# When did you first learn how to sweep pick?



## Brierley (Apr 5, 2011)

When did you first learn how to sweep pick? I have been playing guitar for about 6 years and I just started learning to sweep pick about a week ago. I'm progressing fairly well so far (though I've mostly just been practicing major arpeggios) and I was just wondering how late in the game I'm learning this. I feel like it's coming pretty easily to me so far and I feel like I could have learned it sooner. Anyway, just curious!


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## Stealthdjentstic (Apr 5, 2011)

I learnt how to sweep 2 years or 3 years ago, don't really remember to be honest


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## metalman_ltd (Apr 5, 2011)

I'm in the exact same boat as you six years stared a week ago coming easy I think were good haha. I myself wish I had started sooner cause arpeggios are real fun. But better late then never.


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## Brierley (Apr 5, 2011)

metalman_ltd said:


> I'm in the exact same boat as you six years stared a week ago coming easy I think were good haha. I myself wish I had started sooner cause arpeggios are real fun. But better late then never.



That's so ironic hahaha. Yeah, definitely better late than never though. I think I had looked up some video a long time ago, but they guy "teaching" my how to do it wasn't very clear or informative. Which is probably why I waited so long, because it had seemed so over my head at the time.


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## Brierley (Apr 5, 2011)

I'm also pretty new to 7-string guitar too. My friend is letting me borrow his Ibby RG7321 while he's at college. It definitely isn't the best guitar, but it's better than not having a 7-string at all. I'm trying to sell a bunch of stuff so I can pick up an S7420FM.


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## metalman_ltd (Apr 5, 2011)

Brierley said:


> I'm also pretty new to 7-string guitar too. My friend is letting me borrow his Ibby RG7321 while he's at college. It definitely isn't the best guitar, but it's better than not having a 7-string at all. I'm trying to sell a bunch of stuff so I can pick up an S7420FM.



again same here being new to seven string I got one after like a year of playing guitar and was like wtf do I do with this. Haha. So I sold it but just recently got a new one after I started listening to a lot of bands who use them and I love it.


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## The Reverend (Apr 5, 2011)

I practice it a lot, but I can't get my pinky to cooperate on those higher octave hammer-ons. Anything in more of a traditional box shape I can do.


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## Trembulant (Apr 5, 2011)

Around 1985 or so when i first saw some dude in a music store shredding some yngwie, was like oh shit that's how he gets that sound! Went home and started working on it. 
So basically within my first year of playing. I could sweep decent before i could alternate pick, like counterpoint and some of the more complex lines and patterns of yngwie and vinnie moore macalpine at the time. 
Anymore, if i do it out of habit it kinda makes me cringe, it almost feels cheap like grabbing for the whammy bar. If i'm writing something and i instictively do a sweep i try and see if i can find something else more interesting or melodic there instead. It's almost feels like grabbing for the whammy bar if i don't know what else to do (which i no longer even have my whammy bar screwed on at all) tho i have all floyds anyway lol, habit since i always have had one. 
Anyway i do still like those things and both of those things are still relevant especially when someone does them well and in the right moment


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## Dirtdog (Apr 5, 2011)

I started sweeping scales like gambale before I knew what it was. Then my teacher said thats nice but you need to alternate pick the strings. Damn I should have just done it my way.


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## Blind Theory (Apr 5, 2011)

I've been playing guitar for 3 years and 8 months (ish) and I've known how to sweep for probably 2-4 months. Not exactly sure. I've always been able to sweep upward (high e to low e direction) but I've never been able to sweep pick downward until I found some jazz video on Youtube and that was a few months ago. I can sweep pick (including sweep tap) on five strings fairly easily (regardless of shape for the most part). When it comes to 6 string sweeps...I can kinda do one shape. I've had a 7 string guitar all of 4 days so 7 string sweeps aren't even possible at this point. Once you get one shape down I find it's fairly easy to learn other shapes and be fluent in them. Takes me maybe an hour or so to get up to speed but it's all good. Very fun, as well!


