# Which do you do when sweep picking?



## Hzanco (Jan 24, 2013)

I've been learning to sweep pick recently, starting with a 5-string exercise from Chris Letchford's (of Scale the Summit, fyi) book. I can do it between 100 to 130 bmp, but my timing is a bit off with my right hand.

So I started searching YouTube for help, and found this video:


It's fairly helpful, but here's the thing: Marc recommends having the pick angled *toward *the bridge when picking up. For me it seems more natural to have the pick angled away from the bridge when picking up, just as I would when strumming or alternate picking.

So my question: do you guys angle the pick toward the bridge or away from it on your upstroke when sweeping? And do you think it really matters/makes it any easier one way or the other?


----------



## tedtan (Jan 24, 2013)

You'll find people doing it different ways. The key is to experiment with every approach you come across and find out which one(s) work best for you.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Jan 24, 2013)

I was thinking of doing a tutorial on how to sweep pick faster and cleaner. I just wonder how many people actually need that


----------



## larry (Jan 24, 2013)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> I was thinking of doing a tutorial on how to sweep pick faster and cleaner. I just wonder how many people actually need that



everybody, 'cept for john petrucci cuz he's a cyborg.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Jan 24, 2013)

He is not human.


----------



## JEngelking (Jan 24, 2013)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> I was thinking of doing a tutorial on how to sweep pick faster and cleaner. I just wonder how many people actually need that



Def would like to see it dude. I'm trying to get better at sweeping among other things and any advice is greatly appreciated.


----------



## Maniacal (Jan 24, 2013)

I keep my pick totally flat.


----------



## Hzanco (Jan 25, 2013)

JEngelking said:


> Def would like to see it dude. I'm trying to get better at sweeping among other things and any advice is greatly appreciated.



Agreed


----------



## djyngwie (Jan 25, 2013)

Maniacal said:


> I keep my pick totally flat.


Just for sweeping or more generally?


----------



## Maniacal (Jan 25, 2013)

For everything if possible


----------



## sear (Jan 25, 2013)

I angle my pick towards the bridge for downstrokes and straighten it out for going up, though that might have to do with my relatively small hands and/or muting technique. Generally speaking the only way to get better at sweeping is simply to practice for hours upon hours upon hours. If you have trouble with a given arpeggio, or have issues with coordination, that is your sign to turn the metronome down 20 bpm and practice a day or two at a lower speed. Anything else is setting yourself up for sloppiness.


----------



## MrPepperoniNipples (Jan 25, 2013)

I don't even pick when 'doing' an upstroke.
When descending, I just hammer on the notes.

I learned this from Christian Muenzner watching that 'Anticomic Overload' video,
It's a little easier (there are some small new challenges that come with it) but it sounds very smooth and gets rid of the sound the pick 'scraping' against the strings


----------



## Randy (Jan 25, 2013)

I've never heard of angling your pick horizontally while sweeping, actually. 

As such, my pick is usually pointed straight at the guitar when I go either direction. The only real pick related thing I focus on (obvious for most people, probably) is to have a very exaggerated "dragging" type angle while I'm doing it. As Martin Goulding describes it "like a kid dragging a stick across fence posts as they walk by" or something like that.

Also a bit of what MrPeppNipps lol described, where I sometimes don't even make contact with the strings with my pick on ascent. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it works.


----------



## tedtan (Jan 25, 2013)

^ Randy and MrPepperoniNipples

You know guys, when you're sweep picking, but the pick isn't actually picking the strings, its really called legato.


----------



## whiffletree (Jan 29, 2013)

MrPepperoniNipples said:


> I don't even pick when 'doing' an upstroke.
> When descending, I just hammer on the notes.
> 
> I learned this from Christian Muenzner watching that 'Anticomic Overload' video,
> It's a little easier (there are some small new challenges that come with it) but it sounds very smooth and gets rid of the sound the pick 'scraping' against the strings



That's pretty interesting. I'll have to try that out because I have troubles with timing the up strokes with finger placement.


----------



## Malkav (Jan 30, 2013)

I think it depends really, for instance if I were playing in a more metal scenario I'd angle the pick when sweeping to get more bite and more of that percussive tone, when playing in a fusion scenario I'd most likely try to keep it flat to sound more smooth - I'd say get a grip on doing it both ways and all the ways in between so you have the ability to play in a way that is tonally appropriate for the scenario you're in


----------



## Malkav (Jan 30, 2013)

whiffletree said:


> That's pretty interesting. I'll have to try that out because I have troubles with timing the up strokes with finger placement.


 
I don't know if he does it all the time, but I do have a Rusty Cooley instructional video where I distinctly remember on some of the exercises he also plays the descending notes legato.


----------



## bondmorkret (Jan 30, 2013)

I guess I angle towards


----------



## Metalus (Jan 30, 2013)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> I was thinking of doing a tutorial on how to sweep pick faster and cleaner. I just wonder how many people actually need that



Id watch it


----------



## sear (Feb 1, 2013)

Randy said:


> I've never heard of angling your pick horizontally while sweeping, actually.


If you keep the pick perfectly straight-on, it tends to catch on the strings and make your sweeping difficult. Some amount of angle is always needed so the pick glides properly. Same reason you want to angle the pick slightly when doing, say, fast triplets or tremolo picking.


