Sweep Picking and Arpeggio: First Steps > Base exercises: Lesson 1
Sweep Picking is a technique which consist in picking several notes on
different strings keeping the same direction of picking.
To acquire a good technique, the attention must be focalized on two points
which are fundamental, even if they aren't the only ones: the use of the right
hand and the right-left synchronism.
- During the performance the right hand have to be relaxed so that the time
between a note and the other one is always the same. It's fundamental
hear to play a single note at a time, in fact the sweep isn't a chord,
a "harmony of notes" but it's a rapid succession of notes, a "quick
melody".
In conclusion we need to do one's best to play all the notes in melodic
and not harmonic way, which means "to sweep" the strings "separating"
the single notes.
- Second the synchronism between the hands is very important, in fact to
perform a good sweep you must hear playing one single note at a time.
This means that the right hand, in the dessending movement " n ", just
picked one string must simultaneously mute with the palm the one
previously played. In the asending movement " v " when you play one
string you must mute it takeing off lightly the relative finger of the
left hand, just before playing the next one.
Here's some exercises to focus this two points. I know they may be boring, but
I assure you that MUCH WORSE exercises exist; in fact I tryed to limit the
fingerings of the left hand just keeping more used one which make up the base
of more complex arpeggio. We'll see them in detail afterwards.
I wrote the exercises considering rhythmic division in triplets, so you can
concentrate on the control of the right hand and on the right-left synchronism
without thinking to other things. When you will think to master the mechanism
you can quietly repeat everything in quadruplets.
Keeping in mind what we said till now, take your metronome and let's proceed
to the practice !!!
Exercise 1 : Ascending picking " v "
----------------------------------------
The fingering we'll see now is schematized under here on the keyboard of the
guitar, and it's one of the shapes of the minor arpeggio:
I III
e ||--O--|-----|-----|--
B ||-----|--O--|-----|--
G ||-----|-----|--T--|--
D ||-----|-----|-----|--
A ||-----|-----|-----|--
E ||-----|-----|-----|--
1 2 3
In this scheme I wanted to indicate the notes to play with " O " and with
" T " , in which T represents the tonic, the fingering above is then a A# min.
The numbers 1, 2 and 3 are the index, the middle and the ring of the left
hand.
Now the exercise based on this fingering is the following:
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
[--1-----|-2-----| |-9-------|-10-------|-9-------| |-2-----|-1-----]
[----2---|---3---| |---10----|----11----|---10----| |---3---|---2---]
[------3-|-----4-| .... |------11-|-------12-|------11-| .... |-----4-|-----3-]
[--------|-------| |---------|----------|---------| |-------|-------]
[--------|-------| |---------|----------|---------| |-------|-------]
[--------|-------| |---------|----------|---------| |-------|-------]
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
You have only to play the notes following the fingering proposed from I to XII
fret, and then coming back always keeping the same direction of picking.
UP
Exercise 2 : Descending picking " n "
-----------------------------------------
The exercise is based on the fingering of the previous one, and it's proposed
with a descending picking:
n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
[------1-|-----2-| |-------9-|-------10-|-------9-| |-----2-|-----1-]
[----2---|---3---| |----10---|----11----|----10---| |---3---|---2---]
[--3-----|-4-----| .... |-11------|-12-------|-11------| .... |-4-----|-3-----]
[--------|-------| |---------|----------|---------| |-------|-------]
[--------|-------| |---------|----------|---------| |-------|-------]
[--------|-------| |---------|----------|---------| |-------|-------]
3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
UP
Exercise 3 : Ascending picking " v " and descending picking " n "
-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The same fingering is proposed again, but before with ascending picking " v "
and then with descending picking " n " :
v v v n n n v v v n n n v v v n n n v v v
[--1-----|-----2-|-3-----|-----4-| |-9-------|-------10-|-9-------|
[----2---|---3---|---4---|---5---| |---10----|----11----|---10----|
[------3-|-4-----|-----5-|-6-----| .... |------11-|-12-------|------11-| ....
[--------|-------|-------|-------| |---------|----------|---------|
[--------|-------|-------|-------| |---------|----------|---------|
[--------|-------|-------|-------| |---------|----------|---------|
1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3
n n n v v v n n n v v v
|-----4-|-3-----|-----2-|-1------]
|---5---|---4---|---3---|---2----]
.... |-6-----|-----5-|-4-----|-----3--]
|-------|-------|-------|--------]
|-------|-------|-------|--------]
|-------|-------|-------|--------]
3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3
UP
Exercise 4 : Descending picking " n " and ascending picking " v "
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The same fingering is proposed again, but before with descending picking " n "
and then with ascending picking " v " :
n n n v v v n n n v v v n n n v v v n n n
[------1-|-2-----|-----3-|-4-----| |-------9-|-10-------|-------9-|
[----2---|---3---|---4---|---5---| |----10---|----11----|----10---|
[--3-----|-----4-|-5-----|-----6-| .... |-11------|-------12-|-11------| ....
[--------|-------|-------|-------| |---------|----------|---------|
[--------|-------|-------|-------| |---------|----------|---------|
[--------|-------|-------|-------| |---------|----------|---------|
3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1
v v v n n n v v v n n n
|-4-----|-----3-|-2-----|-----1--]
|---5---|---4---|---3---|---2----]
.... |-----6-|-5-----|-----4-|-3------]
|-------|-------|-------|--------]
|-------|-------|-------|--------]
|-------|-------|-------|--------]
1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1
UP
Other 8 exercises
--------------------
Now, basing on the exercises just proposed, I VERY WARMLY suggest to get
practice also on the following fingerings:
I III I III
e ||-----|-----|-----|-----|-- e ||-----|-----|-----|-----|--
B ||-----|-----|-----|-----|-- B ||-----|-----|-----|-----|--
G ||--O--|-----|-----|-----|-- G ||--O--|-----|-----|-----|--
D ||-----|-----|--O--|-----|-- D ||-----|--O--|-----|-----|--
A ||-----|-----|-----|--T--|-- A ||-----|-----|-----|--T--|--
E ||-----|-----|-----|-----|-- E ||-----|-----|-----|-----|--
1 3 4 1 2 4
The right one is one of the shapes of the minor arpeggio, the left one is one
of the shapes of the major arpeggio.
Repeating the four types of exercises for each of these fingerings we have the
possibility to study the basis of sweep picking on other 8 exercises.
It's a fair quantity of work to distribuite in 1 month or so.
UP
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