame]

Moe91 wrote:

a good lesson, but i'm having trouble with whatever the lesson said you shouldnt have trouble with, and whatever it says is hard comes easy. can anyone help me here? lol

Lol well I said those things in relation to how I picked them up ^_^

[scottydosntkno8]

YOU
ARE
MY
HERO

[guitarfreakreeg]

Awesome!
This is a emensly great technique to learn! kudos to you for making this lesson, however the links are hard to understand. lol.

[CasperNG]

i clicked the link but it says, in german, that the files are unavailable or have been deleted... can anybody help me out with this?

[difitzio]

I play the acoustic only... Is sweep picking an important technique for that too or is it mainly for the electric? If anyone has advice post it
cheers

[Mr Richards3]

I think the sweep picking thing was intended for electric ,but you could also try it on the acoustic as long as you don't play to high up the frets cause you wont reach. And all apart from that it actually sounds OK because I tried it on 12 stings.

[fingersofflame]

difitzio wrote:

I play the acoustic only... Is sweep picking an important technique for that too or is it mainly for the electric? If anyone has advice post it
cheers

Well in the beginning of Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria he sweep picks on the acoustic ^_^

It is a little tougher to do on the acoustic due to the big differences in neck action, however it is doable, so if you want I would give it a shot, though I can't promise that you'll be successful or ever use it on an acoustic.

[fingersofflame]

CasperNG wrote:

i clicked the link but it says, in german, that the files are unavailable or have been deleted... can anybody help me out with this?

guitarfreakreeg wrote:

however the links are hard to understand. lol.

Yeah the hosting site went down so sadly the files are no longer accessible, although you don't need them to actually understand the lesson

[fingersofflame]

scottydosntkno8 wrote:

YOU
ARE
MY
HERO

YOU
MADE
MY
DAY




seriously ^_^

[AnarchyGuitarst]

damn this kicks ass!!! thanks alot fingersofflame!!!!! =)

[pierre_aw90]

in the last 3 string exersice .. if you only hammer on then there is no sweep going back up on the bottom string and again goin down there would be no contact on the top string ? that doesnt seem like sweeping to me because if you miss a string then you have to use a picking motion so then it ends up being wierd single picking pattern or something?

[mohawkkidJohn]

it IS a pain in ths ass reversing the rolling pattern.anyone got any tips for me?

[Jumpinthephyre]

fingersofflame wrote:

difitzio wrote:

I play the acoustic only... Is sweep picking an important technique for that too or is it mainly for the electric? If anyone has advice post it
cheers


Well in the beginning of Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria he sweep picks on the acoustic ^_^

It is a little tougher to do on the acoustic due to the big differences in neck action, however it is doable, so if you want I would give it a shot, though I can't promise that you'll be successful or ever use it on an acoustic.

in Sidewinder, synister gates also sweeps on acoustic in the outro solo.

[the agony scene]

:O IM SWEEPING
THANK YOU

[a.guitarist]

all wrong. upstrokes and down strokes are the opposite? are'nt they? im confused!

[.CoB.]

i can sweep down perfectly im just having trouble sweeping back up... could someone give me a tip or something please thanks

[ckyskater419]

awesome, thanks flame great lesson. I just started this guitar class in school and my buddy can sweep so im trying to learn to get better than him ^_^

[B345T]

I'd just like to say this lesson really helped me, the exercises are great, everything is neat and clearly displayed, nice descriptions, 5-6 string sweeps here I come!

[ryulovesyou]

I dnt understand how to fit the hammer-ons and pull-offs into the sweep!?
do you pause your right hand or what!? im confused!

[rojomeansred]

Amazing, you've taught me what i thought to be impossible, I still can't do a 5 or 6 string sweep, but I'm sure, with practice, I'll get it in time. Thank you!

[Surrysounds]

Thanks to the poster of this thread. Sweeping has been one aspect of guitar playing that I have neglected for years. I've recently been getting into more prog rock and decided I'd give it a bash. I couldn't get the files to upload, or at least I couldn't understand the German instructions, but I get the general jist of it.

Cheers.

[Vandals572]

Thanks a lot man I didn't know how to sweep pick at all but within an hour I was doing three strings sweeps!

