When did you first learn how to sweep pick?

[Brierley]

When did you first learn how to sweep pick? I have been playing guitar for about 6 years and I just started learning to sweep pick about a week ago. I'm progressing fairly well so far (though I've mostly just been practicing major arpeggios) and I was just wondering how late in the game I'm learning this. I feel like it's coming pretty easily to me so far and I feel like I could have learned it sooner. Anyway, just curious!

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

I learnt how to sweep 2 years or 3 years ago, don't really remember to be honest

 

[metalman_ltd]

I'm in the exact same boat as you six years stared a week ago coming easy I think were good haha. I myself wish I had started sooner cause arpeggios are real fun. But better late then never.

 

[Brierley]

I'm in the exact same boat as you six years stared a week ago coming easy I think were good haha. I myself wish I had started sooner cause arpeggios are real fun. But better late then never.

That's so ironic hahaha. Yeah, definitely better late than never though. I think I had looked up some video a long time ago, but they guy "teaching" my how to do it wasn't very clear or informative. Which is probably why I waited so long, because it had seemed so over my head at the time.

 

[Brierley]

I'm also pretty new to 7-string guitar too. My friend is letting me borrow his Ibby RG7321 while he's at college. It definitely isn't the best guitar, but it's better than not having a 7-string at all. I'm trying to sell a bunch of stuff so I can pick up an S7420FM.

 

[metalman_ltd]

I'm also pretty new to 7-string guitar too. My friend is letting me borrow his Ibby RG7321 while he's at college. It definitely isn't the best guitar, but it's better than not having a 7-string at all. I'm trying to sell a bunch of stuff so I can pick up an S7420FM.

again same here being new to seven string I got one after like a year of playing guitar and was like wtf do I do with this. Haha. So I sold it but just recently got a new one after I started listening to a lot of bands who use them and I love it.

 

[The Reverend]

I practice it a lot, but I can't get my pinky to cooperate on those higher octave hammer-ons. Anything in more of a traditional box shape I can do.

 

[Trembulant]

Around 1985 or so when i first saw some dude in a music store shredding some yngwie, was like oh shit that's how he gets that sound! Went home and started working on it.
So basically within my first year of playing. I could sweep decent before i could alternate pick, like counterpoint and some of the more complex lines and patterns of yngwie and vinnie moore macalpine at the time.
Anymore, if i do it out of habit it kinda makes me cringe, it almost feels cheap like grabbing for the whammy bar. If i'm writing something and i instictively do a sweep i try and see if i can find something else more interesting or melodic there instead. It's almost feels like grabbing for the whammy bar if i don't know what else to do (which i no longer even have my whammy bar screwed on at all) tho i have all floyds anyway lol, habit since i always have had one.
Anyway i do still like those things and both of those things are still relevant especially when someone does them well and in the right moment

 

[Dirtdog]

I started sweeping scales like gambale before I knew what it was. Then my teacher said thats nice but you need to alternate pick the strings. Damn I should have just done it my way.

 

[Blind Theory]

I've been playing guitar for 3 years and 8 months (ish) and I've known how to sweep for probably 2-4 months. Not exactly sure. I've always been able to sweep upward (high e to low e direction) but I've never been able to sweep pick downward until I found some jazz video on Youtube and that was a few months ago. I can sweep pick (including sweep tap) on five strings fairly easily (regardless of shape for the most part). When it comes to 6 string sweeps...I can kinda do one shape. I've had a 7 string guitar all of 4 days so 7 string sweeps aren't even possible at this point. Once you get one shape down I find it's fairly easy to learn other shapes and be fluent in them. Takes me maybe an hour or so to get up to speed but it's all good. Very fun, as well!

 

[Brierley]

I practice it a lot, but I can't get my pinky to cooperate on those higher octave hammer-ons. Anything in more of a traditional box shape I can do.

Same here. I started to think maybe my pinky is just smaller than normal O__O but I don't know. It does look pretty fucking small. Then again I've never really compared my pinky to anyone else's XD

 

[Brierley]

I've been playing guitar for 3 years and 8 months (ish) and I've known how to sweep for probably 2-4 months. Not exactly sure. I've always been able to sweep upward (high e to low e direction) but I've never been able to sweep pick downward until I found some jazz video on Youtube and that was a few months ago. I can sweep pick (including sweep tap) on five strings fairly easily (regardless of shape for the most part). When it comes to 6 string sweeps...I can kinda do one shape. I've had a 7 string guitar all of 4 days so 7 string sweeps aren't even possible at this point. Once you get one shape down I find it's fairly easy to learn other shapes and be fluent in them. Takes me maybe an hour or so to get up to speed but it's all good. Very fun, as well!

