Although often regarded as a shredders technique, the notion of sweeping (or raking) the pick across the strings

to produce a quick succession of notes has been around since the invention of the pick itself. Ja pla!ers fro" the #ifties, such as $es %aul, &arne! 'essel and (al #arlow, would use the approach in their i"provisations, and countr! guitar genius )het Atkins was known to eschew his signature fingerst!le h!brid*picking technique fro" ti"e to ti"e and rip out sweep*picked arpeggios, proving that the technique is not genre specific. +ithin rock, ,itchie &lack"ore used sweep picking to pla! arpeggios in -eep %urples April and ,ainbows 'ill the 'ing. #usion "aestro #rank .a"bale is widel! considered to be the "ost versatile and innovative sweep picker and the first artist to full! integrate the technique into his st!le, appl!ing sweeping to arpeggios, pentatonics, heptatonic (seven*note) scales and "odes, and be!ond. .a"bale e/plains his approach wonderfull! in his instructional video, Monster Licks and Speed Picking. 0riginall! released in 1233, it re"ains a "ust*watch video for an!one interested in developing a s"ooth sweep*picking technique. 4t was 5tockhol", 5weden, however that would produce the na"e "ost s!non!"ous with sweeping in a rock conte/t, one that gave rise to a guitar "ove"ent known as neoclassical heav! "etal. 5wedish guitar virtuoso 6ngwie 7al"steen was influenced b! Ji"i 8endri/, ,itchie &lack"ore and 9li Jon ,oth but was also equall! enthralled b! 12th*centur! virtuoso violinist :iccol; %aganini. Atte"pting to e"ulate on his #ender 5tratocaster the fluid, breathtaking passages %aganini would co"pose and pla! on violin, 7al"steen concluded that sweep picking was the perfect wa! to travel quickl! fro" string to string with a s"ooth, fluid sound "uch like what a violinist can create with his bow. 7al"steens st!le has since influenced two generations of guitarists, including (on! 7acAlpine, Jason &ecker, 5teve <ai, 7attias 4A =klundh, ,itchie 'ot en, 7art! #ried"an, John %etrucci, <innie 7oore, Jeff $oo"is, 5!n!ster .ates, Ale/i $aiho and (osin Abasi, to na"e but a few. (he first five e/ercises in this lesson are designed to give !ou a s!ste"atic approach to practicing the co"ponent "ove"ents of sweep picking> fro" two*string sweeps to si/*string sweeps, and ever!thing in between. %racticing each e/ercise with a "etrono"e for ?ust two "inutes ever! da! will i"prove !our coordination and !our confidence to use the technique in !our own pla!ing. +ork fro" two strings up to si/, keeping !our "etrono"e at the sa"e te"po. (his "eans starting with eighth notes, and while this will feel ver! slow, the technique will beco"e trickier with each successive note grouping> eighth*note triplets, 1@th notes, quintuplets and, "ost difficult of all, 1@th*note triplets and their equivalent se/tuplets. #ocus on s!nchroni ing !our hands so that !our pick and fretting fingers "ake contact with the string at e/actl! the sa"e "o"ent. 0nl! one string should be fretted at an! ti"e (this is ke!A), and an! idle strings should be diligentl! "uted with !our re"aining fingers. 4f !ou fail to do this and allow notes on ad?acent strings to ring together, it will negate the desired effect and sound like !ou are si"pl! stru""ing a chord. +hen it co"es to sweep picking, "uting is the ke! to cleanliness. 4t is also the aspect that will take the "ost practice to "aster. (he second set of five e/ercises handles so"e co""on sweep*picking approaches. (hese are shown in one position and based on one chord t!pe each, thus focusing !our attention on the

e/ercise until !ou have beco"e accusto"ed to the technique. (he final piece helps !ou tackle the various aspects of sweeping while bolstering !our sta"ina, as the bulk of it consists of nonstop 1@th notes, with onl! a few pauses for breathing. &reak it down into four*bar sections and practice each with a "etrono"e, graduall! building up to the 1BB*beats*per*"inute (1BBbp") target te"po. Get the Tone 4n rock, this technique is best suited to 5trat*st!le guitars, using the neck pickup setting for a war", round tone. 9se a "odern tube a"p with the gain set to a "oderate a"ountC?ust enough to give all the notes a unifor" volu"e and sustain, but not so "uch that string "uting beco"es an i"possible battle. (he thickness and sharpness of !our pick will hugel! i"pact the tone of !our sweep picking. 5o"ething with a thickness between one and two "illi"eters and a rounded tip will provide the right a"ount of attack and still glide over the strings with ease.