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## Brierley (Apr 5, 2011)

The Reverend said:


> I practice it a lot, but I can't get my pinky to cooperate on those higher octave hammer-ons. Anything in more of a traditional box shape I can do.



Same here. I started to think maybe my pinky is just smaller than normal O__O but I don't know. It does look pretty fucking small. Then again I've never really compared my pinky to anyone else's XD


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## Brierley (Apr 5, 2011)

Insackclothandashes said:


> I've been playing guitar for 3 years and 8 months (ish) and I've known how to sweep for probably 2-4 months. Not exactly sure. I've always been able to sweep upward (high e to low e direction) but I've never been able to sweep pick downward until I found some jazz video on Youtube and that was a few months ago. I can sweep pick (including sweep tap) on five strings fairly easily (regardless of shape for the most part). When it comes to 6 string sweeps...I can kinda do one shape. I've had a 7 string guitar all of 4 days so 7 string sweeps aren't even possible at this point. Once you get one shape down I find it's fairly easy to learn other shapes and be fluent in them. Takes me maybe an hour or so to get up to speed but it's all good. Very fun, as well!



That's awesome, it's a very daunting task. I can do 5 strings, but I haven't even tried 6 yet and like you I'm pretty new to the whole 7-string thing, so 7 string sweeping is going to be out of the question for a while.


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## Brierley (Apr 5, 2011)

metalman_ltd said:


> again same here being new to seven string I got one after like a year of playing guitar and was like wtf do I do with this. Haha. So I sold it but just recently got a new one after I started listening to a lot of bands who use them and I love it.



Dude, my best friend/neighbor got the seven string that I'm using right now when we were like 14 or so and whenever I tried playing it I would always get confused because of the 7th string (mind you I had only been playing about a year or so). Now that I listen to music like Periphery, Cloudkicker, Animals as Leaders, Scale The Summit etc. I want to get a nice one for myself.


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## metalman_ltd (Apr 5, 2011)

Brierley said:


> Dude, my best friend/neighbor got the seven string that I'm using right now when we were like 14 or so and whenever I tried playing it I would always get confused because of the 7th string (mind you I had only been playing about a year or so). Now that I listen to music like Periphery, Cloudkicker, Animals as Leaders, Scale The Summit etc. I want to get a nice one for myself.



yea I just about a month ago got my ltd viper 417 its a great guitar but I don't quit like the feel(reason I hate ordering guitars online). It's very bulky heavy and doesn't balance well. I'm bout to go buy a john petrucci 7 in a few days hopefully. But I got to sell like three guitars to pay it off if I do.


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## toiletstand (Apr 5, 2011)

havent tried to learn it yet. i am teh suck.


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## AySay (Apr 5, 2011)

When I found out about Jason Becker...
When I stopped? When I found out about Petrucci.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 5, 2011)

I think I learned to sweep within my first year. My sister's ex-boyfriend/my guitar teacher gave me a few patterns, and I ignored everything else he gave me to focus on sweeps.  I learned guitar while I was in high school, and there was a surge of metalcore scenesters at my school at the time, so one's success as a musician was pretty much measured by whether you could sweep pick or not, regardless of its musicality or if you could even do it well. I wasn't even into the music that was going around, but pulling out an arpeggio was a sure way of shutting people up and making them think you were a guitar god.



tltstand said:


> havent tried to learn it yet. i am teh suck.



You should give it a go. I suck, but that never stopped me.


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## Brierley (Apr 6, 2011)

SchecterWhore said:


> I think I learned to sweep within my first year. My sister's ex-boyfriend/my guitar teacher gave me a few patterns, and I ignored everything else he gave me to focus on sweeps.  I learned guitar while I was in high school, and there was a surge of metalcore scenesters at my school at the time, so one's success as a musician was pretty much measured by whether you could sweep pick or not, regardless of its musicality or if you could even do it well. I wasn't even into the music that was going around, but pulling out an arpeggio was a sure way of shutting people up and making them think you were a guitar god.
> 
> 
> 
> You should give it a go. I suck, but that never stopped me.





