Sweep Picking

To start things off I'm going to do a lesson on a technique that's becomming very popular as of late and that people on UG seem to talk about frequently: sweep picking. The idea behind sweep picking is that you're going to play notes, one after another, that are on strings next to each other, rather than playing notes on the same string. It's the same idea as strumming a chord, except with pick sweeping you want the individual notes to stand out rather than playing them all at the same time. This allows you to play notes one after another much faster than if we were using other techniques such as alternate picking. The first excersise we'll do will be an arpeggio in D minor (v = downstroke ^ = upstroke):

   v v v ^ ^ ^ v v v ^ ^ ^
E|-----5-3---------1-0------
B|---6-----5-----3-----1----
G|-7---------5-3---------0--
D|--------------------------
A|--------------------------
E|--------------------------

The first set of 3 notes are played strumming down, one after another. The next step are played in up strokes. When you play each note, instead of lifting the pick up after plucking, let it fall onto the next string. You're "sweeping" the strings. The next excercise is almost identicle except we're adding another string.

   v v v v ^ ^ ^ ^ v v v v ^ ^ ^ ^
E|-------5-3-------------1-0--------
B|-----6-----5---------3-----1------
G|---7---------5-----3---------0----
D|-7-------------5-3-------------2--
A|----------------------------------
E|----------------------------------

We can then add a 5th string to this riff if we want. 

   v v v v v ^ ^ ^ v v v v v ^ ^ ^ v v v v v ^ ^ ^ v v v v v ^ ^ ^   
E|---------5---------------3---------------1---------------0-------
B|-------6---6-----------5---5-----------3---3-----------1---1-----
G|-----7-------7-------5-------5-------3-------3-------0-------0---
D|---7-----------7---5-----------5---3-----------3---2-----------2-
A|-5---------------3---------------1---------------3---------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------

The possibilities are endless. You can use any notes, any arpeggios. We can even add hammer ons and pull offs if we want.

   v v   v ^ ^   ^ v v   v ^     ^ ^
E|-------5-3-------------1-0h1p0------
B|---5h6-----3h5-----1h3---------1----
G|-7-------------5-3---------------0--
D|------------------------------------
A|------------------------------------
E|------------------------------------

That concludes this week's lesson. I hope people find this lesson to be useful. I'd appreciate any input, corrections, suggestions, critiques etc.

- Garett Spencley (http://www.mp3.com/garett_spencley)

Comments

[Oswald]

Seems good.....

[thomas_wh]

nice little lesson

[punkrockgiraffe]

better than the scales soloing lesson. a hell of a lot better

[Jericho_13]

is it just me or is it similar to a rake? just with a little less "pizzaz"

[the fendernator]

yeah im really gona get my guitar out and try that. it doesnt matter about up and down strokes anyway.

[Laser]

I like, i like

[masterofmuppets]

it doesnt matter about up and down strokes anyway.

well actually it does... you're never going to get the technique right if u dont do the correct picking... sweep pcking is a right bitch

[jetman_james]

sweep picking is a technique with some leeway depending on personal style and speed. it is an idea, not a rule. i've found myself blazing through scales up and down the neck and once in a while i'll notice my picking hand sweep picking on its own in the way that it has learned to do it best to fit the speed i'm playing at that time. that might not make any sense to some people but as you get better you'll notice this too and wont think i'm crazy. it's like typing in a sense. there is an idea of how you should place your hands when typing and although you may start off this way- as you get better you may notice that although you're incredibly fast at typing you may not necessarily do it the way you learned but you've begun to almost subconsciously do it the way that works best for you. I'm crazy, aren't I?!?

[harak]

^i notice that as well. It's only when it comes to 4+ note sweeps that i struggle.

[anti-goth]

what thehell

[The^Unforgiven]

Does "Sweeping" mean those fast n cool little things that guitarists like Timo Tolkki, Luca Turilli and Alexi Laiho use a lot, like in the intro of "Towards dead end (Children Of Bodom)"?

[Timi Hendrix]

I find sweep skipping a lot easier

[Aditya]

could u tab out the minor scale sweep picked?

