Question: What's up Tom Hess, I’ve been a guitar player for about 10 years now, and I don’t feel like I should be at the level I'm at right now. I feel like I have reached guitar playing plateau and I can't seem to find a way to break my guitar playing flaws. For instance, I’ve tried to get into sweep picking. I know the technique, but can't find a way to perfect it. It feels like I'm picking the notes and not sweeping them. Any sweep picking tips would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Tom Hess's Answer: Your current plateau in your guitar playing could be due to several factors: lack of motivation, not focusing enough during practice, not knowing your musical goals, not having an effective practicing strategy, etc. I highly recommend that you find a great guitar teacher who can work with you to help you effectively reach your musical goals. In addition, also read this article on how to become a better guitarist.

While sweep picking, your picking hand should NOT stop to pick notes individually. To sweep pick properly, you must keep your pick continuously moving from string to string (like ‘strumming’ a chord). Get more sweep picking tips for how to play arpeggios fast and clean by watching this sweep picking video lesson.

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