Amen to that. I grew up in Mass and here we have a huge hardcore scene, which I was never into, but we also have a pretty big (shitty) generic metalcore scene. I used to listen to that kind of music when I was younger and like you, when I was in high school it was all about if you could "look like you know what the fuck you are doing" in the words of Paul Waggoner. I remember at the mall/plaza 20 minutes from my house scene kids would infest the area on Saturday night and they would be all over Guitar Center cranking Line 6 Spider II's and playing the nearest entry level worn out guitar they could find to show off their skills to their scenester girlfriends. Oh, nostalgia.


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## Blind Theory (Apr 6, 2011)

Brierley said:


> Amen to that. I grew up in Mass and here we have a huge hardcore scene, which I was never into, but we also have a pretty big (shitty) generic metalcore scene. I used to listen to that kind of music when I was younger and like you, when I was in high school it was all about if you could "look like you know what the fuck you are doing" in the words of Paul Waggoner. I remember at the mall/plaza 20 minutes from my house scene kids would infest the area on Saturday night and they would be all over Guitar Center cranking Line 6 Spider II's and playing the nearest entry level worn out guitar they could find to show off their skills to their scenester girlfriends. Oh, nostalgia.



Oh how I wish that was the story here. My local scene is full of technical death metal bands that are really good. Look up the band Allegaeon, they are from my area. A Sonnet To Silence is local and really good. So is the band Ruins of Tomorrow. Yeah...here you are either generic death core (wanna be Whitechapel basically) or extremely talented technical music. There is NO in between.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Apr 6, 2011)

AySay said:


> When I found out about Jason Becker...
> When I stopped? When I found out about Petrucci.



So true, when I found out about Petrucci picking his arpeggios, I tried to copy him


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## ShadyDavey (Apr 6, 2011)

Frank's first big instructional CD hit the shelves locally when I had been playing around 9 months or so and of course I had to learn it straight away - I'm still shite at it but that's through a lack of originality and effort on my part rather than for any other reason 

I think the biggest problem is that without some degree of application it locks you into a sound that does immediately remind one of a host of other players, however as a technique it certainly rewards experimentation whilst trying to discover a personal approach.


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## InTheRavensName (Apr 6, 2011)

I never did, went through a brief phase of wanting to, but then I started playing mostly doom and black-thrash and realised that I didn't actually need to. 

Yeah, I'm a lazy guitar player, I should probably fix that some day...


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## Static (Apr 6, 2011)

I've been playing for nearly 8 years now and i started learning sweeps around mid 07. started with PG's intense rock sequence 1 where he showed some basic major triad shapes.my sweep picking has been doing well since then and lately I've been focusing on 7 string arpeggios.


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## toiletstand (Apr 6, 2011)

SchecterWhore said:


> You should give it a go. I suck, but that never stopped me.



haha i actually tried a few hours ago. majorly discouraged will try again later!


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## avenger (Apr 6, 2011)

Sweeping is the thorn in my side. Never been able to get them to a point where I feel they are shredd worthy. Then again I am not that big into shred so it doesnt bother me that I cant sweep at 3 billion bpm.


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## Guamskyy (Apr 6, 2011)

I've been playing for 4 years, and just learned to sweep pick 2 years ago. What inspired me to learn how to sweep pick was that sweep in we bow in it's aura by veil of maya

I started with 3 string sweeps, then 4, then 5, then 6, and now I can do 7 string sweeps pretty cleanly but in only one shape


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## Brierley (Apr 6, 2011)

Insackclothandashes said:


> Oh how I wish that was the story here. My local scene is full of technical death metal bands that are really good. Look up the band Allegaeon, they are from my area. A Sonnet To Silence is local and really good. So is the band Ruins of Tomorrow. Yeah...here you are either generic death core (wanna be Whitechapel basically) or extremely talented technical music. There is NO in between.