[ThisPerishedMin]

to get hte sound of john petrucci for example when he sweep picks, do u need to mute the last note played and move that quic, or let them ring? neither method seems to sound right, but perhaps its just that i cant do it at a speed of 240, can anyone help meo ut? and itis unbelieveable that oswald seems happy over sumthing, or at least not hateful about it. and jetman ur not totally crazy...makes sense, u just suck cuz u can do it lol :-p

[jetman_james]

well perished, if you know any scale patterns and you play through them pretty fucxing fast and you're improvising up-and-down within a box pattern or up-and-down within the entire scale on the fretboard you should take a look at your picking-hand from time to time and you may already be doing this. it's not limited to the technique shown in this lesson, but the general idea is maintained. sometimes you'll only sweep through specific strings or during certain licks in your solos. this technique should be learned loosely so that it fits your playing, not so that you exactly fit the technique. most techniques are designed for you to fit them into the way you play. they're to be used freely to enhance the "emotion/atmosphere" in your passages. does that make sense? if anyone has any questions about other techniques just contact me on this website. keep rockin!

[yeller56]

HMMM... How many BPMs does that have to be played at?

[Whstripesrox]

im confused and this is hard

[CptMorgan]

Ok the lesson helped me out a little but im lost on one thing.

Alright, so lets start with the first example of the 7 6 5 sweep. I bring my pic up and hit the 7, as I'm going to the 6 do I lift my finger off the 7 to mute it? I'm not playing right now because I'm at school but it seems like if you let each note ring out it would be the same as a chord.

[Don Slash]

CptMorgan, you are not the only one with this problem or question mark... So after hitting the 7, should I mute it while the pick moves to the 6? This information would help a lot because learning this would help in other techniques...

[super666fender]

nice, good article, explains everything pretty well

[smb]

I pick like this most of the time ('cept chords, obviously) but I play a lot of Kyuss and thats how J-Ho plays. Get well soon Josh Homme!

[julian2k4]

sweep picking is hard at first but once u get the hang of it u start doin it all the time...i f u wanna play guitar really good u must know how to sweet pick....if ur gonna play gay music then dont! lil f-u-c-k-e-r-s

[feltgrape]

sweeping was always mad easy for me, as long as its 4 strings or under

[weiya]

oh,I just dont get it,-.-.When I try to sweep I always end in playing chords if I want to make it fast

[rock zeppelin]

my advice with sweep is start slow, and the goal is right when you pick the note let off really quick to make sure the note dosent ring into the next note. And learn sweeps from steve vai thats what i did (as in go and buy a steve vai cd)

[rock zeppelin]

[leth]

HELP i dont understand at all im playing very slowly to build it up and still dont get the concept okay make the notes single and stand out cant do that but dont get the strumming idea do u play just one note on one strig or what?

[rock zeppelin]

gibaphone man

[phil5000]

wow this guy definetly should have mentioned that you cant hold your hand in the same place when you sweep pick. You have to have your hand in the shape of the chord or whatever it is your going to sweep, but just hold them over the strings then put the first one down just as you start to sweep then lift it up as you come to the next note and put that finger down on the string then lift. but just lift enought to mute it. Ok article anyway.

[Viruk]

that made no sense

[antichristevan6]

wtf r u talking about?? it made perfect sense! he forgot to add that you can palm mute while doing it and u can use pinch harmonics and harmonics and you can mix major AND minor scales with it.

[Rory Hullena]

If you dont understand this artical you are too stupid. Go and learn some scales, it'd be like learning how to fly a plane with no experience

[C3_Rocka]

lift ya finger off teh string you just played so it's just like a quick sound.

[space_goat]

think it's ok!nice job!

[CrucialDecay607]

could have been a little more detailed, but it's still a pretty well-explained lesson.

[Hockeyking_86]

a good example of some sweep picking at its finest is in The Glass Prison by Dream Theater. Another, and i dont suggest trying this unless you are extremely advanced, try I, Voyager by Nevermore, its insane.

[mightyleviathan]

Nevermore is one of the best bands out there right now .This godless endeavor is by far the best album ive heard in years \m/ \m/

[mightyleviathan]

Jeff Loomis is my HERO!Pure fretboard wizardry!
I would sell my liver to be able to play like that!
Can you live w/o your liver? Hope so cause its to late now!

[zeebie]

this is pretty good, but learning by watching someone is MUCH easier. 4/5

[Shadow?]