[the1winner]

any tips to sweep through 6 strings ? i find it kinda impossible to do , thanks for answering (think of it maybe i should add some fingers or stuff like that ^^ )

[Triviutallica]

Yeah each time i revisit this exercise the more i understand it. I would give anything to sweep like Gates
PS. I love AX7 xxxx

[ShatterSpirit]

Dude, seriously, excellent lesson here. Sweeps have been puzzling me for a while, I didn't know about the finger rolling thing, or at least how to do it. Thanks to this lesson though, I'll be able to do fast sweeps relatively soon! Thanks for the awesome lesson dude.

[leftyrockr]

Great lesson dude! Excellent explanations.

[GuitaFreak./123]

Awesome dude you helped me a lot!

[Funeral Moon]

First off, great lessson man. I was really struggling with sweeps before I read this. Now, I kind of get the hang of basic 3 string sweeps. But I've got a question.

e|-----12H15P12-----|
b|-----13-----13-----|
g|-----14-----14-----|
d|--12H15-----15P12--|
a|-----|
E| -----|

When you sweep downwards, do you sweep the 12th fret again after the hammer-on and pull-off, or do you continue the sweep by starting at the 13th fret of the b string?

[\m/Torin\m/]

fingersofflame, great lesson bro, I've been wondering how in the heck you do a sweep, you are my hero today aswell, =)

[sTyleFree]

Videos aren't working :|

[earlearl]

i can't get the videos but its good lesson

[Drapsmann]

All though that was tough, it was worth it.
Now I must show off
Thanks, your a great man!!!

[earlearl]

one qustion is it just me your are the down strokes and up strokes back to front.

[krung]

great lesson for beginners!!!!!haha

[krung]

LOSER!!!

[krung]

NO SERIOUSLY ITS GREAT!!ROCK ON MAN PEACE!!!

[wadthefish]

for the 3 string arpeggio the 12 13 14 14 13 12 do i need to release my finger on 14 fret ?

[jetsrule281]

This lesson is amazing. Thanks a ton fingersofflame.

[fingersofflame]

Dude krung, **** you ^_^

To all the people asking about downstrokes...YES THEY ARE BACKWARDS. Not my fault however, I put them in the right way and when it got processed they were all effed up. Also, don't worry about the links I figured they wouldn't work anyway, after all it took them a year to approve and put this lesson up ^_^

MKylman - FoF

[666DeMoN666]

now i might be able to sweep, thanks a lot!!

[Ich_Bin_Ibanez]

This is by far one of the best Tutorials that i have found on sweep picking...

[zObiPhiOn]

Herman Ri from Dragonforce tells me to "tell the stupid suck-- oh! I almost said a rude word-- that he forgot to add the AM7 sweep with hhhammer-ons"

[fingersofflame]

zObiPhiOn: I'm sorry what? I don't get what the hell you are talking about...???

[whoomit]

Thanks dude, pretty helpful.
Pretty frustrating too =P

[supea]

This is great! But would've been so great if you would've add more licks, but easy to make yourself or find somewhere else...

This is the best sweeping lesson I've found!

[the_triangle]

nice five stars dude

[the_triangle]

i meant 10

[synyster_shectr]

im just gonna take a wild guess and say ur a left handed guitarist arent u?

[king_O_dudes]

i am having a lot of trouble finishing my sweeps with pull-offs because my hand is out of position

[01matthewsb]

iv only been playing a year and im trying to learn cannon and this guide really helped cheers mate

[AngelOfHatred]

Jesus sweeps are hard/ I've been playing for 6 years and I can barely do them, shoulda learned them earlier.

[shadowfender42]

nice for some reason (i guess because ive been practicing on my own) sweeps come kind of naturally to me but this really helped me refine and understand the technique to it

[Esparcia]

shadowfender42 wrote:

nice for some reason (i guess because ive been practicing on my own) sweeps come kind of naturally to me but this really helped me refine and understand the technique to it

damn, some people are so lucky :P anyway, great lesson!

[Wolfer0624]

Thank you for taking ur time to make this. I'm trying to get into a song, but it concerns this stuff. I appreciate it

[brush200400]

great lesson, as it is progressive in difficulty, and doesnt jump around

[stingness]

its majestic, i tried those on my bass (bass sweeping )... they're prtty nice
anybody wid ne lessns 4 sweepin on bass?

[stingness]

the sweep tapping is the best part, i always wndred how jasun tipton of zero hour made those sounds...

