How To Play Sweep Picking Guitar Arpeggios Easily Starting With 2 String Patterns


Want to play amazing sweep picking guitar arpeggios, but can't play them fast and consistently clean?

Good news:

There is a way to make learning sweep picking patterns much more fun and effortless.

What is it?

Simple.

Begin by mastering 2-string guitar arpeggios first to nail down the correct technique.

From here, playing larger, more impressive sweep picking licks becomes a breeze.

Learn how to practice using this idea by watching the following guitar arpeggio tutorial:

Click on the video to begin watching it.


The video above is just the beginning when it comes to playing amazing arpeggios that demand attention.

Here are some more tips to help you make progress:


Sweep Picking Tip #1: Play Every Note Evenly

It's a common mistake for guitar players to play arpeggios by making the highest inner and outer notes clean while rushing through the ones in the middle.

Result?

The rhythm of the guitar arpeggio becomes distorted and the lick sounds

Correct this issue by investing a few minutes into warming up before practice...

Play each note 3 times at a much slower tempo than usual. This forces you to keep your hands in sync to play the notes correctly while training you to hear the notes more clearly.

Make sure to also use this idea with any legato in a given guitar arpeggio you play. Each note should ring out for the precise same amount of time.


Question: “Tom Hess, should I play guitar arpeggios from the wrist or the arm?”

Answer: The motion should come from your forearm by using a single motion.

Use this to avoid the common mistake of playing guitar arpeggios using individual pick strokes from the wrist for each note.

This mistake is critical to avoid.

Why?

When you play a guitar arpeggio, your picking motion needs to be continuous and unbroken. 

This motion is similar to the one you use to strum a chord. 

Watch your picking hand as you practice to observe mistakes and correct them using your eyes and your ears.


Sweep Picking Tip #2: Practice Using Overdrive/Distortion

Playing guitar arpeggios with distortion helps you identify when strings ring together so you are able to make small adjustments to fix your technique (that would be hard to hear on clean settings).


Sweep Picking Tip #3: Pay Attention To Note Rhythms

It’s sometimes hard to notice when notes in an arpeggio are slightly longer and duration than other notes. This usually happens during the difficult notes of a guitar arpeggio.

Fix this problem by doing the following:

Play the guitar arpeggio by starting slow and gradually speeding up until you begin making a lot of mistakes. This will quickly show you which notes you struggle to keep in time with the others. After this is done, simply use the concept in the video to make every part of the guitar arpeggio smooth, 2 strings at a time.


Sweep Picking Tip #4: Don't Cut Your Notes Short

It's a common mistake for guitarists to cut-off notes in guitar arpeggios with their picking hand by accident.

Why does this happen?

This usually happens when people try to prevent notes from ringing together.

Fix this by doing the following:

Mute strings at the specific moment when the next played note sounds.


Sweep Picking Tip #5: Make Picking Motion A Main Priority

As discussed already - it's essential to keep your picking hand momentum going without stopping in order to play smooth arpeggios.

Here is a good way to keep your momentum going and play cleaner guitar arpeggios:

Right when you pull off on the highest string of a guitar arpeggio, your pick should be moving to the next string (and not be getting caught in the trenches). Move the pick to where it is pressed against the next string so it is already waiting for you to fret the next note.

Note: Learning how to play sweep picking arpeggios on your own can be very frustrating when you aren't 100% certain what to work on to make improvements fast.

This is why I encourage you to begin taking lessons with a guitar teacher.

This is the best way to make fast progress, because an expert guitar teacher helps you identify mistakes, poor playing habits or new ideas about playing guitar that you wouldn't realize on your own.

When you are tired of making slow progress, taking lessons with a guitar teacher is the next step.

I give lessons to thousands of guitar players across the world and help them make BIG progress not just with sweep picking, but in all other areas of their lead guitar playing.

Here are some of the results:

 


 

 

Learning to play fast sweep picking guitar arpeggios awesome, but there is much more to learn - Take your lead guitar playing to the highest level with these electric guitar lessons online.