This lesson was pretty good, I got into sweeps not too long ago, and have been doing some relativally small steps into it, but it's kind of hard to be taught this certain lesson, it just depends on how ur fingers flow, I find it easier to pick a song, learn it, and learn how to do more from it, also just listening and watching helps alot too, i've found that i've been playing alot faster and my stuff has become more melodic and adapt to my style alot, this lesson helepd me a bit though, I can now sweep that no problem, but i find it easier to teach yourself then anything, but sometimes you just feel the music and it makes you want to, which is my favourite part!

[ooblah]

i think the lessons pretty good, id check out Jason Becker for cool arpeggiated sweep picking stuff thats like his specialty

[harlet]

i think some of you are obviously having trouble visualising the sweeping action. Seeing it in action really helps. Try this: http://www.cyberfret.com/techniques/sweep-picking/index.php

[ZEiNDEiN]

this might be a usefu
l lesson.. thanx dude..

[ZEiNDEiN]

this might be a useful lesson.. thanx dude..

[dwad]

yeah im really gona get my guitar out and try that. it doesnt matter about up and down strokes anyway.

yeah fenderater or whoever you are you are stupid if you think that up and downstrokes don't matter you need a slap in the face for that one you idiot

[metadeth]

that was helpful.
thanks man

[atreyufan99]

the only thing troubling me is the upstrokes any advice?

[fingersofflame]

that is a really cool and useful lesson...with some practice from this lesson, i may be able to finally play all of canon rock...awesome lesson man! 9 stars from me

[fingersofflame]

one other thing...i,like atreyufan99, also am having trouble with the upstrokes...does anyone have some advice, or is it simply a matter of practice...

[Becker Ola]

really nice Man !!! Good info but dont forget you gotta roll the notes.

the real trick is practice right ????

[shibby3]

good stuff, Michael Angelo Batio is incredible at sweeping. He's a good person to learn from as well.

[xanimeoz]

dude this lesson ROCK well done, iv been lookin how to do it right for sometime.. thxx

[xanimeoz]

ha dude, im not having a go but, it would be kool, if u showed what finger u used of each none, : )

[hthedinga]

it didn't seem like you mentioned how you have to lift up your fingers. you should mention good ways to practice this. i would think not messing around with moving your hand from chord position to chord position would help. you could also mention difficulties that arise when practicing this technique and esimate how long it takes to learn. such things would be very helpful.

[ibanez87]

i don't get it,

[guitar extra]

amazing....:

[jsav4589]

he didnt mention how your not supposed to pull the finger off the last string you picked to mute it. you dont want to have 2 notes ringing at the same time. i already know what they are, but i wanna know ways to help me with them. the whole point of the sweep picking technique is to have one note at a time in an arpeggio. this doesnt help me at all.

[Emergency?]

dum kids you hold it like a chord and pluck eaco string in a downward or up motion DONT LIFT FINGERS! keep the hold of the cord its hard at first but you get better as u go along

[EMO_MUST_BURN!!]

well now it clears it up, vau does lots of these kinds o techniquess an now i can follow, gr8 lesson

[Surrysounds]

Good lesson. An audio sample would make it even better.

[Edge_Rocks]

Emergency? wrote:

dum kids you hold it like a chord and pluck eaco string in a downward or up motion DONT LIFT FINGERS! keep the hold of the cord its hard at first but you get better as u go along

Dumb Kid... Dont listen to this noob, he clearly doesnt have any idea what sweeping is. Hey einstein, try your version of sweeping on Eugene's Trick Bag, I hope you have 12 fingers on your fret hand... Do what everyone else is saying, lift your finger only high enough so that it prevents you from causing an open note,which you will definently hear if you do it wrong. It takes a hell of a lot of practice to get that part right, Id say its undenyably the hardest part of sweeping. ESPECIALLY if you're doing 3 string sweeps, where the light muting becomes very hard when your going so fast. Takes years to perfect, but only minutes to learn the concept, if you really love the sound, just keep cracking at it, starting slow and speeding up, always working at Just below the speed where you start making errors, thatll make it a hell of a lot easier than just going fast right at the start, cuz when you do that, itll cause you to make tiny errors that became built in when you started it, and theyll practically become second nature, making it incredibly hard to correct. Good Lesson G, keep at it

[a0kalittlema0n]

^ agreed. Emergency? you suck lol you definately dont know what sweep picking is

[vIsIbleNoIsE]

hmmm how do you keep the extra noise away when doing downstrokes? cuz when i upstroke i use the side of my thumb to help keep it clean, but i always get extra noise while doing downstrokes...especially when one of the notes is over a harmonic...help?