[ibanezfreak121]

these are really good tips
and good patterns to learn

[mike288]

fingersofflame wrote:

difitzio wrote:

I play the acoustic only... Is sweep picking an important technique for that too or is it mainly for the electric? If anyone has advice post it
cheers

Well in the beginning of Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria he sweep picks on the acoustic ^_^

It is a little tougher to do on the acoustic due to the big differences in neck action, however it is doable, so if you want I would give it a shot, though I can't promise that you'll be successful or ever use it on an acoustic.

I practice everything on a acoustic so when I go to my electric it comes easier.

I moved everything down 3 frets to do it easier on a acoustic
[tab]
e|-----9H11-----9H11-----10H12-----11H13----
b|--- --10-----10-----10-----10-----11-----11-----12-----12-
g|-- 11-----9H11-----9H12-----10H13-----
d|-----
a|-----
E|--- --

e|-----12H14-----13H15-----14H16-----13H15-
b|-----13 -----13-----14-----14-----15-----15-----14-----
g|-11H14--- --12H15-----13H16-----14H15-----
d|-----
a|-----
E|-----


e|-----12H14-----11H13-----10H12-----9H11-----|
b|-14--- --13-----13-----12-----12-----11-----11-----10-----10-----|

g|----13H14-----12H13-----11H12-----10H11-----9~~~|
d|---- -|
a|-----|
E|-----|
[/tab]

[Infernalbrood]

Beautiful... just amazing...

[jonathanonfire]

please repost the videos somewhere.. like youtube? maybe? =]

[Apers]

Nice Lesson, thanks

[Ich_Bin_Ibanez]

this is amazing...this really helped me with sweeping

[Boulala]

YOU SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER TEACHING FOR A LIVING (unless you already have) this is by far the easiest and most helpful lesson i have come accross in a long long time! thankyou!

[MegaShadowZX]

BLESS YOU SAINT!

[Juroxa]

Great lesson. Helped me alot, with sweeps and otherwise!

[TheSixthWheel]

Hey dude, good to see more development on a subject that has been filled with confusion and smoke and mirrors in the past. In my time I've met some unbelievably experienced guitarists who are so scared of sweeping arpeggios that they let it hold them back, myself included. Good job on the lesson though. However, on top of the correctional comments others have made I'd like to say that the masters of sweeping (Petrucci, Satriani etc) recommend that a clean tone is used when learning sweeping instead of distortion. This is to let the notes evenly sound out so you can hear any mistakes. Distortion/Overdrive will do the opposite of letting you hear any mistake, it will hide them. If you can get sweeping arpeggios fast and consistant on a clean tone, they'll sound immaculate when using distortion. Also, most of Yngwie Malmsteen's 'Arpeggios From Hell' is economy picking, not sweep picking. Cheers though, good to see people finding this lesson very helpful!

[mattzillah]

thanks alot i've never been big on drills but sweeping is a skill that got me goin been playin guitar for 15 years (party style a lil open mic) but what ya did for me in this lesson was great thanks alot bud peace out

[mattzillah]

true that on clean pickin though these riffs "sixth" i noticed way more and was more satisfied with my results after strummin clean i'm gonna look into this "economy picking" malmstreem is a robot for sure!!! and the links at the top of the page don't work but maybe their just outdated either way i get the concept thanks again

[ultimaterocker6]

Jw, its me being silly but why does this...
U U U
e|-----12--|
b|-----13-----|
g|--14-----|
d|-----|
a| -----|
E|-----|

say upstroke.

[Thnikkamann]

Great lesson, really helped me out! I never understood sweeps until I read this. Thanks!

[Riffer_maddness]

Damnit i cant get my right and left hand to time right together oh well i dont really need a whole lot of sweeping skill it would just be fun to know

[Metal_Mage]

pierre_aw90 wrote:

in the last 3 string exersice .. if you only hammer on then there is no sweep going back up on the bottom string and again goin down there would be no contact on the top string ? that doesnt seem like sweeping to me because if you miss a string then you have to use a picking motion so then it ends up being wierd single picking pattern or something?

I was wondering the exact same thing.

[DEATHbyBLOOD]

these are really great exercises you put together, good job, dude.

[fingersofflame]

Synyster_shectr: Lol I am a righty actually

DEATHbyBLOOD: thanks!

