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Ok, I know what you’re thinking. What the heck is a 2 string sweep?
It is a little odd I’ll admit. Not widely used, but once it is, it is quite amazing.
You can find all kinds of lessons like this at
Now the technique for a 2 string sweep is a little different than other sweeps,
because you’re not traveling over a lot of strings.
Let’s talk about the symbols that you will see in these examples.
Here is an upstroke.
It is the opposite of the downstroke. When you see this
you will pick up with your pick.
Are you as excited as I am? I doubt it. I’m pretty excited. Let’s really get
started.
Sweep 1:
This is a perfect place to start with 2 string sweeps. This sweep is really great to
get the sweeping pattern down. There are only two different patterns in this
lesson. You will either start with a downstroke or an upstroke.
Sweep 2:
This sweep is a little more complicated than the last. Only because it has more
movement.
Sweep 3:
This sweep starts with an upstroke. So, this might be a little different feeling
than the ones you have already practiced.
Start all of these sweeps slow and work up your speed until you are where you
want be speed wise.
Next sweep!
Sweep 4:
Ok, hopefully you are practicing these until they are up to speed. If you are
ready we will move on to sweep number 5.
Sweep 5:
Remember to take a break and not play these for a long time. Practice for 20
minutes then take a break and stretch your hands and forearms then get back
to practicing.
Sweep 6:
Sweep 6 might take a little getting used to. This is a little different with the
thicker strings. Just keep practicing and you will be shredding 2 string sweeps
in no time.
Sweep 7:
Here is a great sweep that uses the middle 2 strings. Remember to follow the
picking patterns here.
Moving on to...
Sweep 8:
Sweep 9:
Sweep 10:
This is your first sweep using the “A” and “D” string. You should be
comfortable with any group of 2 string sweeps by now.
Sweep 12:
Sweep 13:
Sweep 14:
Well, there it is! Here are 15 sweeps you can use in your own songs.
Practice hard and practice often. Always use a metronome and start slow.
The more you practice the better you’ll become. Mess around with these and
make your own sweeps. Move them to different positions and get creative.
For more sweeps and shredding technique check out the Guitar Shred Lesson
page on full-score-guitar-lessons.com.
Sweeping, while by no means a new guitar technique, was rarely seen in mainstream
music prior WRWKHPLOOHQQLXP1RZLW¶VEHFRme almost the standard in modern rock and metal
music, perhaps most notoriously used by bands like Protest the Hero, Beneath the massacre, I
wrestled a bear once.....just about every modern metal/rock band out there. Sweeping is the new
³VKUHGGLQJ´or soloing that many guitarists exhibited throughouWWKH¶V,W¶s meant to impress
and wow audiences, but also other guitar players, not just because of the abrupt ascending and
descending motion but because of its apparent technical difficulty and sonic complexity. For
observers it can appear to be a very difficult technique, simply because it looks that way, and
GRQ¶t get me wrong, sweeping is by no means easy to master, it takes practice and determination
like any other guitar technique, but it is no more difficult to learn than the tremolo or pinch
harmonics, it just appears that way. In order to more quickly learn how to sweep it helps to have
a fundamental undersWDQGLQJRIH[DFWO\ZKDWD³6ZHHS´ is.
Bar sweeping ± Many sweep patterns require that you are able to cleanly play three or
sometimes more notes with one finger. This requires you to be able to perform a sweep with one
finger and is arguably one of the most difficult aspects of mastering the sweeping technique.
You need to know which muscle within the finger needs to be pressed and lifted as you move
from string 6 to string 1 with your single finger barred across the width of the fretboard. The
finger needs to sort of roll across the fretboad as your right hand falls from one string to the next.
For this reason it is imperative that before you move forwards with sweeping that you master one
finger sweeping or bar sweeping with each finger. You should be able to sweep and entire six
strings cleanly with all four of your fingers, not just your first one. This is half the battle, if you
can successfully do this, you will have a huge head-start when it comes to mastering the various
sweeping patterns.
The Chords/Triads ± Keep in mind all arpeggios or sweeps are generally derived from chords.