[fenderlover]

it does matter if u use up or down strokes "Fendernator", dumbass, thats what sweep picking is

[Adam*The Chaos*]

Well im a noob on this whole sweep picking thing but im learning as I go

I say thanks to all the guys giving tips on this lesson lol I didnt even look at this guys lesson I went straight to the comments cuz its more helpfull

Oh yea and noobies like me START OFF SLOW THEN BUILD UP SPEED! Thaught i'd leave a tip of my own buy bye

[bcrichmbird]

this is a gr8 lesson, ive been playing guitar 9 months now n learnt about sweeping about a month ago n startin slow and working at it a lot helps so much, ive gotten up to 6 notes a second from about 2 wen i was going flat out just shows u gotta put so much effort and work into it to learn it right

[Belthazubel]

Geez! Helped so much! Thanks ^_^

[I_Dont_Know]

jetman_james wrote:

sweep picking is a technique with some leeway depending on personal style and speed. it is an idea, not a rule. i've found myself blazing through scales up and down the neck and once in a while i'll notice my picking hand sweep picking on its own in the way that it has learned to do it best to fit the speed i'm playing at that time. that might not make any sense to some people but as you get better you'll notice this too and wont think i'm crazy. it's like typing in a sense. there is an idea of how you should place your hands when typing and although you may start off this way- as you get better you may notice that although you're incredibly fast at typing you may not necessarily do it the way you learned but you've begun to almost subconsciously do it the way that works best for you. I'm crazy, aren't I?!?

it reminds me of alternative picking, it's so hard to learn (unless you first started) and you just can't do it like a year in but then youi just do it without realizing it and it's like skateboarding eventually you just do it

[I_Dont_Know]

fingersofflame wrote:

one other thing...i,like atreyufan99, also am having trouble with the upstrokes...does anyone have some advice, or is it simply a matter of practice...

try alternative picking and then it should come to you... unless your talking about the change in not? in that case you gotta practise practise practise

[Alkaline300]

ok thats easy enough but how can a person fix the stutters of switching between up and down fast enough?

[metallicaman-x]

when you downstroke a set of notes or upstroke do you fret all the notes at the same time or just move yuour fingers really fast? please answer somebody

[wsed666]

thanx dude now i know how to sweep pick!!!!!(i think)

[RustyGold]

here's a question i've had for a long time.
when you're sweep picking say an arpeggio like

-3-----
---5-----
-----5-----
-----5----
the way i play do is i use my index finger for the g notes and my third ring finger for the e, c, g (a quick barr roll)

or are you supposed to use yer pinky & and the other three fingers?

[2muchTV]

Alright for people having trouble, I will first say, Sweep picking is something that can take a lot of practice and can be very difficult for some people to "get", me being one of those people.

My basic advice is use the arpeggios he's got up here, and START SLOW! Get used to the basic motion of down up (it really is a sweep motion). Add speed as you would practicing any other speed-defined technique.

Then listen to steve vai and realize you can never be that good and quit.

[Mr. Kill]

I_Dont_Know wrote:


it reminds me of alternative picking, it's so hard to learn (unless you first started) and you just can't do it like a year in but then youi just do it without realizing it and it's like skateboarding eventually you just do it

true now whenever i paly i pick alternatly when its better without even noticing

[alliwant]

I started off alternate picking so I don't understand why people find it so hard but that 's probably because everyone learns in different ways.

Together with the comments, this is a fine article.

[fade2dust]

RustyGold wrote:

here's a question i've had for a long time.
when you're sweep picking say an arpeggio like

-3-----
---5-----
-----5-----
-----5----
the way i play do is i use my index finger for the g notes and my third ring finger for the e, c, g (a quick barr roll)

or are you supposed to use yer pinky & and the other three fingers?

yeah rustygold, u got it. for those situations a rolling bar is the way to do it. its even harder then using single fingers so good on ya. ive been playing for almost a year know and ive been trying the c major shape. its got a nice sound and is movable and ull even find it in a some trivium songs, just done very quickly of course.

