Sweep picking is a guitar playing technique in which a 'sweeping' motion of the pick is combined with a matching fret hand technique in order to produce a specific series of notes which are fast and fluid in sound. Despite being commonly known as sweep picking, both hands essentially perform an integral motion in unison to achieve the desired effect. It was invented and developed by jazz guitarists Chuck Wayne and Tal Farlow in the 1940's. Other guitarists who developed the technique jazz fusion guitarist Frank Gambale, who was student and teacher at the Los Angeles Music Institute in the 80's. He discovered the sweeping after trying to emulate piano and saxophone licks, which are impossible to play fast with the regular guitar techniques. Gambale has made several books and educational videos about sweeping. The most famous is Speed Picking, which has been released in the early 80's. Since then, Frank Gambale has been recognized as one of the major contributors in guitar technique.
The technique is often applied for but not limited to arpeggios, with a common shape being the one- or two-octave stacked triad; or in scalar terms the first (tonic), third (mediant) and fifth (dominant) of a scale, played twice with an additional tonic added to the highest point in the shape. For example, an A minor stacked triad would notate as A-C-E-A-E-C-A. When these series of notes are played quickly up and down as an arpeggio, they are notably classical-sounding as opposed to more blues-based progressions. The ability to move the shape of an arpeggio up and down the fretboard in order to initiate, or because of, a change in key lends itself to being the primary choice of guitar players, helping ease the use of what is considered an intermediate technique of guitar performance.
Compared to other techniques often used in its basic forms by shredders, such as alternate picking, few strokes are required in sweep picking. In certain instances, however, legato is used to sound notes instead of an actual pick stroke (in the case of guitar, hammer-ons and pull-offs); notably in the upper and lower sections of an arpeggio, where successive strokes on the same string in a row would effectively negate the natural sweeping motion in question. This comes into play whenever a certain string has to sound two notes in the shape due to the natural limits of a fretted string instrument.
However, as with all guitar techniques, each individual player can seek to integrate sweep picking into their existing repertoire and make use of it in an individually stylistic manner. Therefore some guitarists may use legato whereas others may have a natural tendency to double-pick multiple notes on a single string. This in itself can be seen as separate yet related idea or technique, due to the obvious differences in the sound of legato versus struck notes, as well as the shift in the timing of the entire arpeggio. Furthering the idea, most players who master the basic sweep picking pattern will use only parts of it or alter the technique to purposefully achieve a certain lick. In this sense, sweep picking is not so much a concrete action such as the aforementioned alternate picking, but instead is a technical idea with many possible applications.
A simple example of the technique is the use of the three-string sweep arpeggio done on the upper three (thinnest) strings.
Beginning on the middle tonic of this progression, the player may sweep first up the arpeggio and then back down to resolve on the initial tonic. This would notate as A-C-E-A-E-C-A. Written in tablature form for the twelfth position, it would be seen as:
e|-------12-17-12-------| B|----13----------13----| G|-14----------------14-| D|----------------------| A|----------------------| E|----------------------|
If one then adds to it the lower octave of the arpeggio, the complete shape (in this particular position) is seen as:
e|----------------12-17-12----------------| B|-------------13----------13-------------| G|----------14----------------14----------| D|-------14----------------------14-------| A|-12-15----------------------------15-12-| E|----------------------------------------|
In the middle of the above sequence, on the third and fourth string, there is a need to finger the same fret for both strings. By design there are more fingerings than humans have actual fingers, although both of these problems are solved by first fretting the initial string (fourth on the downstroke) with the tip of the ring finger, then rolling into the next string by fretting it with the pad of the same finger. In the returning upstroke, one frets the third string first by consequently reversing the rolling action from before. Also note that on the lowest and highest strings in the shape, two notes must be played immediately following each other, but on the same string. This is where the general use of the aforementioned application of legato comes into effect, so that a fluid picking motion is sustained.
However, the sounding of these notes in the arpeggio may be accomplished through any number of techniques, including a change in pick articulation; double-picking notes (which would then mean an additional upstroke or downstroke); legato; or in some instances sliding, though the latter is rarely enforced due to the acute control necessary to slide to a precise point on the string.
Sweeps may even be continued to the next note via means of tapping and may facilitate the ability to play passing notes outside of the classic arpeggio sequence. Hence, sweeps should never be limited solely to the above pattern; one can choose to construct completely new and different patterns just as chords can be modified into endless combinations. Ultimately, once mastered, sweep picking can be applied to virtually any idea—arpeggio or otherwise.
The main goal in sweeping is to synchronize your left and right hand in order to create a sweeping motion and hit each note and then lift off.
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