How To Make Sweep Picking Guitar Arpeggios Easier

Playing fast sweep picking arpeggios is one of the most impressive things you can do as a shred guitarist.

Something about lightning fast arpeggios just sounds amazing to anyone who hears them.

Problem:

Most guitar players perceive sweep picking as an extremely difficult, if not impossible guitar technique that is only played by virtuoso types…

Not true!

Sweep picking is much easier than you think when you know what and how to practice to make the learning process more smooth and less frustrating.

Here are some powerful tips to get you started playing fast guitar arpeggios just like you want:

Practice Smaller Sweep Picking Patterns At First

It’s understandable that you want to jump into large sweep picking arpeggios and play some really awesome licks and solos using them.

Good news is, you still can… using practice that is more effective and less frustrating.

How?

Answer:

Master sweep picking arpeggios by focusing on two notes (on different strings) at a time.

Here’s an example of how this works:

1.  

Choose any 3-string sweep picking arpeggio.

2.   Practice the first two notes in an arpeggio ascending for 1 minute.

3.   Practice the 2^nd and 3^rd notes for one minute.

4.   Practice pattern the same way except by descending (playing the notes the go from higher pitch strings to lower ones, using upstrokes).

Of course, you can practice this with any size of arpeggio.

This approach makes the entire practice process easier and less frustrating because you immediately see your mistakes and practice them to quickly get rid of them. It’s less frustrating too because you don’t end up trying to play a big pattern where some parts are smooth and others are sloppy.

Master The Release Of Notes In The Fretting Hand

Want the notes of your guitar arpeggios to ring out individually with no unwanted noises ruining them?

Doing this requires effective muting in both the picking hand AND fretting hand.

Your fretting hand’s job is to:

1.  

Keep notes from ringing out together

2.   Prevent string noise from occurring on strings above the one you are playing on

Here’s how to mute effectively with your fretting hand:

Use the side of your fretting hand index finger to lightly touch/mute any strings above the one you are currently playing (above = higher in pitch).

Next, prevent notes of the arpeggio from blending together by releasing the string after a note is played.

This means:

Lift your fretting finger off the fret just enough so that it is lightly touching the string, but not actually pressing the string down to produce the sound of the note.

This mutes it, so you are able to play the next note on the next string without them blending together.