Sweeping is an advanced technique, it would be best and most logical to learn at least a solid
amount of chords before moving into sweeping. Sweeping will be much easier to master
EHFDXVH\RX¶OODOUHDG\EHfamiliar with the chord patterns and shapes. The fingering you use to
perform the sweep will be similar to the fingering used when strumming the chord.
String Numbers ± Strings are numbered as 1-6, however it is common for beginners to assume
that the first string is the first string they see (the bass string). The bass string is in fact the 6th
string and the highest string is actually the 1st string. String numbers ascend from the string
closest to the floor to the string closest to you.
Understanding the information in the screenshots ± as you read through this guide you will
come across numerous screenshots like the example screen shot below. To someone who
GRHVQ¶WNQRZPXFKDERXWPXVLFDOWKHRU\RUUDUHO\YLHZVVWDIIPXVLFWKLVmay appear to be a
foreign language, but these symbols actually provide direction on how to play the notes
indicated. The symbols in this case are as follows:
R ± The R underneath some of the notes within the various measure indicates that that particular
none is the root not or tonic note, often this note will also be the key in the which that particular
arpeggio is in. Arpeggios and music in general will usually start on the root not and end on the
root not.
Legato If you notice a curved line connecting two or more notes, this is known as a legato. A
legato indicates that the note is meant to be sustained and does not need to be picked again. You
may simply lift your finger off of the note you are playing or hammer on the next note.
Performing a Sweep
Like all things in music, start at a slow pace, as slow as you need to in order to perform
the technique properly, this means with each note sustained for the same amount of time as the
note before it, preferably with a metronome. A metronome helps you to develop the technique
cleanly and reduces the risk of developing bad habits or poor technique when you perform the
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EDFNDFRXSOH%30¶VLI\RXQRWLFH\RXUWHFKQLTXHKDVEHJXQWRIDOODSDUW%HJLQE\PDVWHULQJ
the major or minor sweeps first. Naturally some musicians (Especially metal players) may
employ the use of the minor scale more frequently than say the major scale. For instance darker
PHWDOEDQGVPD\QRWHYHQWRXFKWKHPDMRUVFDOHRIFRXUVHLW¶VVWLOOJRRGWRNQRZ but its best to
start with what will engage you more. The major scale is generally an upbeat and happy
sounding scale where as the minor scale is darker sounding, so start with a scale that you
generally prefer.
Above are all seven of the major three string arpeggios. Note, as I mentioned in the
introduction to sweeping, a few of the arpeggios here require you to bar three successive strings,
with one finger as in the fourth arpeggio pattern, three successive notes must be played on the
same fret, (17,17,17) and then again descending. In order to play this is it essential that you learn
to play three notes successively with one finger, in this case the first finger, practice this by itself
prior to delving into sweeping, or simply skip over the patterns that require you to bar sweep.
You should practice this independently which each finger until you can move from the 6th string
to the first string in one fluid motion. Eventually you should be able to bar an entire sweep with
one finger up to six strings. This takes lots of practice with a metronome to perform properly,
but LW¶VHVVHQWLDOWRPDVWHULQJWKUHHVWULQJVZHHSV
M inor Arpeggio Shapes
The minor chord shapes or the Aeolian mode is closely related to the major scale or
Ionian mode. These are the Arpeggios you want to master if \RX¶UH into that dark sound
employed by a lot of metal musicians. Make sure you have the fingering correct. Anytime the
same fret is required to be used on the successive string, you will be required to use the muscles
in your one finger to flatten the next string while simultaneously lifting the muscle off the
previous string. This is arguably one of the most difficult techniques to master with regards to
sweeping. Use a metronome and go very slow. Note that the first three notes you are to pick
downwards, where as the descending three notes you should be picking back up towards you,
although in pitch the tone would be descending.
+HUH¶VWKHODVWWKUHH2QWKHILUVWFKRUGVWULQJWKHILUVWWZRQRWHVRQIUHWDQGVKRXOGEH
barred with your ring finger, your second finger should play the 13th fret, your pinky should play
the 17th. * Note: you should always descend the same way as you ascended with the exact
same fingering.
