June 2009 \ Premier Clinic \ Lethal Guitar \ Sweep Picking 201

Sweep Picking 201

Jeff Beasley

Taking sweep picking studies up a notch with Jeff Beasley
Premier Guitar June 2009
The Complete Series:
Sweep Picking 101
Sweep Picking 102
Sweep Picking 201
Sweep Picking 301
Sweep Picking 302
Sweep Picking 401
Sweep Picking 402
Sweep Picking 501
Sweep Picking 502
Hello there Premier Guitarists and welcome once again to Lethal Guitar! Here we are with the third installment of my Sweep Picking series and we’re moving on up from the 100s to 201. You know what that means —the licks are gonna get a bit more challenging. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to push too hard at this point…but you know that’s coming! So stay prepared and if you need to review the last two lessons (Sweep Picking 101 and 102), by all means do so. Having covered some basic arpeggios and rudimentary fingers coupled with a detailed explanation of the sweeping technique, you should now be ready to move up the ladder to the next level with this awe-inspiring technique. Today we’ll explore some 2-octave ideas involving major, minor, and diminished arpeggios. Then we’ll incorporate the six- and three-string approach into it. Buckle up ‘cause here we go…

Example 1:
The two-octave major arpeggio slowly.

Listen
 
Example 2:
The two-octave arpeggio at a quicker tempo.

Listen
 
Example 3:
The same two-octave major with a three-string thrown in slowly.

Listen
 
Example 4:
The two-octave with the three-string idea quickly.

Listen
 
 Example 5:
The two-octave minor arpeggio slowly at first.

Listen
 
 Example 6:
The two-octave minor at a quick tempo.

Listen
 
Example 7:
The two-octave minor with a three sting idea slowly.

Listen
 
Example 8:
The two-octave minor with the three-string at a quick pace.

Listen
 
Example 9:
The two-octave diminished arpeggio at a slow tempo.

Listen
 
Example 10:
The two-octave diminished at a quick tempo.

Listen
 
Example 11:
The two-octave diminished with a three-string idea at a slow tempo.

Listen
 
Example 12:
Finally the two-octave diminished with the three-string idea at a quick tempo.

Listen

Cool! Now we’re getting to where we move around the fretboard a bit more while using the sweep picking technique. These examples provide you with a cascading type of sound with the arpeggios and encompass multiple octaves. I’ve always thought these were fun to practice and I love the violin-like tonality of the two-octave approaches. Remember to practice these slowly at first, using a metronome and a clean tone. Thanks again for logging on and tuning in. See you next month here in Lethal Guitar!

     

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Comments

 (4 comments) display by
UsernameComment
Sam & his fatcat
on 11/08/2009 		I forgot to tell you thanks for doing these and man are they tuff, wooommmped me!
Aurelien Budynek
on 06/08/2009 		Awesome stuff as always! Diminished Power!!!
BP
on 06/01/2009 		Great column! Keep the sweeps coming. It's good to see quality lessons like this.
ed gordon
on 05/29/2009 		I always look forward to Dr. Beasley's column. The phrase be careful what U ask 4 comes to mind. The professor is taking us to a graduate level. Next thing ya know...he'll be showing us how to insert these arpeggios into a melody! Agh!



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