That's awesome, it's a very daunting task. I can do 5 strings, but I haven't even tried 6 yet and like you I'm pretty new to the whole 7-string thing, so 7 string sweeping is going to be out of the question for a while.

 

[Brierley]

again same here being new to seven string I got one after like a year of playing guitar and was like wtf do I do with this. Haha. So I sold it but just recently got a new one after I started listening to a lot of bands who use them and I love it.

Dude, my best friend/neighbor got the seven string that I'm using right now when we were like 14 or so and whenever I tried playing it I would always get confused because of the 7th string (mind you I had only been playing about a year or so). Now that I listen to music like Periphery, Cloudkicker, Animals as Leaders, Scale The Summit etc. I want to get a nice one for myself.

 

[metalman_ltd]

Dude, my best friend/neighbor got the seven string that I'm using right now when we were like 14 or so and whenever I tried playing it I would always get confused because of the 7th string (mind you I had only been playing about a year or so). Now that I listen to music like Periphery, Cloudkicker, Animals as Leaders, Scale The Summit etc. I want to get a nice one for myself.

yea I just about a month ago got my ltd viper 417 its a great guitar but I don't quit like the feel(reason I hate ordering guitars online). It's very bulky heavy and doesn't balance well. I'm bout to go buy a john petrucci 7 in a few days hopefully. But I got to sell like three guitars to pay it off if I do.

 

[toiletstand]

havent tried to learn it yet. i am teh suck.

 

[AySay]

When I found out about Jason Becker...
When I stopped? When I found out about Petrucci.

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

I think I learned to sweep within my first year. My sister's ex-boyfriend/my guitar teacher gave me a few patterns, and I ignored everything else he gave me to focus on sweeps. I learned guitar while I was in high school, and there was a surge of metalcore scenesters at my school at the time, so one's success as a musician was pretty much measured by whether you could sweep pick or not, regardless of its musicality or if you could even do it well. I wasn't even into the music that was going around, but pulling out an arpeggio was a sure way of shutting people up and making them think you were a guitar god.

havent tried to learn it yet. i am teh suck.

You should give it a go. I suck, but that never stopped me.

 

[Brierley]

I think I learned to sweep within my first year. My sister's ex-boyfriend/my guitar teacher gave me a few patterns, and I ignored everything else he gave me to focus on sweeps. I learned guitar while I was in high school, and there was a surge of metalcore scenesters at my school at the time, so one's success as a musician was pretty much measured by whether you could sweep pick or not, regardless of its musicality or if you could even do it well. I wasn't even into the music that was going around, but pulling out an arpeggio was a sure way of shutting people up and making them think you were a guitar god.



You should give it a go. I suck, but that never stopped me.

Amen to that. I grew up in Mass and here we have a huge hardcore scene, which I was never into, but we also have a pretty big (shitty) generic metalcore scene. I used to listen to that kind of music when I was younger and like you, when I was in high school it was all about if you could "look like you know what the fuck you are doing" in the words of Paul Waggoner. I remember at the mall/plaza 20 minutes from my house scene kids would infest the area on Saturday night and they would be all over Guitar Center cranking Line 6 Spider II's and playing the nearest entry level worn out guitar they could find to show off their skills to their scenester girlfriends. Oh, nostalgia.

 

[Blind Theory]

Amen to that. I grew up in Mass and here we have a huge hardcore scene, which I was never into, but we also have a pretty big (shitty) generic metalcore scene. I used to listen to that kind of music when I was younger and like you, when I was in high school it was all about if you could "look like you know what the fuck you are doing" in the words of Paul Waggoner. I remember at the mall/plaza 20 minutes from my house scene kids would infest the area on Saturday night and they would be all over Guitar Center cranking Line 6 Spider II's and playing the nearest entry level worn out guitar they could find to show off their skills to their scenester girlfriends. Oh, nostalgia.

Oh how I wish that was the story here. My local scene is full of technical death metal bands that are really good. Look up the band Allegaeon, they are from my area. A Sonnet To Silence is local and really good. So is the band Ruins of Tomorrow. Yeah...here you are either generic death core (wanna be Whitechapel basically) or extremely talented technical music. There is NO in between.

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

When I found out about Jason Becker...
When I stopped? When I found out about Petrucci.

So true, when I found out about Petrucci picking his arpeggios, I tried to copy him