Good songs to learn sweep picking?

BadAspen

New member
I don't really care for modern shred metal, especially neoclassical. What are some good songs that I can use as a bench mark for my sweep picking skills? A good 80s song thats more than just wankery.

I don't listen to a lot of Yngwie, but I'm trying to get into his stuff.
 
Lots of jazz tunes use sweep-picked arpeggios. Check out some Frank Gambale for the ultimate in non-metal sweeping.
 
Check out some of the books and videos by German Schauss. He has a very musical approach to sweeping. Some of the lessons might seem neoclassical or metal-focused at first, but as you read his books, it is more about developing your style.

 
If you're just trying to learn to do sweep picking, Sweep Picking Speed Strategies for Guitar by Chris Brooks is a pretty great resource for this. It breaks down Ynqwie style picking mechanics, fingering patterns, and connecting the whole fretboard together using major, minor, and harmonic minor examples.
 
It's not sweep picking, but Snow by the RHCP might be a good song for you to learn. It will teach you basic hand synchronization and economy picking with minimal mental effort and sounds good once you get it to speed.
 
This is great stuff guys. I'm also using sweep picking as a way to help me practice scale (gives me a technical goal as well as a mental one). Is there a risk of my playing becoming too robotic if I over practice ascending and descending the scales in order?
 
The way to avoid making music sound robotic is to practice it in many different ways so that it will fit into more musical situations. Do your sweeps from low E to e, from A to e, from D to e, and from g to e. Practice shifting to other positions at the top and bottom of the sweeps.

Once you get the hang of that, it's going to be a lot easier to use sweeps naturally as you're playing other stuff.
 
The way to avoid making music sound robotic is to practice it in many different ways so that it will fit into more musical situations. Do your sweeps from low E to e, from A to e, from D to e, and from g to e. Practice shifting to other positions at the top and bottom of the sweeps.

Once you get the hang of that, it's going to be a lot easier to use sweeps naturally as you're playing other stuff.

I agree. And do them with a metronome starting at 60 bpm, then 70, 80...it is the easiest way to get them cleanly and track your progress accurately.
 
I agree. And do them with a metronome starting at 60 bpm, then 70, 80...it is the easiest way to get them cleanly and track your progress accurately.

+1

Any time you're doing any sort of technical work on the guitar you should be using a metronome and progressing slowly. Usually I will make each rep perfect before moving to a higher speed.
 
This is great stuff guys. I'm also using sweep picking as a way to help me practice scale (gives me a technical goal as well as a mental one). Is there a risk of my playing becoming too robotic if I over practice ascending and descending the scales in order?

No, because if you are also practicing and writing songs, they rarely are a collection of scale tones in order.
 
+1

Any time you're doing any sort of technical work on the guitar you should be using a metronome and progressing slowly. Usually I will make each rep perfect before moving to a higher speed.

Rule of thumb at Berklee was 3x clean before moving on.
 
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