SWEEP PICKING For mortals!
This dazzling technique isn’t just the preserve of the virtuoso player. Milton Mermikides deconstructs sweep picking and shows how it can be applied to a multitude of genres.
People often associate it with super fast shred styles but there’s way more to this technique than meets the eye; you can even use it in blues!
Many electric guitarists were first drawn to the instrument by witnessing some playing so dazzling that it seemed to defy the limits of the instrument, logic or even the laws of physics, be it fast picking, ultra-expressive bends, dive bombing, pinch harmonics, tapping or playing multiple simultaneous lines. Of all the many guitar techniques, sweep picking may stand supreme in this regard. In its virtuosic execution (not that this is the only way it is or should be used), even nonguitarists go slack-jawed witnessing the seemingly impossibly flurry of notes and the fretting hand skating over the fretboard.
Despite this apparent magic and stunning virtuosity, sweep picking can, in fact, be defined very succinctly – as an articulated strum. A ‘strum’ because it involves playing a series of notes on adjacent strings using the same pitch direction (whether downstrokes towards the floor – and higher pitched strings – or upstrokes towards the bass strings). However, unlike conventional chord strumming, this strum is ‘articulated’ in that each note is separated rhythmically and heard individually. So what appears is a single ‘voiced’ (aka ‘monophonic') melody.
When playing a series of notes appearing on adjacent strings, this ‘sweeping’ motion is entirely sensible and economical – the pick only changes direction when it has to, and pushing or pulling a pick through all the strings is – even for a novice – practically instantaneous. The challenge of course lies in articulating this strum, which involves the rhythmic and dynamic control of the picking hand sweep (as we will see the challenge lies in pick angle, rest strokes, arm motion and more counter-intuitively in slowing down and inhibiting the naturally rapid sweep). One also needs hand coordination, and the ability to mute unwanted notes by using picking hand palm muting, fretting hand muting, ‘rolling barres’ and the integration of sweep picking among your other techniques such as alternate picking, legato etc.
This article aims to improve your sweep picking in the most direct manner possible, whether you are seasoned sweepster or completely new to the concept. Sometimes we’ll slow things right down as opposed to the ‘cranking the metronome’ approach. You may find some exercises either too formative or too challenging in their current form but they can easily be adapted with tempo, and it’s the principle of each that is the most important. Sweep-picking can be quite a divisive technique, sometimes dismissed as showy shred, using speed for the sake of speed and devoid of expression. I happen to find that virtuosic sweep picking in the right hands can be as expressive as it is impressive, but whatever your tastes do not dismiss the technique even if you are not interested in neo-classical metal – it is used more covertly in a range of styles from blues to jazz to classic rock to Latin – and at its core it’s just a very practical and powerful device that can be used however you wish with no stylistic obligation. Its study can help significantly with technical control and the development of new musical ideas. Before approaching the 10 tips and associated exercises, let’s take a look at some core techniques that should be engaged with on the opposite page.
This article is presented as 10 general tips, with a series of representative exercises and audio to best develop the concepts. Use the toolkit above to execute the lessons, and the tab captions for each exercise. Sweep picking is a powerful technique with a wide range of potential so use it wisely and make it your own - but always remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
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