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Why is sweeping down so hard????


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I swear, I've been practicing this for like, 5 months and havent got any better. Theres just something in my brain that wont do this. I can sweep up just fine, notes are clean and sound alright, but when I try and go back down with it, its like my hand falls apart and all I get are ugly ass dead notes. My brain and hands just wont do it. If I slow it down I can do it, but I think its because when I slow it down I'm kinda just picking them by instinct instead of sweeping them. I know practice is the key but damn, this {censored} aint workin :mad::cry:

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I swear, I've been practicing this for like, 5 months and havent got any better. Theres just something in my brain that wont do this. I can sweep up just fine, notes are clean and sound alright, but when I try and go back down with it, its like my hand falls apart and all I get are ugly ass dead notes. My brain and hands just wont do it. If I slow it down I can do it, but I think its because when I slow it down I'm kinda just picking them by instinct instead of sweeping them. I know practice is the key but damn, this {censored} aint workin
:mad::cry:

 

 

How about a thinner pick? It should be easier then, i guess.

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First off, ignore your right hand for now, its only an aterthought to good sweeping. The best way to practice any sweeps is to get your left hand doing what you want first. Do the standard 5 string Eminor sweep

 

E||--19-15----------------------------15-19-||

B||--------17----------------------17-------||

G||-----------16----------------16----------||

D||--------------17----------17-------------||

A||-----------------19-14-19----------------||

E||-----------------------------------------||

 

But do it only with the left hand in hammerons and pull offs. Its probably best to do it with a clean tone first. Just start slow and keep gaining speed untill you can do it comfortably with just your left hand. Then once youve got all that down, add the sweep with your right hand and it will all come together.

 

James

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I swear, I've been practicing this for like, 5 months and havent got any better. Theres just something in my brain that wont do this. I can sweep up just fine, notes are clean and sound alright, but when I try and go back down with it, its like my hand falls apart and all I get are ugly ass dead notes. My brain and hands just wont do it. If I slow it down I can do it, but I think its because when I slow it down I'm kinda just picking them by instinct instead of sweeping them. I know practice is the key but damn, this {censored} aint workin
:mad::cry:

A thin pick is definately not the answer IMO. You need a fairly sturdy one to do clean sounding sweeps. you do need a firm but loose grip (if that makes sense), you don't want the pick to dig into strings so much as glide accross them.

 

Do it slow (like you have been doing), but make sure you're doing it as a continuous motion and not just down-picking. The sweep should be a continuous motion and the timing should be even. (You could even try and practice sweeping with the right hand only and muting all the strings until you get the feel for it.)

 

If you're getting dead notes I guess either you're accidently killing them with your right palm or you're having problems coordinating the timing between the sweep and the left hand fingers? Try and work out what the problem is, and then fix it. Try and start with small 3 note arps before building up to larger more complex things. Like with any technique/peice of music you find hard, you just need to slow it down, break it up into the smallest possible parts and build back up again. :)

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First off, ignore your right hand for now, its only an aterthought to good sweeping. The best way to practice any sweeps is to get your left hand doing what you want first. Do the standard 5 string Eminor sweep


E||--19-15----------------------------15-19-||

B||--------17----------------------17-------||

G||-----------16----------------16----------||

D||--------------17----------17-------------||

A||-----------------19-14-19----------------||

E||-----------------------------------------||


But do it only with the left hand in hammerons and pull offs. Its probably best to do it with a clean tone first. Just start slow and keep gaining speed untill you can do it comfortably with just your left hand. Then once youve got all that down, add the sweep with your right hand and it will all come together.


James

 

 

 

I guess everyone learns differently, but i'd say that the hard part about sweeping is the coordination/timing issue between the sweep and the fretting off the notes, particularly with the preventing unwanted notes from ringing out as you play the arp.

 

Being able to play an arp with the left hand only will help legato and tapping technique, but can't see how it helps get over the issue of being able to coordinate the hands.

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Paul Gilbert on his 1st VHS had wonderful exercises of how to learn good sweep picking arpeggios. It helped me out a lot (of course I still can't sweep like Paul).