----------



## AimlessArrow (Feb 3, 2013)

It's not so much the pick angle as it is relaxing your right hand in my opinion. Play at a moderate speed, not too slow not too fast and you will find what works for you. 

I get caught up in things like this sometimes, but I remember to LISTEN when I play, rather than analyze. Things tend to fall into place naturally. 


Here is a video of me doing some nonsense. I was also economy picking but you can sort of see my right hand positioning...Hope that helps a little.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Feb 3, 2013)

Dude, not to be harsh, but you could use a better tone. Part of playing clean is having a tone that is distorted, yes, but that is also clear and sweet-sounding, even. Listen to John Petrucci's solo. You can hear everything, even the pick noise. That's how clear his tone is. Same goes for Michael Romeo, you can hear every note he sweeps.


----------



## AimlessArrow (Feb 3, 2013)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Dude, not to be harsh, but you could use a better tone. Part of playing clean is having a tone that is distorted, yes, but that is also clear and sweet-sounding, even. Listen to John Petrucci's solo. You can hear everything, even the pick noise. That's how clear his tone is. Same goes for Michael Romeo, you can hear every note he sweeps.





Does it really matter? First of all, I was recording with an Ibanez RG7321 using Photobooth and playing through a Line 6 Spider 15 watt combo...I wasn't exactly aiming for "tone" like Petrucci who plays through gear worth probably way more than i've ever spent on music total, and then has it mastered... 


If this were a thread about perfect tone, I wouldn't have posted that. I was trying to give the OP an idea of my hand positioning when i'm sweeping, not a lesson on amazing tone. By the way this video was made like 3 years ago. I'm sorry if my terrible tone offended anyone.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Feb 3, 2013)

AimlessArrow said:


> Does it really matter? First of all, I was recording with an Ibanez RG7321 using Photobooth and playing through a Line 6 Spider 15 watt combo...I wasn't exactly aiming for "tone" like Petrucci who plays through gear worth probably way more than i've ever spent on music total, and then has it mastered...
> 
> 
> If this were a thread about perfect tone, I wouldn't have posted that. I was trying to give the OP an idea of my hand positioning when i'm sweeping, not a lesson on amazing tone. By the way this video was made like 3 years ago. I'm sorry if my terrible tone offended anyone.



Jeez, man, no need to get all worked up because of my comment


----------



## AimlessArrow (Feb 3, 2013)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Jeez, man, no need to get all worked up because of my comment





I'm not pissed, just confused as to why my tone is being compared to John Petrucci's all of the sudden when that video's intent was by no means posted to demonstrate tone.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Feb 3, 2013)

I was just commenting on the influence your tone has on the sweeps. I have seen people dial in tons of distortion and then complain about their sweeps not sounding clean.


----------



## Maniacal (Feb 3, 2013)

what is that video meant to demonstrate?


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Feb 3, 2013)

The way he positions his right hand.


----------



## Maniacal (Feb 3, 2013)

Oh I see. Looks okay to me. 

Might be an idea to play some 3 and 5 strings sweeps rather than just an exercise.


----------



## AimlessArrow (Feb 3, 2013)

Maniacal said:


> Oh I see. Looks okay to me.
> 
> Might be an idea to play some 3 and 5 strings sweeps rather than just an exercise.





As previously stated, that video is about 3 years old. I just found one of the only videos of my sweeping that I could find. It's not an exercise necessarily. It can be if you want it to be, haha. Much like anything can. It's all chromatic. There is a pattern but obviously no particular key, as it was me messing around with some technical death metal stuff around a time when I was jamming with on of the guitarists of Anomalous. 

You can ask another guitarist how you should hold your pick, or hand, etc. They can only tell you what works for them. Everyone has different sized hands, uses different picks and guitars. There are just way too many factors to consider when trying to imitate someone else's technique. 

If I were to use 3 or 5 string sweeps it wouldn't matter all too much as my hand positioning would probably be the same even if I were sweeping 8 strings. There would be no point of a slow demonstration because 99% of people's technique changes when the speed up.


----------



## groverj3 (Feb 6, 2013)

I definitely angle my pick for most things, not just sweeping. Large numbers of people will tell you that they don't, but if you watch what they ACTUALLY do, they angle as well.

I had a guitar teacher who was a big believer in the "closed hand, pick parallel to the strings at all times, tremolo pick with only your wrist" sort of stuff. Great player, and knew tons of theory (kicks my ass when it comes to every aspect of the gutiar) but I kept telling him I didn't believe that stuff because plenty of good players don't do that, and it doesn't seem like a very ergonomic way to play. Plus, he didn't even actually do it. He wouldn't believe me until I recorded one of his shows, showed it to him, and managed to point it out when watching it


----------



## raybeast (Feb 10, 2013)

I definitely angle away from the bridge on the ascent and towards it on the descent. You can kind of see it in this vid, though I was focused more on the shapes than on showing the picking hand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFF5i-DA0Y

Edit: Won't embed for some reason. Also, it's got some economy picking on the double-back bit


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Feb 10, 2013)

Check out my tutorial on sweep picking. It might be helpful:


----------



## redstone (Feb 11, 2013)

Seems the internet lost my pic. So falling asleep from boredom is what I'm doing. And there's this little voice in my head ... "youuu dooon't eeeeven deseeerve haaalf the noootes you sweeep it's waaaaay too much nooootes foooor so feeeww motions ; stop it you fooooool aand get baaack to wooork". Do you hear this too ?


----------