[Kevin67]

I like orange juice

[stidhamdan]

the leson helps explain the technique,but its a very hard skill to learn not just by the way the lesson is explained but it takes lots of practice,it's not something your average guitar player is going to pick up in the next hour.Most people get frustrated if they cant do it the second they see it and give up .You have to put x amount of time each day practicing this techniuqe to really learn it,and the differance between just strumming down a chord and sweeping is the speed you can here the notes being played each note is heard and stoped after progressing to the next string put the work in and it will sound sweet

[I was here]

this is still hard for me >

[SoilWzelot]

i dont know for u guys but i do more mistakes playing it slow than fast...i just have problem to change betwean "chords" when playing fast...

[21stCenturyKid]

sweep picking is alot harder than it looks!! its easy at slow speeds but once you start doing 6 string sweeps with all 6 strings within 1 beat at about 200BMP then you know your pretty good!

[nightraven]

I think the solo in Eagleheart by Stratovarius is a good sweep-picking exercise, I use it and it helps a lot.
http://metaltabs.com/tab/3622/ somewhere down on that tab there is the solo which helps
I think this lesson is also very good, and helpful

[Salamandyk]

it so does matter about the up and down strokes ...thats what makes it sweep picking

[guitarsolo_17]

lol i wouldnt have guessed i was using the same technique as metal guitarists while playing hendrix woodstock solos. just usin less notes and not strictly sweeping

[guitarsolo_17]

atreyufan99 wrote:

the only thing troubling me is the upstrokes any advice?

dude almost flatten ur pick backwards so it pretty much just barely touches the strings, it just glides on them and plays them while u bring it up

[jimmy hendrix 2]

what are some good sweep picking songs

[a0kalittlema0n]

^ for jummy hendrix 2 no boundaries by michael angelo batio has a good sweeping portion in it

but as the lesson goes it doesn't help with any technique it just tells you what sweep picking is and gives you 3 riffs to practice and those riffs don't cover most chord formations of sweep picking horrible!!!!

[Under_Score247]

hey this is great!
ive been learnin fr 2 yrs and this is the best lesson on sweep picking ever...
thanks a lot man,

[ChptOfDarkness]

this helped me alot. im tryin to learn speed kills and thats one f-u-c-k-i-n-g insane song

[Azzy666]

you didnt go into much detail about the actual way in which you do the sweep picking motion. if it is as simple as you said that means i am doing it correctly and i just need to keep practicing to build up speed.
but anyway thanks, at least i have a shape to work with hehe

[codynw42]

its very simple for the people who dotn egt the concept, what i do is try to time my pick strumming the string the same time as my finger hits it. it may be different for u. i dont know why but i learned how to do this easily in about a day.( not extremely fast stuff of course.)

[danfry29]

jimmy hendrix 2 wrote:

what are some good sweep picking songs

I think that an easy song to get down once you learn the technique is "Bleeding Mascara" by Atreyu... Then once you become amazing listen to Children of Bodom and Protest The Hero...

[first_aid]

phil5000 wrote:

wow this guy definetly should have mentioned that you cant hold your hand in the same place when you sweep pick. You have to have your hand in the shape of the chord or whatever it is your going to sweep, but just hold them over the strings then put the first one down just as you start to sweep then lift it up as you come to the next note and put that finger down on the string then lift. but just lift enought to mute it. Ok article anyway.

omfg i actually understood that. what he means is that you have to hover your hand above the string and let go as soon as the pick played the string, just enough to mute it. wow, great minds think alike lol

[Killedmt]

For people who didn't understand:

Sweeping is natural for speed. Speed techniques for picking are all about conserving or utilizing your motions. It's not magic, it's economy of motion. Alternate picking utilizes the time you normally would take to bring your pick back up to hit the string again. Economy picking is alternate picking even more economically, using upstrokes and downstrokes in an undefined pattern that best suits whatever you're playing.

Sweep picking just eliminates extra motion; i.e., the time it takes to lift your hand up and pluck the next string. It's like strumming a chord, but not all the notes at once. You play the notes individually, but without lifing your picking hand.

[grim999]

SoilWzelot wrote:

i just have problem to change betwean "chords" when playing fast...

use slides to change ur entire position every time.

[I was here]

help me....

[enooox]

fade2dust wrote:

RustyGold wrote:

here's a question i've had for a long time.
when you're sweep picking say an arpeggio like

-3-----
---5-----
-----5-----
-----5----
the way i play do is i use my index finger for the g notes and my third ring finger for the e, c, g (a quick barr roll)

or are you supposed to use yer pinky & and the other three fingers?


yeah rustygold, u got it. for those situations a rolling bar is the way to do it. its even harder then using single fingers so good on ya. ive been playing for almost a year know and ive been trying the c major shape. its got a nice sound and is movable and ull even find it in a some trivium songs, just done very quickly of course.