2nd Arpeggio ± second finger on the first string, bar strings five and six on the 10th fret and than
use your pinky finger to play fret 14 and then descend slowly ensure that you properly execute
the backwards bar. This can be tricky,
3rd M inor Arpeggio ± Use your first finger on the 8th fret, your pinky on the 11th and your
second finger to bar the two notes on string 5 and 6, descend with the bar intact, be careful to use
the fingers muscles to cleanly lift off into the following note as you descend. This can be tricky.
Augmented and Diminished Arpeggios
$XJPHQWHGDQG'LPLQLVKHGWULDGVKDYHDORWLQFRPPRQWKH\ERWKDUHQ¶WIUHTXHQWO\XVHG
in mainstream music, and both deal with the altered fifth note in the triad. They work very much
the same as seventh chords, and work well as a dominant chord progression from I to V, or the
root chord to the fifth note in the scale, also known as the dominant chord.
An augmented chord is when the 3rd note in a triad is raised to the sixth note instead of
the fifth. The diminished chord is when the last note in a triad or fifth note in a diatonic scale is
lowered a tone, so it is very similar sounding to the augmented chord. The diminished chord is
based on a tone ± KDOIWRQHSURJUHVVLRQVR\RX¶OOQRWLFHWKHUH¶VDOot less barring required when
it comes to diminished Arpeggios. Also there are a number of possibilities when it comes to the
diminished chord because the diminished scale has more notes, much closer to one another, than
in the typical western diatonic scales, such as the major or minor scale.
Sus4 Triads
A suspended triad is a triad in which the third note is omitted, replaced usually with
either a perfect fourth or a major second, in this case however the 4th, which is far more common
than a suspended second. The lack of a minor or a major third in the chord creates an open
sound, while the tension between the fourth and fifth or second and first creates dissonance.
Suspended chords are commonly found in folk music and popular music. A jazz sus
chord is a dominant seventh chord with an added fourth (Gsus, for example), and may be written
as a slash chord (F/G, or even Dm7/G) so as to show its function in II-V-I progressions.
Sevenths on suspended chords are while the 9sus chord is similar to an eleventh chord and may
be notated as such.
Sus2 Triad Arpeggios
$VPHQWLRQHGDERYHVXVSHQGHGWULDGVGRQ¶WKDYHDFOHDUKDSS\RUVDGWRQHEHFDXVHWKH
third note that would typically be found in a minor or major triad which determines whether or
not a chord is minor or major is omitted and in its place the suspended second triad turns to the
perfect second note, thus it is dubbed the suspended 2nd. Like the Sus4 chord the Sus2 triad has a
dissonant sort of sound.
ADD 9 Triads
The add9 chord is really just a major triad with an added 9th. The difference between an
add9 chord and regular 9th chord is that WKHDGGGRHVQ¶t include the 7th note like the 9th chord
does. So for instance, a ninth chord in key of C major would consist of a C, E, G, B and a D.
However a Cadd9 merely consists of your C triad, C, E, G and the ninth note - D. These chords
are a contrast to the suspended chords, where we see that the third note is removed in order to
create dissonance. In the case of the 9add triad, a note is added to create dissonance, in the case
of the tonic C major chord the D is that added 9th. These chords are just a slight variation to
PDMRUFKRUGVWKDW\RX¶YHDOUHDG\OHDUned. They sound more interesting than your typical perfect
fifth chords and are often employed by more technical musicians who are tired of the clichéd
power chords and black and white minor and major chords.
M add9
Madd9 is the Minor version of the added 9th chord. So for instance if you have an A minor
chord, A, C, and E, the ninth in this case would be B. As with the Major added 9th there is no
seventh note, it is strictly the ninth. This is what distinguishes it from your regular 9th chord.
Added ninth chords, or any ninth chords are frequently used in Jazz, but now a days in the world
of metal, ninth chords or chords that create dissonance are becoming more increasingly used.
6th Arpeggios
6th arpeggios are similar to 7th arpeggios except in this case LW¶V the sixth note of the
Ionian mode/major scale that is included along with the original triad. If you took out the third
note it would than in be an add6 arpeggio, however the 6th DUSHJJLR¶V includes the original triad.
So if we were in the key of C major, the root triad would be C, E, G and A. Note that A, E, and
C also form the A minor chord. For this reason sixth chords can be major or minor, augmented
or diminished. The 6th chord (major) can probably be best described as odd sounding. It's the
kind of chord you'd think a harp would play. The 6th is not flatted, this would make the chord a
C 6 flat or C minor 6 flat.
