How To Play Clean Sweep Picking Arpeggios On Guitar Using Tremolo Technique


Sweep picking arpeggios not as fast or clean as you'd like them to be?

Frustrating!

One of the reasons sweep picking can feel difficult is simply a lack of effective practice approaches for mastering it.

Combining different techniques together can sometimes be like the lock than unlocks the door to better technique than you even knew was possible.

Sound interesting?

I explore this concept by combining tremolo picking with sweep picking.

Learn how to master sweep picking arpeggios one note at a time using the tremolo practice method described in this video:

Click on the video to begin watching it.

 

Now you understand the power of learning multiple ways to improve yoru guitar playing at once. What you saw in the video helps you make your sweep picking sound unique and interesting compared to the way most others use the technique.

The better you combine skills in this manner, the more efficient your practice becomes.

Continue integrating multiple elements of your guitar playing together as you practice in order to achieve massive results (especially compared to the way you may have practiced before).
 

Bonus Tip #1: How To Fix Subtle Muting Sweep Picking Mistakes

Look out for cutting off notes too early.

This commonly happens when trying to keep notes from bleeding together, but this creates the opposite problem - the notes not ringing their full length and creating a choppy sound in the arpeggio.

Focus on stopping the sound of each note at EXACTLY the moment when the next note starts to ring (not any moment before or after). So, it is a balancing issue you need to develop to make this happen to avoid having the notes bleed together but also to not have gaps of silence between notes.

The problem is partly caused by your thumb muting the string you have just played before the next note is played.

For example: When playing notes within an arpeggio that move from the D string to the G string

After you play the D string, make sure that note is not killed immediately by your thumb before the G string is played.

The string should continue to ring until the G string is played.

Solve this by having a bit more of the pick sticking out of your hand and also by keeping the thumb straight.


Bonus Tip #2: How To Make Your Sweep Picking More Smooth

One of the easiest ways to ruin sweep picking licks is to kill your picking momentum. This causes sloppy play and keeps you from truly playing fast.

Use this subtle tip to help keep your sweep picking sounding smooth:

When you do a pull off on the highest string of a pattern (or anywhere within it), your pick should not stop in between the strings.

Instead, the pick should move all the way to the next string and already be pressing against it, waiting for the fretting finger to arrive to its next note.
 

Question: “Hi Tom Hess, self-learning guitarist here. I've been practicing sweep picking a lot recently, but my technique seems to be stuck and the video didn’t quite solve my problem. How do I finally move things forward?”

Answer: The first thing to do is take guitar lessons with an experienced teacher.

No matter how good your guitar skills are now, or how much talent you had to get started…

…your skills are going to hit a wall without a teacher.

Why?

Simple.

You find that you simply don't know what to fix, which items to practice for the best results, how to practice those things effectively or many other elements of getting better.

A guitar teacher is the key that unlocks the door to getting better. This is because they know what you don't know due to massive amounts of experience playing, teaching and helping others do the same things you want to on guitar.

Good news:

Not only does working with a guitar teacher help you overcome barriers in your playing, it helps you make massive progress in multiple areas at once.

This is extremely powerful and fun!

Watching your skills improve every week is critical for maintaining the motivation to keep practicing and improving. I know this is true, because I designed a tool to help my students make faster progress on guitar.

Here is what they had to say:

 

 


Of course, there are more aspects to playing cleanly while sweep picking than this.

This is just the beginning :)

Want to make your guitar arpeggios sound more creative and expressive? Let me show you how it's done - Learn how to do it in no time with your own electric guitar teacher online.