Ever wish you could play badass sweep picking arpeggios without making unclean mistakes that ruin them?
Not a problem!
A long time ago, I struggled to play sweep picking licks. Really ... I was nowhere near proficient at the technique.
At shredder speeds, my arpeggios wasn't clean and accurate anymore.
It sucked: I knew my playing sounded lousy, but I couldn't tell which of the notes weren't sounding right.
I mean, I didn't even understand what to practice to make my playing sound better.
And when I played slowly, my blunders disappeared completely ... only to come back, the moment I tried playing at my max speed once more.
This drove me crazy for weeks, until my guitar instructor presented to me a "secret" strategy that corrected everything.
It seems - when you stop on arbitrary notes within the arpeggio using speed picking ...
... you can "pinpoint" careless mistakes out of your playing one at a time, without ever slowing down.
And when you get efficient at it, this method of playing turns regular arpeggios into hair-raising guitar licks.
Take a look at this video clip where I show you how to do it in detail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8aj2ivCptc
Want to know additional ways to clean up sloppy sweep picking at higher speeds?
Study the tips below:
Sweep Picking Speed Tip # 1: Use "Aural Rotation"
Locate the specific speed when your playing starts to break down. Then slow down a few beats per minute (by 3-8 beats per minute).
Next, choose one note to focus on and repeat the arpeggio over and over-- listening only to that note.
(Disregard the other notes and ensure the note you decided on is totally clean. Change your technique as you proceed, but do not slow down.).
When you are sure the note sounds perfect-- "rotate" your focus to the following note in the pattern.
Repeat this process with each and every note until you refine the entire arpeggio at full speed.
Sweep Picking Speed Tip # 2: Stay Clear Of "Rhythm Distortion"
When you perform sweep picking arpeggios with legato, play them just as fast as the other notes in the arpeggio.
If you don't, you wind up distorting the rhythm of the notes and this doesn't sound very good.
Not to mention: it's very tough to play through an arpeggio where some notes are faster than other notes in the pattern.
Fortunately, this complication is really easy to resolve.
Watch this video to see what I mean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0aOqsLXAco&feature=emb_title.
Sweep Picking Speed Tip # 3: Clean Up Your Finger Rolling. Below Is How:.
Clean finger rolling (playing 2 or more notes on the same fret on adjacent strings using the same finger) determines the quality of the sound of your sweep picking technique.
The key is to not barring all the notes of the roll. Instead-- fret one note at a time.
How?
Literally roll your finger over strings, so your finger looks like a banana.
Then switch the motion in the opposite direction when you descend the arpeggio.
Check out this video to see how to do finger rolling the right way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2rjXiNUfU&feature=emb_title.
Once you know the most reliable ways to clean up unclean sweep picking-- the next action is to fine-tune the finger independence of your fretting hand.
When you do, everything you play on guitar becomes a whole lot easier and sound much better than it does at this moment.
Check out my totally free resource on fretting hand finger independence and learn fretting hand technique tips most guitar players never know.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, recording artist and composer. He teaches guitar players from all over the world in his online guitar lessons. Learn more on the Tom Hess Wikipedia page.