Metal_Mage and others who have asked...that's why you don't miss a string :-P

No, in all seriousness you guys are right, I have no idea what I was thinking when I typed the hammer on, you are in fact supposed to pick that note ^_^ Sorry! I hope there is some easy way to go back and edit this, but from what I can see there is none...if anyone knows how to do this please tell me -_-

[fingersofflame]

Also, SixthWheel: I wasn't saying it was sweep picking...just that it was a song of his :-P

[ticklemeemo]

wow, sweeping really isnt as hard as i thought. i can do that last one pretty well actually.

[Gibsonfan!]

y dont the video work

[AusSie dUde]

cause your gay ^^ no hard feelings mate

[iTzMaTT]

Dude I love you.

[corrda00]

How do u sweep on bass?

[human panda]

Nice lesson

^I don`t think its possiblel.....

[toine]

i have a problem: when i try to sweep pick the strings that i release are ringing when i go down. e.g.
e-----8--12
b-----10(0)--
g-----9(0)-----
d-----10( 0)-----
a-12(0)-----
e-----
plz tell me what i do wrong?

[Heckinsweeper33]

I love you..... seriously. This made me a swewep picker and its great. Everything i learn is now easy to play in sync too. Im starting a religion of awesomeness and your the god. seriously thanks bro

[Heckinsweeper33]

oh yeah and one more thing. Def film a vid of yourself doing this. Some people might still not know what it is or how to do it. Thanks! (>'' >)

[oPOOHBEARo]

i really need the finger rolling vid

[oPOOHBEARo]

i really need the finger rolling vid

[AgentWiggles]

I'm so goddam excited. I've been trying forages and I'm finally getting there because of this awesomeness. Thanks SO MUCH!

[fallenskater488]

how exactly do you add h-o and p-offs in it?

[fallenskater488]

actually i get it now great lesson it helped

[EldonsName24]

This is my favourite Dm Arpeggio

E|--17-13-----13-17--
B|-----15-----15-----
G| -----14-----14-----
D|-----15----15-----
A|-----17-----
D |-----

[EldonsName24]

Damn these comment windows they meesed up my arpeggio ack!

[EldonsName24]

toine wrote:

i have a problem: when i try to sweep pick the strings that i release are ringing when i go down. e.g.
e-----8--12
b-----10(0)--
g-----9(0)-----
d-----10( 0)-----
a-12(0)-----
e-----
plz tell me what i do wrong?

you don't have to hit every note INDIVIDUALLY it's like a chord but don't let your previous ring once you've hit the next also a good term of sweeping is to find that finger memory muscle think of it as broken fingers and yes pinky use is an asset but once or if you already know the arrpegio then really your asking yourself "now i need practise on my picking hand" just count the notes on the strings maybe two or just one usually the high-e string takes around three notes before descending so peace hope this helped

[barberite]

alright ive been playing for a little over two years now and this has been kicking my ass for six months i can do a four string sweep up and down no problem yet for some reason i cant get all six can you help?

[Mach4_PT]

Links are broken

[underplad_sux]

man sweep isnt even that hard

[guitar_freakgr]

the only hard with sweep is that is kind of difficult to be clean and not sloppy especial on fast tempos

[D3mon_Loki]

any pointers with the hammering and pull offs? when i try it it slows me down more than helping me out for example
e|-----12H15P12-----12H15P12-----|
b|-----13-----1 3-----13-----13-----|
g|--12H14-----14P12H14-----14~~|
d|- ----|
a|-----|
E|-----|

[Gh057]

I practice this lesson every single day.

[kurdtfreak42]

good stuff man my bro can sweep like a god and i'm soo jelous that i HAVE to learn so i will be back here day in and day out til i get it

[kurdtfreak42]

my one problem is i'm always trying to pluck every string ....i just don't get that, why would it be soo hard

[kurdtfreak42]

although i guess i am trying to learn this on an acoustic seein as how i left my electric back in minnesota but hey maybe i'll get it down and go home and be a pro

[g graas]

thanks this helps me a lot!

[kurdtfreak42]

anyone trying to learn this i will say it over and over again it takes PRACTICE you will not get it on the first try unless you are a god and if so..... where do you live and whats your # j/k by the way

[kurdtfreak42]

i am finally sort of getting the 4 string sweep

[metallica_102]

man this is hard but will definately worth it once i get it down

[metalheadrocker]

nice lesson, gonna have to practise sooo hard until i can sweep. . . give me luck xP lol thanks for the lesson btw

[cjp11]

agghh i can upstroke sweep fine but my right hand always wants 2 pick each note individualy when downstroking

[Pr3vieWX360]

lol dude its 2:18 am, theres school in the morning and im still practicing how to sweep pick. 4-5 month ago i could never do it so i just gave up. Since then ive gotten better at guitar in general, and so i figured id give it another try. Its not perfect but it sounds relatively good so far. A few more weeks and hopefully i can do it relatively easy. Thanks!