I'm a bit new to sweep picking, so can anyone please tell me what a "rolling bar" is? =)

[Orneblad]

Edge_Rocks wrote:

Emergency? wrote:

dum kids you hold it like a chord and pluck eaco string in a downward or up motion DONT LIFT FINGERS! keep the hold of the cord its hard at first but you get better as u go along


Dumb Kid... Dont listen to this noob, he clearly doesnt have any idea what sweeping is. Hey einstein, try your version of sweeping on Eugene's Trick Bag, I hope you have 12 fingers on your fret hand... Do what everyone else is saying, lift your finger only high enough so that it prevents you from causing an open note,which you will definently hear if you do it wrong. It takes a hell of a lot of practice to get that part right, Id say its undenyably the hardest part of sweeping. ESPECIALLY if you're doing 3 string sweeps, where the light muting becomes very hard when your going so fast. Takes years to perfect, but only minutes to learn the concept, if you really love the sound, just keep cracking at it, starting slow and speeding up, always working at Just below the speed where you start making errors, thatll make it a hell of a lot easier than just going fast right at the start, cuz when you do that, itll cause you to make tiny errors that became built in when you started it, and theyll practically become second nature, making it incredibly hard to correct. Good Lesson G, keep at it

thanks, great to hear. that's the only thing i didn't get..

[supersaianGohan]

I don't know if everyone's seen it, but here's the link to the extremely well-explained lesson by pick n' grin on sweep picking that should very well eliminate any questions you might have.

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

The visuals do a much better job of explaining the process than any text can.

[bassetrox]

Okay, Before this article i could kinda do it, so i was hoping for a few "improvement" nudges to help me get better, think it could do with a bit more detail. In particular about how to mute strings after playing them. My problem is that on sweeps of 5 strings, the open g string rings out after ive played the fretted note and muddies up the sound. Any other advice, hand position etc, other than just, "dont lift off so far"? Cheers

Not a bad lesson though.

[knotslip]

that is handy thanks ug

[l0ssOfHuman1ty]

this tab blows...

[tony d]

bassetrox: use the palm of your hand to mute the string you have just played. it takes a while to get used to but it works

[travman_401]

*Shoots l0ssOfHuman1ty*

Anyway this really helped man thanks!

[travman_401]

Kevin67 wrote:

I like orange juice

ME TOO OMG!!!

[panhead4jesus]

this lesson helped me out thx! oh and by the way jetman_james i understand exactly what u r saying with ur picking hand doin stuff on its own, probably cuz im crazy 2 :P

[jon bon 12]

mabye i should do a 6 string sweep picking lesson

[One Way Ticket]

utter crap. You didn't explain anything about the actual technique of sweeping. No muting techniques, no finger rolling technique, no nothing.

[.::AHF4LIFE::.]

you didnt explain the technique of sweeping at all the exercizes are neat but you not explaining anything

[Hoa]

Heres another piece of advice ^^ you know how you see people drumming with their fingers going from left to right so pinky-ring-middle-index? try going index-middle-ring-pinky. helps alot with rolling also try going up and down scales as fast you can without a pick helps to

[Saofan12]

AWESOME LESSON! extreamly usefull, i highly recomend it to anyone who wants to learn to play fast

[andy_h04]

how do you get the individual notes to stand out? im struggling

[Mazzakazza]

The^Unforgiven wrote:

Does "Sweeping" mean those fast n cool little things that guitarists like Timo Tolkki, Luca Turilli and Alexi Laiho use a lot, like in the intro of "Towards dead end (Children Of Bodom)"?

Yes. heh. And thanks for lesson, helped me pin it down...i think. Was trying to work it out myself...but needed a few pointers =)

[Donkey Fly]

first_aid wrote:

phil5000 wrote:

wow this guy definetly should have mentioned that you cant hold your hand in the same place when you sweep pick. You have to have your hand in the shape of the chord or whatever it is your going to sweep, but just hold them over the strings then put the first one down just as you start to sweep then lift it up as you come to the next note and put that finger down on the string then lift. but just lift enought to mute it. Ok article anyway.


omfg i actually understood that. what he means is that you have to hover your hand above the string and let go as soon as the pick played the string, just enough to mute it. wow, great minds think alike lol

I think that is quite a big thing that was left out of the lesson...doing it where your moving your fingers constantly like you would if you were playing a scale makes sweeping twice as hard...although it does make you look better on stage....

