Tips on sweep picking

Do not sweep pick if you are not warmed up. Do some stretches or finger exercises before sweep picking. When attempting to sweep pick, always remember to practice with a metronome. It is not a must, but it will be good to. The metronome can help set the pace, in case you are sweep picking too fast or too slow at certain parts.

Fig 3

e|-------11h15-11------11h15-11------|

b|----13---------13--13--------13----|

g|--12-------------12------------12--|

d|-----------------------------------|

a|-----------------------------------|

e|-----------------------------------|

An example of a moderate sweep picking.

Practice many times, say 30mins every day. Also remember sweeping not alternative picking. Start slow and slowly build up your speed. Never think just because it looks easy it is because I am telling you right now it's not. This will take a lot of practice to get down. Remember, do not judge a book by its cover!

If you find sweep picking hard, you can do the above sweep. It’s a 3 string sweep. For more challenging sweeping, you could try something like this:

Fig 6

e|------------------15h19-15------------------|

b|----------------17--------17----------------|

g|--------------16------------16--------------|

d|---------14h17----------------17p14---------|

a|-------14--------------------------14-------|

e|--12h15------------------------------15p12--|

Make sure you are very familiar with what to play. Or else, this could easily discourage you from progressing. Don't hold your pick too hard because you get a really ugly ‘tink’ sound. Sweep picking can be difficult to master, but I believe that practicing consistently will help you master it, without a doubt.