I wish that's how it was here. We have a few crappy deathcore bands, but there are practically NO technical metal bands here. Well, at least no good ones, or ones that I know about. It sucks because most of the bands here settle for mediocrity and practically worship it. I don't think they would recognize real talent in local music if it were staring them in the face. I will definitely check those guys out though!


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## Brierley (Apr 6, 2011)

guambomb832 said:


> I've been playing for 4 years, and just learned to sweep pick 2 years ago. What inspired me to learn how to sweep pick was that sweep in we bow in it's aura by veil of maya
> 
> I started with 3 string sweeps, then 4, then 5, then 6, and now I can do 7 string sweeps pretty cleanly but in only one shape



Veil of Maya...I love them. Marc Okubo is such an insanely talented guitarist. Some of their songs aren't too difficult, but it's the fucking speed that kills me.


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## SirMyghin (Apr 6, 2011)

I started a few years ago, never liked it though. Then I found out about Petrucci and Morse just picking everything. I like that a lot better, you have control over where the accents are. A much better way, to my ear. Sweeping picking is more textural as you can't really accentuate anything in the middle, good for shredding ,not for melody I find.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 6, 2011)

Summer of '04... Yep... *sigh*

Those were good days...


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 6, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> good for shredding ,not for melody I find.


 
Not entirely fair...

Isn't sweep picking technically just all up or all down strokes across several strings? Can't you do that at any speed you choose and pick your note groupings accordingly to still accent what you like?

I'm almost certain Tosin Abasi has a vid on youtube where he talks about accenting notes in arpeggios and he appears to be sweeping slowly through an arpeggio (he may not be sweeping it, but that's what it looks like so forgive me if I'm mistaken).


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## eaeolian (Apr 6, 2011)

A long time ago, probably in the '86-'87. I didn't get serious about it until I saw Skolnick do it in '87, though.


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## SirMyghin (Apr 6, 2011)

Konfyouzd said:


> Not entirely fair...
> 
> Isn't sweep picking technically just all up or all down strokes across several strings? Can't you do that at any speed you choose and pick your note groupings accordingly to still accent what you like?
> 
> I'm almost certain Tosin Abasi has a vid on youtube where he talks about accenting notes in arpeggios and he appears to be sweeping slowly through an arpeggio (he may not be sweeping it, but that's what it looks like so forgive me if I'm mistaken).



No sweeping picking is not all up or all down strokes, it is 1 single stroke in 1 direction. That is what constitutes the sweep. You don't use multiple strokes. You could break it up a bit using multiple strokes to accent, but that is no longer a single sweep, more like using economy picking. What I mean is level control, You just can't get the drastic differences between notes you can get with alternate picking with either economy or sweep pickup. To get a sharper/louder sound you need to pick that one individual note harder/faster so to speak, I have never seen anyone successfully do it during a sweep (although if anyone can, a guy like Tosin would be it). Couldn't tell you, I don't really listen to Tosin's stuff.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 6, 2011)

eaeolian said:


> A long time ago, probably in the '86-'87. I didn't get serious about it until I saw Skolnick do it in '87, though.


 


This man was sweeping when I was still just a thought in my parents' head... Damn son...


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 6, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> No sweeping picking is not all up or all down strokes, it is 1 single stroke in 1 direction. That is what constitutes the sweep. You don't use multiple strokes. You could break it up a bit using multiple strokes to accent, but that is no longer a single sweep, more like using economy picking. What I mean is level control, You just can't get the drastic differences between notes you can get with alternate picking with either economy or sweep pickup. To get a sharper/louder sound you need to pick that one individual note harder/faster so to speak, I have never seen anyone successfully do it during a sweep (although if anyone can, a guy like Tosin would be it). Couldn't tell you, I don't really listen to Tosin's stuff.


 
Fair enough. What Tosin did in his video was more akin to economy picking by your definition. I'd equated all of the picking being in one direction to just be one "stroke" since you don't change directions, but I see what you mean as well.


