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Sweep picking beginner exercises1/3/2024 The root notes for each shape are shown as a blue circle. The following diagrams show movable minor arpeggio shapes. We’ll then provide some licks that have been created with the arpeggio shapes, so you can get an idea of how they can be used. In this lesson we are going to be looking at some minor arpeggio shapes. We’ll also demonstrate how sweep picking can be used to play arpeggios in lead guitar lines. Example arpeggio-based blues licks are provided further down the page. Even a blues guitar solo can be spiced up with some arpeggio licks. Rock and metal guitarists use arpeggios all the time, as do jazz guitarists. This lesson will focus on minor arpeggios.Īrpeggios can be used in lead guitar solos in any kind of music. Arpeggios are very effective in lead guitar lines as they break up scale-based passages and add interest and variety to solos. The final bar is based on the A harmonic minor scale (A B C E D F G#) and incorporates economy picking when traveling from the fifth string to the fourth.In a previous lesson we took a brief look at lead guitar arpeggios. This is an effective way to improve note clarity. If you have problems with string muting or note separation, apply some light palm muting to the notes as they are picked. Be sure to follow the indicated picking directions.īar 12 is the trickiest part of the piece to play and utilizes some Jason Becker–inspired six-string shapes. The second part of the piece has a more neoclassical approach and begins with some Yngwie-style three-string triads incorporating pull-offs. Bar 7 is an A minor pentatonic scale (A C D E G) played in fourths using two-string sweeps/economy picking. The Bm7b5 (B D F A) arpeggio in bar 4 has a series of three-string sweeps combined with some challenging string skips. Next come some A minor triads (A C E), played with a progressively increasing number of strings this is a great way to build your confidence in sweep picking larger shapes. We begin with some ascending two-string sweeps using alternating E (E G# B) and Bb (Bb D F) triads. The first part is based around a “V-i” (five-one) progression, with the arpeggios clearly outlining the implied chord changes. Something with a thickness between one and two millimeters and a rounded tip will provide the right amount of attack and still glide over the strings with ease. The thickness and sharpness of your pick will hugely impact the tone of your sweep picking. Use a modern tube amp with the gain set to a moderate amount – just enough to give all the notes a uniform volume and sustain, but not so much that string muting becomes an impossible battle. In rock, this technique is best suited to Strat-style guitars, using the neck pickup setting for a warm, round tone. The final piece helps you tackle the various aspects of sweeping while bolstering your stamina, as the bulk of it consists of nonstop 16th notes, with only a few pauses for “breathing.” Break it down into four-bar sections and practice each with a metronome, gradually building up to the 100-beats-per-minute (100bpm) target tempo. These are shown in one position and based on one chord type each, thus focusing your attention on the exercise until you have become accustomed to the technique. The second set of five exercises handles some common sweep-picking approaches. It is also the aspect that will take the most practice to master. When it comes to sweep picking, muting is the key to cleanliness. If you fail to do this and allow notes on adjacent strings to ring together, it will negate the desired effect and sound like you are simply strumming a chord. Only one string should be fretted at any time (this is key!), and any idle strings should be diligently muted with your remaining fingers. This means starting with eighth notes, and while this will feel very slow, the technique will become trickier with each successive note grouping: eighth-note triplets, 16th notes, quintuplets and, most difficult of all, 16th-note triplets and their equivalent sextuplets.įocus on synchronizing your hands so that your pick and fretting fingers make contact with the string at exactly the same moment. Work from two strings up to six, keeping your metronome at the same tempo. Mastering sweep picking with John Petrucci (Image credit: Francesco Prandoni/Getty Images)
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