How To Increase Sweep picking Speed And Play Arpeggios Incredibly Clean In 1 Week Using Circuit Practice
Wish you could play killer sweep picking arpeggios at blistering speeds that make people stop and watch in awe? Good news: doing this is MUCH easier than you think. It’s possible to make tons of progress with sweep picking in little time when you practice effectively.
The secret: Using circuit-style training to build your sweep picking technique from the ground up while practicing at fast speeds.
You might be thinking: “But I can’t play fast arpeggios… that is the problem!”…
Fortunately, it’s not so hard to play fast when you focus on a limited amount of notes (rather than trying to conquer entire 5 or 6 string patterns at the beginning as many guitarists do).
Use this powerful guitar practice circuit to train yourself to play sweep picking arpeggios with speed and accuracy over the period of 1 week:
Sweep picking Circuit Training Routine 1:
Play through this short, 3-note sweep picking lick a few times to become familiar with it:
Now use the sweep picking training circuit below to perfect the arpeggio at fast speeds:
Step One: Isolate the first two notes of the arpeggio by playing them back and forth for 1 minute.
Here’s how to do it:
- Pick the first note with a downstroke, then sweep through the next note.
- Next, pick the higher note (the second one) with an upstroke and sweep through to play the lower one.
Repeat this slowly at first until you are able to separate each note entirely so they don’t bleed into each other. Then speed up and make adjustments to your timing between both hands in the moment.
This trains you to correct mistakes at fast speeds by processing them with your mind (rather than just moving your hands faster and hoping it fixes itself).
After this step is done, move immediately to the next step.
Step Two: Isolate the second and third note of the pattern. Repeat the same approach used in step one for 1 minute.
After this step is done, move immediately to the next step.
Step Three: Quickly sweep all three strings while only playing the pattern in its ascending form. After each repetition, insert a brief moment of rest so you are able to process and correct any mistakes. Perform this step for 1 minute.
After this step is done, move immediately to the next step.
Step Four: Repeat the same approach used in step three for the pattern using only its descending form for 1 minute.
After this step is done, move immediately to the next step.
Step Five: Use the same approach as in steps one and two while picking with A LOT of force in your pick attack. Perform this step for 1 minute.
This approach helps you articulate each note very clearly to make the arpeggio sound better and help you identify subtle inconsistencies to fix so it sounds cleaner.
After this step is done, move immediately to the next step.
Step Six: Play through the arpeggio pattern normally for three repetitions at max speed, then rest for a moment before repeating. Perform this step for 1 minute.
After you finish the circuit, rest for a few minutes and repeat it once more. Practicing this only takes about 15 minutes.
Going through this simple sweep picking practice circuit quickly cleans up any small arpeggio, helping you to improve your fundamental technique, get started playing arpeggios or simply feel what it’s like to shred sweep licks with ease.
Use this circuit daily for one week and watch your sweep picking technique improve by leaps and bounds!
Sweep picking Circuit Training Routine 2:
This arpeggio involves using a 3 string pattern with a hammer-on/pull-off on top. Use the same concept of the circuit you just learned to practice it. Add or substitute these steps into your circuit for variety and to improve your playing in creative ways:
Added Step 1: Play only the note on the second string and the legato notes on the third string at your max speed with a brief moment of rest after each repetition.
While doing this, focus on pulling off quickly to improve your legato and make the notes sound clear. Think of this like trying to snap your fingers to get a popping sound. You don’t need to do it with a lot of force, but it must be done quickly to get the best sound possible.
Added Step 2: Use tremolo picking to accent one of the notes in the arpeggio while playing the rest like normal.
This makes sweep picking like normal feel easier and helps you articulate notes so they sound more clearly.
Sweep picking Circuit Training Routine 3:
This circuit emphasizes playing 4 string patterns that use sweep picking rolling technique.
Apply the same steps mentioned above with this circuit. While practicing this pattern, focus on how you place your fingers to roll during the arpeggio. Do this by using the steps that isolate two notes at a time.
Invest time into practicing this until you are able to clearly separate the notes within the roll. This may require adding or subtracting time from the other steps in the original circuit. Do this as necessary for your particular playing weaknesses/strengths.
Sweep picking Circuit Training Routine 4:
This circuit emphasizes playing 4 string patterns that use sweep picking rolling technique and use legato to hammer-on/pull-off notes on top.
Practice this circuit by combining the ideas of all three prior circuits together.
For the best and fastest results, schedule your sweep picking practice a week ahead of time. Use what you’ve learned here to determine the specific mistakes or weaknesses you want to correct and center your schedule around improving them.
Track your progress over the course of one week by noting how many mistakes are being made per step in each circuit, how well you are separating each note, how fast you can play cleanly, etc. The more specifically you track yourself, the faster you improve!
Want to learn more ways to play awesome sweep picking arpeggios that not only sound intense, but creative and interesting? Watch this free sweep picking video to learn how to make any arpeggio feel musically expressive when you solo with it.