Sweep picking
Fast arpeggios with one pick motion per direction; syncing both hands and muting each note so it doesn't sound like a chord.
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Fast arpeggios with one pick motion per direction; syncing both hands and muting each note so it doesn't sound like a chord.
Advanced
In sweep picking you play one note per string while the pick crosses several strings in a row in the same direction, like a very slow, controlled strum. The big difference from strumming is that every note sounds alone: the fretting hand mutes the previous note before the next one sounds. It's used mostly for fast arpeggios. Before taking it on, you should be comfortable with alternate picking and barre chords.
An Am arpeggio on three strings, up and back down. Each note is heard separately, even though the pick never stops:
Compare it with the same notes together, which is what should not happen:
Step 1 of 3 · 3rd string
String 3, Fret 9: E4 · 1 · Root
String 6, Fret 5: A2 · 1 · Root
Set the metronome to triplets, at a tempo where you can mute every note, and play one note per subdivision:
Metronome in triplets at 50 BPM Explore minor triad arpeggiosCAGED shapes give you major and minor arpeggios across five strings. On the string with two notes, the second is usually a hammer-on going up and a pull-off coming down, and the pick changes direction there. When a string has two notes and the pick turns around, you're combining sweeping with economy picking.
Scales, arpeggios & fretboardArpeggios over a progressionArpeggiate each chord of a progression with as little hand movement as possible.The most common problem is fretting two neighbouring notes at the same fret with a flat finger, so they ring together. To avoid it, roll the fingertip: the tip sits on one string and, as you move to the next, the finger flattens and lifts off the first. The other problem is rushing: the pick runs on momentum and the notes bunch up. Practise at a tempo where you can hear each note separately and raise it gradually.