[RohithCG]

thanks for this help..

[Dick6Valentine]

does anyone have good sites that teach sweep picking I've been playing for like 4 years and want to start learning. thanks

[ajaxexplorer]

My problem is sweeping down, but sweeping up comes easier for me.

[Concrete_Burger]

no matter how many times i try sweeps i just cant get them, but nice lesson

[666DeMoN666]

good lesson, to bad all i can do is 3 string sweeping.

[HGDUDE]

I don't think ANY of you know what sweep picking is

which sux cuz I need to learn it

[Guitar_Freek824]

i wish i could do this =[[[ i can do everything else but not sweeps. ugh.

[lester2215]

this is good but on question..when u sweep dont u palm mute or something?? sure sounds like it...

[BodaciousBob]

Really good but i thought it was a little short and could have gone into more detail.

[metal4life91]

hey this was really helpful, thankx
i am learning some really fast avenged sevenfold stuff and i was only alternate picking, sweep picking is making it so much easier!

[jacacak]

I recently was noodling licks with this dude and he says..."yep, I have all the techniques....check my sweep picking..." Alas, more muted string barre chords. "Really" I said..."hmmm...let me try that". This ended with him storming out of the room and he won't even look at me now...egotist!!! Anyway, the truth is I had worked diligently on this technique for about 1 year straight. As of now I can finally do the 15 note hammer/pull sweep runs clean and pretty dang fast. I have two important recommendation: (1)Pick Hand First!!!! Put a towel over the fretboard, turn the metro on and just sweep pick your right hand in time...down,down,down,down,down....up,up,up,up,up....etc... You can hold some harmonics with your left hand if you get bored of hearing the clink,clink,clink. I guarantee your left hand will fall in place in short order.(2) Once you get it....and you will!!! Video yourself doing it....man, that is one rewarding experience...

[thrashmaster500]

Yes!,now I finally know what sweep picking is

[Imperial]

i prefer to sweep with a broom =)

[Synyster9991]

Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold has a mean sweep pick. Listen to Seize the Day towards the end or the Wicked End in the middle. Amazing.

[Frankie Sparks]

Not bad, but really i could give alot better lesson than that, im actually an accomplished sweep picker. I sweep pick in a few of my solos, and i could give a lesson on that. To bad the only computer i have access to is at school.

[Frankie Sparks]

I do more 7 string sweeps though than 6.

[UGchicken]

Good lesson.

[\m/Torin\m/]

i like, i've been wanting to get into sweep picking. good lesson

[danieltang34]

which finger should i use for the two quoted notes?

v v v v ^ ^ ^ ^
E|-----5-3-----
B|-----6-----5-----
G|--(7)-----5---
D|(7)-----5-
A|-----
E|-----

[fishm]

nice lesson
really good

[bartone02]

frankie sparks you are a ****, "i am an accomplished sweep picker" **** off and get some friends and stop being so far up your own arse, if you were that accomplished why are you looking at lessons for sweep picking anyway dick brain?

[bartone02]

ph yeah, good lesson btw

[coca_cola]

Good article, i wanted to learn 'house of the rising sun' which is practically all sweep picking and ive been looking for a good swep lesson all day, youtube, forums everywhere, apart from the palm mute thing this lesson is near perfect, i finally get what sweep picking is and how it is diffrent from strumming and all...

[XxPunkMafiaxX]

fingersofflame wrote:

one other thing...i,like atreyufan99, also am having trouble with the upstrokes...does anyone have some advice, or is it simply a matter of practice...

with upstrokes u kinda need 2 keep ur picking hand in exactly the same place and imagine theres a barrier on either side and kinda bounce back up from the downstroke staright after. and also, if u find ur hand tenses and uses a lot of force downstroking, losen up for upstrokes and glide up

[dimebagsmygod]

Has anyone got a link just for exercises on sweep picking?

[myshahira]

i appreciate it..
nice!!
AmaZing
now i know it^^
thanks

[smashingme]

im pretty good at sweet picking but i dont use this lesson i used jerry c riffs to learn it u should try it to

[deathmask666]

Ahhh Sweep Picking...My lead guitarist is awesome at it...I can do a few basic 6 string and 7-string sweeps just not as clean as he can...

