Sweep picking can be a tough and scary subject for someone unfamiliar with the style of playing but the benefits of having a good competence in sweep picking far outweigh the benefits of proficiency in any other guitar technique.
Learning a good practical base in sweep picking can allow you to play fast and fluid guitar whilst following the chord progression of the song you're improvising over with minimal effort or thought.
As such, I feel it is probably the most useful area of guitar playing that someone interested in becoming an established lead player should study in order to gain skill and ability quickly.
The process of learning this technique isn't easy but by taking your time to slowly build your playing up, in the correct manner from the start, can turn two short months of 30 minutes practice per day into the level of skill and understanding that would typically be associated by many years of practice and development.
Measure twice, cut once.
Learning to play guitar with an alright, acceptable approach technique takes YEARS to refine into a mastery of guitar.
Learning to play guitar with perfect economy and conscious refinement of technique from the start can make the facade of mastery a quicker task,
it's tougher to conform to but much less work in the long run. Believe me, I took the long path through foolishness.
I learned to sweep basic three string shapes pretty well and could play them with decent accuracy and speed for a period of three whole years before I could even use them at all in my own playing. The limitations of my sweeping technique lay in a few party tricks alone with absolutely no outside musical application, whether it was improvisational or pre-written.
You see, the problem wasn't my lack of knowledge of sweep shapes or my ability to play them. It was my lack of understanding as to what they were and how they could fit into regular playing.
So, here I am today writing an introductary lesson for learning to sweep pick on the electric guitar that I feel is 10 times better than the technical primers I learned from and at least as good as any other material on the subject available today from any instructional producer.
These following few sweep picking lessons are aimed at beginners but are also suitable for advanced players looking to brush up on their playing.
I have structured this tutorial in a way where each post is one week of practical work with a good explanation of the musical use of the examples and how to integrate them into your normal, non sweep based guitar playing.
Assembled, this series of guitar lessons prepares you to play a whole sweeping guitar solo from Jason Becker called Altitudes. Arguably the most iconic sweeping guitar solo ever written.
On top of this, by the final week, you will be better than at least 95% of players out there who claim to be good at sweep picking.
It is the worst practiced guitar technique in the world but in the vast minority who do it correctly, it's mesmerizing.
~Aster
