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The big problem with learning the sweep technique is that people give you 5 and 6 string ones to learn on. This is like deciding to run a marathon, so the first morning you decide to go 20 miles. You have to build up to it...
The main difficulty with sweeping is getting used to picking in one direction on adjacent strings. In the example below, use downstrokes on the 8th fret B string, and go straight from that note to the 7th fret E string. Your pick should just fall between the strings - one after the other, like a short strum.Then hammer the 10th fret, pull off back to the 7th, and repeat the sequence. The hammer/pull gives you time to 'reset' your pick for catching the 8th fret B string again. Practice this SLOWLY and SMOOTHLY with every note having the same duration. You do NOT want to play the first two notes slow and the hammer/pull faster... learning each note evenly will help devlop the technique. Also be sure and LIFT your fingers off the fingerboard (not off the string) as you play the first two notes of the sequence. They should not blur together - the G and the B notes should be distinct and clear, with a small space between them.
Technically, this is known as a rake, since we're just going down and on two strings. However, it's a great 'build up' to the sweep technique. Think of it as a sweeplet. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] the root is on the b string, and the notes in order are G - B - D - B, outlining a G major arpeggio.
---7 h10 p7---------------
-8-^-------------------------
-^----------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
Once you have the above down comfortably and can play it at average speed (16th notes at 100 bpm) try this: Same technique, sli$Ó?ïy different fingering - this gives us an A minor arpeggio - notes are A-C-E-C:
------8 h12 p8---------------
-10-^-------------------------
-^----------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
Once you have that down, put them together, and practice going between the two and shifting positions:
--7 h10 p7------8 h12 p8---
8-^----------10---^-------------
^--------------^----------------
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
more to come... I'll cover three string arpeggios, why the hammer/pulls are so important, and how to use this technique with scales you already know.
Pete
[ December 03, 2002, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: OklaStrat ]
The main difficulty with sweeping is getting used to picking in one direction on adjacent strings. In the example below, use downstrokes on the 8th fret B string, and go straight from that note to the 7th fret E string. Your pick should just fall between the strings - one after the other, like a short strum.Then hammer the 10th fret, pull off back to the 7th, and repeat the sequence. The hammer/pull gives you time to 'reset' your pick for catching the 8th fret B string again. Practice this SLOWLY and SMOOTHLY with every note having the same duration. You do NOT want to play the first two notes slow and the hammer/pull faster... learning each note evenly will help devlop the technique. Also be sure and LIFT your fingers off the fingerboard (not off the string) as you play the first two notes of the sequence. They should not blur together - the G and the B notes should be distinct and clear, with a small space between them.
Technically, this is known as a rake, since we're just going down and on two strings. However, it's a great 'build up' to the sweep technique. Think of it as a sweeplet. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] the root is on the b string, and the notes in order are G - B - D - B, outlining a G major arpeggio.
---7 h10 p7---------------
-8-^-------------------------
-^----------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
Once you have the above down comfortably and can play it at average speed (16th notes at 100 bpm) try this: Same technique, sli$Ó?ïy different fingering - this gives us an A minor arpeggio - notes are A-C-E-C:
------8 h12 p8---------------
-10-^-------------------------
-^----------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
Once you have that down, put them together, and practice going between the two and shifting positions:
--7 h10 p7------8 h12 p8---
8-^----------10---^-------------
^--------------^----------------
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
more to come... I'll cover three string arpeggios, why the hammer/pulls are so important, and how to use this technique with scales you already know.
Pete
[ December 03, 2002, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: OklaStrat ]
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