[Guitar Speed Lesson] Clean Up Sloppy Sweep Picking With Tremolo Picking

Ever wish you could play badass sweep picking arpeggios without making sloppy mistakes that ruin them?

No problem!

A long time ago, I struggled to play sweep picking licks. Really… I was nowhere near good at the technique.

At shredder speeds, my sweep picking technique wasn’t clean at all.

It sucked: I knew my playing sounded bad, but I couldn’t understand which of the notes weren’t sounding right.

That meant, I didn’t even realize what to focus on to make my playing sound better.

And when I played slowly, my blunders went away … only to return, the moment I tried playing at my max speed once more.

This drove me crazy for weeks, until my guitar teacher showed me a “sneaky” strategy that corrected everything.

It seems — when you stop on arbitrary notes within the arpeggio using tremolo picking …

… you can “pinpoint” careless mistakes out of your playing one at a time, without ever needing to slow down.

And when you get efficient at it, this way of playing turns regular arpeggios into hair-raising guitar licks.

Check out this video where I show you how to do it thoroughly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8aj2ivCptc

Want to know additional ways to clean up sloppy sweep picking at higher speeds?

Study the tips below:

Sweep Picking Speed Tip # 1: Stay Clear Of “Rhythm Distortion”

Have a look at my cost-free eBook on guitar finger independence and discover fretting hand technique secrets most guitar players never know.

If you don’t, you wind up distorting the rhythm of the notes and this doesn’t sound very good.

Not to mention: it’s very tough to play through an arpeggio where some notes are faster than other notes in the pattern.

Fortunately, this complication is really easy to resolve.

Watch this video to see what I mean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0aOqsLXAco&feature=emb_title.

Sweep Picking Speed Tip # 2: Use “Aural Rotation”

Find the precise speed at which your playing starts to fall apart. Then slow down a few beats per minute (by 3–8 beats per minute).

Next, pick one note to concentrate on and repeat the arpeggio over and over — listening only to that note.

(Overlook the other notes and make sure the note you chose is totally clean. Adjust your technique as you go, but do not slow down.).

When you are certain the note sounds impeccable — “rotate” your focus to the following note in the arpeggio.

Repeat this process with each and every note until you refine the entire arpeggio at full speed.

Sweep Picking Speed Tip # 3: Clean Up Your Finger Rolling. Below Is How:.

Clean finger rolling (playing 2 or more notes on the same fret on adjacent strings using the same finger) determines the quality of the sound of your sweep picking technique.

The key is to not barring all the notes of the roll. Instead — fret one note at a time.

How?

Literally roll your finger over strings, so your finger looks like a banana.

Then switch the motion in the opposite direction when you descend the arpeggio.

Check out this video to see how to do finger rolling the right way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2rjXiNUfU&feature=emb_title.

Once you know the most reliable ways to clean up unclean sweep picking — the next action is to fine-tune the finger independence of your fretting hand.

When you do, everything you play on guitar becomes a whole lot easier and sound much better than it does at this moment.

When you play arpeggios with hammer ons and/or pull offs, play them just as fast as the other notes in the pattern.

About The Author:
Tom Hess is a guitar teacher online, progressive rock guitarist/composer and a touring musician. He teaches guitar players in his rock guitar lessons online. Go to tomhess.net to get more guitar playing resources and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.