D#4.9,= 1E (his )"a?F arpeggio on the two "iddle strings works ?ust as well on the top two or botto" two. $ightl! drag !our pick across (push down, pull up) the two strings so that theres ver! little resistance. (his teaches !our picking hand to "ake s"ooth "otions rather than two separate downward or upward strokes. #4.9,= G is a )F arpeggio pla!ed across three strings. 5trive to "aintain the sa"e s"ooth downHup "otion with !our pick used in the previous e/a"ple. #ocus on the pick strokes that land on downbeats, and allow the in*between, or offbeat, notes to naturall! fall into place. =ver! three notes !our pick will change direction.

:ow lets "ove on to four strings with this e/otic )F altered*do"inant lick, re"iniscent of one of .a"bales fusion fora!s. ,e"e"ber, sweep picking is "ost effective when each note is cleanl! separated fro" the last, so ai" to have onl! one finger in contact with the fretboard at a ti"e in order to keep the notes fro" ringing together.

:ow we "ove on to so"e five*string shapes, the likes of which !ou can hear in the pla!ing of 5teve <ai and 7attias =klundh. (he phrasing here is 1@th*note quintuplets (five notes per beat). 0nce again, if !ou focus on nailing the highest and lowest notes along with the beat, the in* between notes should auto"aticall! fall into place. 7ove !our pick at a constant speed to ensure the notes are evenl! spaced. 5a! 8ip*po*pot*a*"us to get the sound of properl! perfor"ed quintuplets in !our "inds ear.

(his si/*string arpeggio is an A "a?or triad (A )s =), with the third in the bass and a fifth interval added to the high = strings 1Gth fret, so we have the right nu"ber of notes for 1@th*note triplets (si/ notes per click). +hen ascending, use a single "otion to pick all si/ strings, "aking sure onl! one note is fretted at a ti"e. (he descending section includes a pull*off on the high = string, which, although "o"entaril! disruptive to !our picking, is preferable to adding another downstroke.

(his "a?or triad shape is an essential part of the 6ngwie 7al"steen school of sweeping. %a! special attention to the picking directions in both the ascending and descending frag"ents. (he alternating eighth*note triplet and quarter*note phrasing allows !ou to focus on the picking pattern in s"all bursts and then rest for a beat.

(his e/a"ple includes ascending and descending frag"ents again, this ti"e pla!ed together. )oncentrate on the general down*up "otion of !our picking hand rather than each pick stroke. 0nce !ou are co"fortable with this shape !ou can appl! the sa"e approach to "inor, suspended and di"inished*seven arpeggios.

(his e/a"ple is re"iniscent of pla!ers such as Jason &ecker and Jeff $oo"is. +e start with the three*string shapes fro" the previous e/a"ple, followed b! the si/*string shape fro" #4.9,= I. (his is quite challenging for the picking hand, so start ver! slowl! and re"e"ber to keep the hand "oving s"oothl!.

8ere we utili e two*string sweeps with pentatonic shapes. 9se !our first finger on the fifth fret and third finger on the seventh fret. 'eep !our fingers flat against the two*string groups, and transfer pressure between strings using a rolling action to "ute inactive strings and prevent notes fro" ringing together.

=cono"! picking requires that !our pick take the shortest ?ourne! possible when crossing fro" string to string. (his essentiall! "eans that when !ou pla! a scale, there will be a two*string "ini*sweep whenever !ou "ove to an ad?acent string. (his e/ercise co"bines the eight*note & whole*half di"inished scale (& )s - = # . .s As) and a &di"F arpeggio (& - # .s).

(his piece is in the ke! of A "inor. (he first part is based around a <*i (five*one) progression, with the arpeggios clearl! outlining the i"plied chord changes. +e begin with so"e ascending two*string sweeps using alternating = (= .s &) and &f (&f - #) triads. :e/t co"e so"e A "inor triads (A ) =), pla!ed with a progressivel! increasing nu"ber of stringsJ this is a great wa! to build !our confidence in sweep picking larger shapes. (he &"FfI (& - # A) arpeggio in bar K has a series of three*string sweeps co"bined with so"e challenging string skips. &ar F is an A "inor pentatonic scale (A ) - = .) pla!ed in fourths using two*string sweepsHecono"! picking. (he second part of the piece has a "ore neoclassical approach and begins with so"e 6ngwie* st!le three*string triads incorporating pull*offs. &e sure to follow the indicated picking directions. &ar 1G is the trickiest part of the piece to pla! and utili es so"e Jason &eckerL inspired si/*string shapes. 4f !ou have proble"s with string "uting or note separation, appl! so"e light pal" "uting to the notes as the! are picked. (his is an effective wa! to i"prove note clarit!. (he final bar is based on the A har"onic "inor scale (A & ) = - # .s) and incorporates econo"! picking when traveling fro" the fifth string to the fourth.