[HelzAngl]

Ok, I've almost got the 3rd pracitce part down, and you said you have videos, but I don't get to see them...can you sen me a new link?

[Ze_Metal]

Just a little tip for you guys, practicing with a metronome on sweeping is almost mandatory for them to sound nice.

[Guitarandbass]

this 100% helped me understand but still cant play

[Pastorius666]

great lesson, couldnt do this for shit before and i learned how to do four string sweeps with hammer ons and pull offs in 2 hours because of it. ive only played for 6 months. u must be a genius teacher. 1 Q tho. isnt the first arpeggio u posted not Dm? the notes for that arpeggio are A,D, and E, and the notes for a regular Dm are D, F, A. I'm confused now.

[xtwitchx]

awesome lesson, i just loked it up, i learned that five string sweep on you tube last week, that final lick was ****in crazy, cant wait to give it a shot. thanks for the lesson

[Nazo226]

Good lesson..
Hmmm...
Im just a two year guitarist..
It gives me 2 months just to master those
shredding downstrokes and uptrokes..
To play it clean with distorsion..
But have fun learning is the important thing..
hehehe...

[corrda00]

now how do i use the e and b string on a bass.(and i mean without a 10 string)

[sifon]

love the jason becker altitutes section. this was a great lesson, i really feel like i might get somewhere with this eventually. thanks

[gupadoo]

very nice, helped me alot

[Guitar(V)asta]

this lesson was extremely helpful and thank you for putting it up. i appreciate it.

[Ratchet27]

I can do the entire sweep BUT the ho s and po s at the BOTTOM of the sweep. The ones at the top are fine.
Can someone help me here??

[guitarmaniak80]

I have been having trouble with the Canon Rock song that Jerry C played. Especially with the sweep picking. I can't wait to try out what you have said. Thanks!

[TRIPPIN 24/7]

FINGERSOFFLAME U R A FUK'N LEGEND I HAV BEEN SEARCHING FOR A LESSON LIKE THIS FOR AGES CANNOT WAIT TO MASTER IT!

[Kevhah]

nice!!!
i needed this

[Tornado94]

GAH! lol really hard to do i cant even master the
-12-----
----13-----
-----14---
lol but i will carry on ^.^

[Tornado94]

GAH! lol really hard to do i cant even master the
-12-----
----13-----
-----14---
lol but i will carry on ^.^

[iH8CarAccidents]

IMO Sweep picking is the coolest sounding kind of solo there is. It evem looks sexier when you tab it. Haha. Thanks for the lesson dude, I'm gonna work on this.

[Maniacal686]

this helped me a lot! I have been doing them slow, but this really helped me get the hand and finger rolling. thanks a lot!

[fingersofflame]

sifon wrote:

love the jason becker altitutes section.

Lol what section is that???

Nazo226 wrote:

Im just a two year guitarist.

Yeah that's about that time I think I learned how to do this

Pastorius666 wrote:

great lesson, couldnt do this for shit before and i learned how to do four string sweeps with hammer ons and pull offs in 2 hours because of it. ive only played for 6 months. u must be a genius teacher. 1 Q tho. isnt the first arpeggio u posted not Dm? the notes for that arpeggio are A,D, and E, and the notes for a regular Dm are D, F, A. I'm confused now.

Yeah, I made a mistake labeling that sweep >.

[fingersofflame]

HelzAngl wrote:

Ok, I've almost got the 3rd pracitce part down, and you said you have videos, but I don't get to see them...can you sen me a new link?

Yeah the vids are long since gone, I know I sent someone a few good vids I'll send the way of anyone who wants them

[fndr981]

great lesson.

[fndr981]

some videos of this would be good..

[Conca]

just wonderin i think you got the upstrokes and downstrokes the wrong way round? i aint havin a go or anythin

[CDL]

If your looking for a good source of viedos then look at U tube there are plenty to choose from.