........D....U...U....U...

(E) --15--12----------

(B) ----------13------

(G) --------------12--

 

*D means down stroke, U upstroke.

Try to start very slow on metronome let's say 65 to 70 bpm, play two bars at normal speed and the other two on double speed.

This will help you for the start.

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Intresting that it's harder to sweep down than up, from what I understand it's usually the opposite. I sweep down great, sweeping up though is a bit of a problem for me.

 

Start with smaller sweeps, go for 3 strings, then when you master that, add another string and so on.

 

And go slow, before you know it, it will all fall into place. To be honest, sweeping was easier for me than getting fluid at alternate picking. Hang in there :)

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Start with the easiest sweep of all....

 

------------12------------

---------10---10---------

------12---------12-------

---12---------------12---

-10-------------------10-

--------------------------

 

And work up from there.

 

Try not to just rake the strings, the down and up action shound actually be putting pressure on the string you just hit and then kind of "flicking" it off into the next string.....pretty trickey.

 

It just came to me one day....3 years trying and one day it just popped up.

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Start with the easiest sweep of all....


------------12------------

---------10---10---------

------12---------12-------

---12---------------12---

-10-------------------10-

--------------------------


And work up from there.


Try not to just rake the strings, the down and up action shound actually be putting pressure on the string you just hit and then kind of "flicking" it off into the next string.....pretty trickey.


It just came to me one day....3 years trying and one day it just popped up.

 

 

This is the one I've been working on.

 

-17-12-------------------------

-------13----------------------

----------14-------------------

-------------14----------------

----------------15-12----------

--------------------------------

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Three string sweeps are even harder for me than 5 string sweeps. Those little bastards are tricky.

 

+1

 

I cant play The 3string sweep intro to Bleeding Mascara by Atreyu yet (that riff ROCKS love or hate the band...) :( But I can play 5 string sweeps with ease.

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I think tight alternate picking is WAY harder.

 

I'm the exact opposite. My sweeping technique is {censored}ty; I only sweep when there's no way I can alternate pick an arpeggio that fast. Otherwise, I alternate pick all my arps. It sounds much tighter and more articulate when I alternate pick. Being able to alternate pick arpeggios makes me feel like a badass player, but it's still just covering up the fact my sweeping's crap. ;)

 

...but I alternate pick everything. I can't do the uber-downstroke metal rhythm thing well either. I can't do Master Of Puppets at speed all downstrokes as is proper. I have to alternate pick that too. :(

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I guess everyone learns differently, but i'd say that the hard part about sweeping is the coordination/timing issue between the sweep and the fretting off the notes, particularly with the preventing unwanted notes from ringing out as you play the arp.


Being able to play an arp with the left hand only will help legato and tapping technique, but can't see how it helps get over the issue of being able to coordinate the hands.

 

 

well for me, once the left hand was able to play the arp on its own, the sweep was just making the notes stronger. Of course its not all about the left hand, but trying to sync up the left and right hand before the left hand is comfortable with the pattern never worked for me

 

James

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First off, ignore your right hand for now, its only an aterthought to good sweeping. The best way to practice any sweeps is to get your left hand doing what you want first. Do the standard 5 string Eminor sweep


E||--19-15----------------------------15-19-||

B||--------17----------------------17-------||

G||-----------16----------------16----------||

D||--------------17----------17-------------||

A||-----------------19-14-19----------------||

E||-----------------------------------------||


But do it only with the left hand in hammerons and pull offs. Its probably best to do it with a clean tone first. Just start slow and keep gaining speed untill you can do it comfortably with just your left hand. Then once youve got all that down, add the sweep with your right hand and it will all come together.


James

 

 

 

That's an awesome shape for practicing! Thanks!

 

Here's an A minor that I always loved. It has a tricky position shift.

 

 

E||--17-12----------------------------12-17--||

B||--------13----------------------13--------||

G||-----------14----------------14-----------||

D||--------------14----------14--------------||

A||-----------------15----15-----------------||

E||--------------------17---------------------||

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