What’s up Premier Guitarists! Welcome to another blazing edition of Lethal Guitar with yours truly Jeff Beasley. I’ve got some very exciting news for you guys and gals my faithful readers. I’ll be collaborating with three of the best rock guitarists anywhere in an upcoming feature here in PG and, they all will be giving you some awesome lessons on their mind boggling guitar playing. Who are the three you say? John 5, Rusty Cooley, and Mike Orlando! That’s right they’ll be in a feature in the printed mag along with some awesome guitar lessons from each shredder. So, keep your eyes peeled for that and some other surprises from me and PG this year.
In our lesson this month I wanted to start a series on how to develop your sweep picking ability, whatever level of player you may be. As most of you know I teach a shredding master class for the National Guitar Workshop entitled “Full Shred Ahead” and I teach a butt-load of students privately in my hometown every week not to mention only God knows how many readers here in PG every month. A lot of players are puzzled and awed by the sweep picking technique and how to go about developing that ability. Let me share some very effective approaches to implementing the somewhat elusive sweep picking technique into your playing.
I’ve given nine examples (with audio) to more than get you started. First things first let’s discuss how to get started. In example one I give you a major arpeggio in “A”, starting on the 5th string at the 12th fret. In the audio example I have you practice it
slowly with
all down strokes ascending and
all up strokes descending. Initially don’t try to sweep pick just pick in one direction. Treat the arpeggio as if you only did down or up strokes depending on the direction (ascending/descending). Do this with a metronome at a slow tempo for about 2 weeks and then start trying to actually “sweep” your pick across the strings. At first you may not be very clean but you should be able to at least sweep the arpeggio somewhat. Over time and with consistent practice you’ll notice the arpeggio becoming cleaner and more fluid sounding. In the audio examples I give you the arpeggio slowly and then I speed it up a bit. Let’s get started…
Alrighty then! That’s our first in a series on developing a sweep picking ability and implementing it into your playing. As we progress through the series I’ll give you more examples and illustrate how to use them in your everyday soloing ideas so stick with me ‘cause it’s gonna be fun! Remember to practice with a clean tone at first, use a metronome, and of course have fun. Feel free to contact me with any questions. See you next month and thanks for logging on and tuning in.