[Guitarmanmatt]

nice lesson, but that last lick seriously dude, has anybody ever done it?

[-Jake95-]

Man That Lesson RULED! any kinda recommended tempo for tht last lick?

[Zware Sjek]

Can someone please help me on this? I get stuck at the part where you first throw in hammer ons and pulls offs. The one before and after that one are easy for my, and so are basic hammer ons and pull offs. But i can't put them together with the sweep picking, because if you pull off or hammer on, you don't need to pick, so i only pick on the b-string. How should I do this?

[quadrophenia92]

AMAZING lesson! This has helped me through some of Marty Friedman's more difficult runs. Guess it never hurts to return to the basics! Thanks again.

[877O]

I'm confused where it says U U U when it says
1-----14-
2---13---
3-12-----
doesn't that mean you sweep down toward 1st string?
otherwise you'd be picking each string up up up, as you go down, no?

and then it's the opposite when it says D D D

[877O]

well i guess on the scale it would be UP but looking at my guitar it's down lol
thought it was usually like that on most tabs too tho

[niallk280]

the video isnt working for me

[A3r0sm1th]

the video doesn't work, but good lesson! 5 *s

[Quake52]

thanks a lot for this lesson. I practiced so much the callus on one of my fingers broke and started to bleed, and my knuckles are bright red, but i think i've got it.

[max1591]

on the 3rd 'string arpeggio exercice, would you reckommend releasing youre finger from the 12th fret before sweeping back up again or hold it??
x

[Life Is Brutal]

I was never afraid of arpeggios, but I only use the ones that sound alright. Hell, most of the stuff you had with the 12h15 and 12h14 was not the most beatiful thing I had ever heard. But everyones got different tastes so what do I know.

[shelovemyguitar]

Hey with the 5 string sweeping part could you put when we are suppose to upstroke and to downstroke cause I'm a bit ****ed up right now...

[filthy_russian]

i've been playing guitar for about 7 months now and i can get every technique but this. I can get sweeping at any speed mostly and on up to 6 strings but i can't get hammer ons and pull offs in any part of it. it slows me down and stuff. i learned most of this today. does anyone have an advice on h's and p's

[plmokn12]

ive been playing like 10 months now and i can o up to the 5 string sweeps but how do you go about skipping the 15 and only hitting it once it really messes me up


e|-----12-----12-----|
b|-----13-----13-----|
g|-- ---12-----12-----|
d|-----14--14-----|
a|-----15-----|
E| -----|

[plmokn12]

well that didnt come out right but im sure you know what i mean

[filthy_russian]

i like really mess up my hand when i do it lol. I can move my hand fast and weirdly but when i try to hammer on or pull off I get a terrible sound and it tends not to sound like the note i went to instead it sounds like i cut everything off.

[Clockworkjack]

Thank you =)

[Meximini]

upstrokes and downstrokes reversed right?

other than that its a great lesson and i give you an e-cookie

[ledzepfreak12]

i'm a little confused...
at the beginning under "Proper Picking Hand Technique"
it says try to get 6 consecutive clicks... so does that mean like 6 right in a row with no time to turn around? because thats wicked hard. and later in the lessons there's hammer ons and pull offs so it isn't necessary to have to do it consecutively. thoughts?

[Kriptonite_r]

I'm really doing my best, but when do I know when my speed is good enough to go to the next exercisse? 120bpm?

[psychy]

missing videos:
http://www.cyberfret.com/techniques/sweep-picking/i ndex.php

[psychy]

missing videos:
http://www.cyberfret.com/techniques/sweep-picking/i ndex.php

[Chickenfrmheck]

oh my, thank you very much, i can do the basics now, i never really sat down and worked on it till now and this really helped get me started. awesome.

[Jeremy2142]

can you give me an advice on playing the notes clean?
do i use my palm to mute it?

[Depression]

this is ****ing awesome! thank you! a lot!

[a_tran]

awesome exercises! i hadnt realized there were updates to the sweeping video demonstrations so i went along and found an amazing video on youtube. you should post it up somewhere in this article it was also a great help, ill be learning canon rock in no time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mbx03mP5eg

[mqsand2112]

You know what your doing and that's good cause I don't know what i'm doing thanks for the lesson, seriously I've been tryin to figure sweeping out forever.