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## septurion (Apr 7, 2011)

metalman_ltd said:


> yea I just about a month ago got my ltd viper 417 its a great guitar but I don't quit like the feel(reason I hate ordering guitars online). It's very bulky heavy and doesn't balance well.



that's an issue with all vipers. to rectify that, you should just move the strap button to the horn (or have a pro do it for you...should only take 5 minutes and cost 5-10 bucks).


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## vices like vipers (Apr 7, 2011)

I started sweeping abouut 7 months ago (I've been only playing for almost 2 years now.)
Oh Sleeper, and The Crimson Armada are what inspired me to learn.
I think the only thing thats holding me back now, is the guitar that I'm using. It doesn't sound as clean as when I play on my friends les pual. I think it's the pickups, they are stock single coils in a Richmond Guitar Works Telecaster.


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## SirMyghin (Apr 7, 2011)

^^

Single coils are harder to play cleanly on than humbuckers. If you play cleanly on singles though, you are super human on humbuckers. You can get away with murder on humbuckers.


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## Dead Undead (Apr 7, 2011)

I still haven't learned to. I'm just incapable of synchronizing my left and right hands it seems. Playing slow, with a metronome, everything.
When I do sweep I usually pull a Satch and use my picking hand to mute the neck. It's not really sweep picking then is it? Just legato arpeggios...


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## SirMyghin (Apr 7, 2011)

Dead Undead said:


> I still haven't learned to. I'm just incapable of synchronizing my left and right hands it seems. Playing slow, with a metronome, everything.
> When I do sweep I usually pull a Satch and use my picking hand to mute the neck. It's not really sweep picking then is it? Just legato arpeggios...



I love mystical potato head groove. That style sounds awesome, but I haven't seen him use it anywhere else. He doesn't sweep much, crushing day has a bit of it I think (and it's blistering).  

As I said, I don't like sweeping, but it is hard to argue with another tool in your toolbox. I am most natural when hybrid picking.


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## Dead Undead (Apr 7, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> I love mystical potato head groove. That style sounds awesome, but I haven't seen him use it anywhere else. He doesn't sweep much, crushing day has a bit of it I think (and it's blistering).
> 
> As I said, I don't like sweeping, but it is hard to argue with another tool in your toolbox. I am most natural when hybrid picking.



Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing is easily one of my favourite tunes by Professor Satchafunkilus. That and Searching.

I've really started to develop my hybrid picking via pentatonic licks, and it's one of my favourite techniques. Really fun to use.
Legato feels most natural to me though.
I noticed that I can sweep descending almost perfectly, but ascending I just get all BLARGHFLARGH.


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## Infamous Impact (Apr 7, 2011)

I learned sweeos at two years. Worst nightmare.


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## Shadowspecced (Apr 7, 2011)

by my second serious year of playing I could sweep pick. The whole idea went out of style for me personally about 5 minutes after I got it pretty clean


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## heilarkyguitar (Apr 7, 2011)

It took me 2 months after i got serious about. That was about 2 years ago. I mainly use sweeps w/ riffs i write as acsents not solos persa...


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## Zenerith (Apr 8, 2011)

I learnt to sweep-pick by watching Jonas Brother's instructional videos =)
.
.
.
But seriously, i had been playing for 2-3 years and suddenly desided that i want to learn sweep picking. I found a guitar teacher in my hometown and asked him to teach me..after 3 months of practising he told me that sweep picking was my best area of expertise x) i hope he didn't just mean that i sucked at everything else xD
Sorry my bad english


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## Maniacal (Apr 8, 2011)

When I was 15 I had a few lessons with a guy who was obsessed with Jason Becker, so it was one of the first things I learned to play. I dont think it was a good thing though. 

I could play Altitudes but when asked to play an A minor 7 chord........


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## Tomo009 (Apr 8, 2011)

Well I started about a year ago, so about 2 years after I started.

I still really suck at it though, it takes a long warm up to do decent 5 string sweeps at 180 BPM and I totally fall apart after that, which is annoying as 180 is as slow as I go with most of my playing unless it's some sort of slow groove thing.

