So, I guess I've watched and tried hundreds of videos

[Dargavel]

I have exactly two sweeps I can do. I practiced a two octave minor arpeggio to within an inch of my life, and a corresponding 1 octave down sweep. I use neither of them in my regular playing, as I've moved into a much more . It sounds like you've done more than enough research on the subject, but I think Andy's tips on practicing are a good place to start. Nothing beats dedicated practice, which I can soundly say because I have lost so much speed and precision recently due to a lack of dedicated practice.

[Dr Nick]

I'm also very limited with sweep picking - if I think I need a sweep within a song I'll practice THAT SWEEP until it's ok, use it, and then probably forget it until the next time. I certainly don't do prolonged sweep stuff, and hybrid picking is an occasional thing as well - I can do it if I have to, but need to work up to it.

Basically I don't play enough, so these advanced things tend to atrophy.


Shame really.

[Nick Layton]

Sweeping is not that difficult compared to mastering alternate picking, for example. As Andy said it really comes down to massive repetition with good form. When I was first learning it back in the day there weren't any Youtube videos to watch, it was mainly what I could glean from instructional books/videos/magazines in the late 80's early 90's. I truly sucked at it and almost gave up in the beginning. It seemed impossible. But I made a decision to give it 3 months of consistent work...then one day, low and behold, it started to click. Now it's easy and I don't practice it or use it a ton in my playing...just here and there. But I love having it as a tool for expression.


One thing I found is that certain shapes and patterns helped me more than others. My advice is to stick to a few simple exercises in the beginning and hammer them with massive repetition.


Mike I know you have already seen this, but if any of you other guys are looking for a guide to help with sweeping I've got a free tutorial you can check out here: http://www.melodicfireleadguitar.com

[Haffner]

I'm too freewheeling/Iommic a player to be precise when sweeping (but all respect to those whom are, it takes a lot of work!).


I do use sweeps when I feel they fit what I'm doing. I try not to play too many obvious, perfect root-third-fifth oriented chord patterns, preferring to superimpose outside, "weird" notes over the base chords when the spirit moves me,


I just started with three note patterns I picked up from the more rudimentary Guitar One magazines, then Joe Stump sent me a bunch of instructional dvds and live stuff with him playing. Just watching him made me much more interested. I told him last year that I was really inspired to learn how to sweep from his videos...but then I just started mangle-morphing it into my own thing until it was unrecognizable from what he does lol! I was always concerned about making my own way with the stuff I learned.


These days I prefer to listening to Blackmore do his sweep-dabbling on "Knocking At Your Back Door" than I do the virtuosic masters of the technique. I like the sound of it over brutal death metal, too.


But that's just me, and I'm first to admit it's amazing when people really nail that technique, no doubt.

[Vandenberg]

I have always found that when I have used it ( sweeping) it felt wrong, a bit like tapping, I can do it but for ME personally I don't have anything to say with it, that hasn't been said before, just my bag on it, great technique is still a worthy pursuit, on another note ~I always found that sweeping was really annoying in the end, just sounding like a lollipop stick in bike wheel, a bit like slap on the bass just because you can doesn't mean you should imho.

[Bytor]

I'm not looking for sweeping to be my mainstay or prominent technique.. I just want to be proficient at it. And I am not :s

[Joebuddha]

So for me sweeping came through just practicing one exercise over and over again for months.