[Ex Shred]

I like it. I really suck at the finger rolls haha. I heard somewhere that finger rolls were the easiest kind of sweeping... WOW were they wrong! :X

[mikelev]

great lesson but one thing i dont get...when youre hammering at the end of a sweep, lets say on the first couple examples where you go 12h15p12 on the high e, do you do the whole thing in your downstroke and start your upstroke on the b string, or do you do the 12h15 on your downstroke and then the pulloff to 12 on your upstroke? i hope that makes sense

[tommi12]

only can say: great lesson i liked it!! thanks

[kthxbi]

wow man, i read the first part of this lesson up to the end of 3 string sweeping. in the first 20 minutes i was wanting to brain myself with a brick cause of how frustrating it is but just now i listened to myself (about 10 minutes later) and what im doing actually sounds like sweep picking thanks a ton man, youre a g

[Life Is Brutal]

The hammer on licks at the end were a bit weird lol. Check out my lesson, its got some more sweeps for you people who want them. Rate and comment them, it should be on my profile.

[mrLeaf]

tnx it helps me a lot!!!even though it takes years to pull those strings!!!hehhe lol

[Superchill_81]

its awesome, but the up and down strokes are mixed around

[Squire_Guy08]

nice lesson, has really helped me with sweep picking. Very hard but in two days I've learned 3 and 4 string sweeps and I've only been playing 2 months! Its thanks to lessons like these that I'm getting good fast. (it's very frustrating too... sometimes I want to smash the guitar lol ^_^)

[iTzMaTT]

I like it. You explained both your text and examples well!

[blacksanity5]

i think ur upstrokes and downstrokes need to be swithched

[djk55]

Thanks man, I enjoyed this lesson, but the upstrokes and downstrokes are mixed up but no biggy. 5*'s

[RockerxMichael]

Thanks dude. this really breaks it down for me. and im new to sweep picking. i just have like one or two things to say. 1. you said how when you are "rolling" as soon as u hit the string while sweeping you need to release the string right. so wouldnt that be a pull off? like a pull of from the x fret to an open string? and if that is the case wouldng the tabb say something about that? 2nd thing. i could bareley understand what you were talking about the 5 step finger rolling technique. i have not a clue what that is talking about. maybe if i knew what you were talking about it would answer the first thing. but yeah sorry. but all and all great lesson. im gonna give you a nine just cause of my ignorence... sorry

[sk8trdude05]

great job this really help id like to see you do some moe lessons... i had an issue with the first hammer on sweep though i didnt understand it

great job! thanks

[Geoff250999]

awesome lesson dude

[418jwong814]

Best sweeping lesson ever!

[lumpy.gravy]

VERY IN DEPTH!

[muckypup]

awesome lesson dude. i have been trying to find some kind of lesson on the internet that tells you how to sweep pick withough the technical talk but couldn't until i found this one.

[Lord Of Chaos]

Yeah very good lesson indeed I've been playing guitar for 2 years and I got the sweeping thing in a month with this lesson.

BUT...

There is one thing you didn't explain and I really need a hand for this. I'm working on Every Time I Die by Children Of Bodom and there is one sweep I can't play (yet, hopefully). It goes like this :

E|-----12h17p12-----12h15p12-----12~
B|----13-----13-- --13-----13----13----
G|-14-----14-----14-----
D|-----
A| -----
E|-----

(I didn't write the end, cause it's not the problem part). So my problem is : on the G string there is only one note to play, no hammer ons, no pull offs. And I just can't do it properly, I always play it twice : once in the upstroke, once in the downstroke like this :

E|-----12h17p12-----12h15p12-----12
B|-----13-----13-- ---13-----13-----13---
G|-14-14-----14-14-----14-14-----
D |-----
A|-----
E|-----

So can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong and how to do it correctly ? How to play the on single note between the upstroke and the downstroke only ONCE ?

[jtjwsnake]

very nice lesson, it helped a lot!

[buddastrat]

That's a horrible lesson. Are you 13 or something?
You need some instruction, me thinks.

Your U's and D's are mixed up.

That's not a Dm shape at the 12th fret, it's an Am.

The fingering on several patterns under string sweeps is horrible.

I only skimmed this crap but man, it's goofy.

[BuriedAlive11]

Dude, PLEASE Re-Up that vid (i dnno, to utbue or soemthing lol) i just am Uber curious what you mean with
"The Technique shown in the video "

[Frankgt2]

This lesson has helped me get this technique way better. Thx