I also seem incapable of 3 string sweeps. Not sure why, but no matter how much I slow down and focus on it, hitting that 3rd string on the way down is so hard for me.

It is also quite dependent on the day for me, some days I have real trouble with the down picked sections. It seems much harder to synchronize my hands in that direction.

I really like the sound, I wouldn't base an entire section around it. People who complain about sweeps and call them the easy way out clearly never tried it themselves, so difficult to master. There isn't much emphasis per note, but I like the whole smooth wave of sound it makes. However I usually just use it as a way to quickly move from the top to the bottom and slightly less often, the bottom to the top of the fretboard (simply because I suck at that direction)


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## Dead Undead (Apr 8, 2011)

To hell with sweeps, economy picking is where it's at!


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## BlackSomber (Apr 8, 2011)

metalman_ltd said:


> again same here being new to seven string I got one after like a year of playing guitar and was like wtf do I do with this. Haha. So I sold it but just recently got a new one after I started listening to a lot of bands who use them and I love it.


 
lol..ive only been playing for a year and i really desire seven strings...though i dont own one, i play the ones they have at the music store...its kinda like learning how to play guitar all over again, but i simplly like darker tones, so tis worth it to me...


To OP, like i stated earlier, i have only one years worth of exp (wich for some can be alot, but i didnt do much my first year) i find learning to sweep pick hard tho...really hard...anytips of how to ease it up?


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## TomParenteau (Apr 8, 2011)

I've been playing electric for 30-some years. I can alternate pick as fast as anyone you know, but I have never been able to sweep worth a shit. And I want to sweep!

I can't get the individual muting right, unless I already need to change the position of that finger. Also, I am dependent on a massive amount of gain, so that really makes the muting difficult.


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## USMarine75 (Apr 8, 2011)

AySay said:


> When I found out about Jason Becker...
> When I stopped? When I found out about Petrucci.


 
When I stopped... Before I started... I watched Vinnie Moore and Jason Becker and said that's not possible.

When I started... 2 years later when I accepted being 10% of Becker was good enough for me.

When I stopped... when I saw Yngwie and realized what a douche-nozzle he is.

When I started again... when I realized I can't play almost anything written after 2005 without it.


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## Dead Undead (Apr 8, 2011)

AySay said:


> When I found out about Jason Becker...
> When I stopped? When I found out about Petrucci.



I love Jason Becker's sweep picking. It just sounds the best to me. Dunno what I like bout it, just do.


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## cakewalkgg (Apr 8, 2011)

started - 20 years ago or so after watching a Paul Gilbert video .. the cheesy one with him doing the magic tricks.. lol and I have to admit, i have a dvd version of it still. 

I didnt develop great technique right away and then started kind of just doing the blur sweeps.. not really a musical rythm to them.. Then I kind of stopped doing it.. and then over a few years time, I started using them more in an arpeggio form where they are in time and have some musical meaning.


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## Vidge (Apr 13, 2011)

Started practicing sweeping 2002-2003, after maybe a 1 1/2 or 2 years of playing guitar. It began with some of Marty Friedmans solos in Megadeth, but eventually it was Jason Becker as the main sweeping influence.


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## Psychobuddy (Apr 13, 2011)

AySay said:


> When I found out about Jason Becker...
> When I stopped? When I found out about *Jason Becker*



Fix'd...for me I guess.


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## RichIKE (Apr 14, 2011)

I actually picked up on it a few months ago, one day it just clicked. I had already been sweeping on bass(I am mainly a bassist) and decided to try it on guitar. I'm not very good or clean yet and don't know a lot of shapes (only on major and minor over three strings) but I'm progressing and once I get some more practice time I'll be killer. (i hope haha)


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## Cabinet (Apr 17, 2011)

I started learning it maybe my first year or two with a teacher. Of course that's all I focussed on when I first learned how to do it, but I never got really good at it. I'm way more into string skipping arpeggios now.


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