One word of advice if you use just the neck pickup on your electric guitar it really helps the accentuation of the notes while you sweep pick.
"This is a simple sweep that i do during one of our songs"
-----15-16-----
-----14-----15-----
-----13-----14 -----
-----12-----13-----
---12-----13-----
-12-----13---

The trick is already mentioned in a prior post.
As you pick each note you briefly fret it. You do this in a quick fashion. And it does definatley matter the picking technique because in order to play it smoothly,efficiently, and logically you do all downstrokes v descending from the top LOW E String to the high E String and then vice versa when ascending ^.

[deathmask666]

-----15-16-----
-----14-----15-----
-----13-----14 -----
-----12-----13-----
---12-----13----
-12-----13--

[deathmask666]

Doh...I suppose you can't really tab stuff here in a comment...

[supea]

Starts on too hard. sucks.

[glittergirl3]

what r hammer ons and pull offs???

[ibanezfreak121]

its a good lesson to start on but arpaggios will help you in the long run

[killtrend]

phil5000 wrote:

wow this guy definetly should have mentioned that you cant hold your hand in the same place when you sweep pick. You have to have your hand in the shape of the chord or whatever it is your going to sweep, but just hold them over the strings then put the first one down just as you start to sweep then lift it up as you come to the next note and put that finger down on the string then lift. but just lift enought to mute it. Ok article anyway.

If your doing a six string major sweep instead of freting the notes usually fretted with your pinkie and ring fingers, you would “roll” your ring over the E and A notes (key of A) its all a matter of keeping it as simple and efficient as possible, While keeping strict Staccato form.

[jonathanonfire]

not good. shouldve explained more and started the exercises off easier.

[AzureKid26]

you my friend have a vast knowledge of guitar playing. i know exactly what you mean. half of guitar playing is technique and theory, while the other half is your own personal style, thus making the unique expierence that is playing guitar.

jetman_james wrote:

well perished, if you know any scale patterns and you play through them pretty fucxing fast and you're improvising up-and-down within a box pattern or up-and-down within the entire scale on the fretboard you should take a look at your picking-hand from time to time and you may already be doing this. it's not limited to the technique shown in this lesson, but the general idea is maintained. sometimes you'll only sweep through specific strings or during certain licks in your solos. this technique should be learned loosely so that it fits your playing, not so that you exactly fit the technique. most techniques are designed for you to fit them into the way you play. they're to be used freely to enhance the "emotion/atmosphere" in your passages. does that make sense? if anyone has any questions about other techniques just contact me on this website. keep rockin!

[AzureKid26]

you my friend have a vast knowledge of guitar playing. i know exactly what you mean. half of guitar playing is technique and theory, while the other half is your own personal style, thus making the unique expierence that is playing guitar.

jetman_james wrote:

sweep picking is a technique with some leeway depending on personal style and speed. it is an idea, not a rule. i've found myself blazing through scales up and down the neck and once in a while i'll notice my picking hand sweep picking on its own in the way that it has learned to do it best to fit the speed i'm playing at that time. that might not make any sense to some people but as you get better you'll notice this too and wont think i'm crazy. it's like typing in a sense. there is an idea of how you should place your hands when typing and although you may start off this way- as you get better you may notice that although you're incredibly fast at typing you may not necessarily do it the way you learned but you've begun to almost subconsciously do it the way that works best for you. I'm crazy, aren't I?!?

[metalheadTim]

jesus christ.
this shit is hard as hell.
its like trying to play guitar hero on expert for the first time ever.
i didnt understand shit, but now im starting to get it,
damn good lesson i must say.

[vigenharutyunya]

hey the links don't work... reply me the new links in my profile or pm me please

[leftylikejimi]

Hmm...so is a good idea to rest your hand on the bridge to dampen the strings or should I not be doing that??

[mgdeath02]

How do you make the sound fluent and fast. i tend to slow down on the upstroke part. how long does it take to learn how to sweep??

[johanlrninggtar]

it takes about a month to get the hang of the sweep picking both hand coordination while playing fast, but i don't know how long it takes to play super clean though cus i haven't got there yet.

[tommytomtomtom]

nice, helps a lot, i got it down even on acoustic guitar, sounds sick!

[dangerdan92]

i love sweep picking.. i cant really do it that well but i wanna learn it so bad that im determined to practice hard.. but great little lesson here i understood it perfectly