M inor Sixth Chords
Minor sixth chords are the minor version of the major sixth chord. So for instance if you
look at C majors relative minor, A, your triad will consist of A, C, E and F.
M ajor and M inor 7th Chords
Seventh chords are very common chords. Jazz is generally based upon 7th progressions.
A seventh chord can be major, minor, augmented or diminished. Remember that the 3rd is the
note that determines whether it is major or minor. The seventh automatically assumes that the
seventh note is a flattened seventh, or the note is a whole step (2 frets) above the octave of your
tonic. If it's only one fret above your tonic it's called a major 7th chord. A minor 7th chord is
your flatted third plus the flattened 7th.
As far as use of 7th chords, the 7th is used a lot in jazz and in country music. It naturally
sounds mellow, not overly happy, it has a country sort of sound, not as uplifting as the major
arpeggios, it definitely has Western sort of Jazzy feel. The minor 7th also is very jazzy
sounding, but it's more complex sounding than the major 7th. As with all minors, it doesn't lend
itself to uplifting melodies. It is contemplative but can also be used to get your groove on.
M ajor 7thb5
Major 7th flat five arpeggios are a little more complicated. If you already read the section on
augmented and diminished arpeggios, it is similar to this, but not quite the same. A diminished
chord will always have a minor 3rd and a flatted fifth. As discussed in the section on Augmented
and Diminished Chords, the augmented and diminished suffix effect the natural of the 5th note or
third note in a triad. So a major 7th is essentially a diminished chord with a major third instead of
a minor thirG6RIRULQVWDQFHLIZH¶UHLQWKHNH\RI&DGLminished chord would be C, the minor
3rd, E flat, and a diminished fifth which would be G flat. This would be the C diminished Chord.
The Major 7th flat five differs from this chord in a number of ways. First of all the third in this
case is a major third, not a minor third, so the E in this case would be a natural E instead of a
flattened E, the fifth would be the same as it is with a diminished chord ± G flat. However in this
case you also have the added seventh as well. So the Major 7th flat 5 chord, given the tonic is C,
would be C, E, G flat, and B.
7KHVHFKRUGVWHQGWREHGLIILFXOWWRSURSHUO\HPSOR\EHFDXVHWKH\GRQ¶WUHDOO\IDOOZLWKLQ
the context of the C major scale. A G flat note suggests the chord would fit over an E minor or
G major key signature and there for it would be best used as a 6th chord in the case of e minor, or
as a 4th in the case of G major. Of course rhythmically it could also be used as an accidental
chord as well.
M ajor Seventh Augmented 5th
The augmented seventh chord or seventh augmented fifth chord is a dominant seventh
chord consisting of an augmented triad with a minor seventh. Thus, it consists of a root, major
third, augmented fifth, and the minor seventh. It is the opposite of the Major seventh diminished
5th chord, only instead of the fifth being lower a semitone as it is the with the Major Seventh
Diminished 5th, it is augmented or raised. So in the key of C major it would be C, E, G sharp,
and B-flat. The root is the only optional note in an augmented seventh chord, the fifth being
required because it is raised. This alteration is useful in the major mode because the raised 5th
creates a leading tone to the 3rd of the tonic triad.
4 String Sweeps(Major)
Full-Score-Guitar-Lessons.com.
Enjoy this free download guitar lesson!
If youʼre not sure what a sweeps is or want to start with something easier
check out the Sweep Picking Technique page on Full-Scoreʼs site by
clicking the page link.
There are some symbols that you should know before we get started.
This is the opposite of the downstroke. This symbol just means use an
upstroke with your pick.
This symbol will help you know which note is the root note. Also, if you
know the root note and have the sweep memorized, then you can move the
pattern to whatever position on the fretboard and it will be a different
sweep.
This little happy face looking symbol means the notes that itʼs on will be
hammered on or pulled off.
Sweep 1!
A metronome is machine that keeps perfect time for you like a beat or a
drum machine.
They are really inexpensive you need one if you want to gain speed
quickly!
Some of these will be a lot easier than the others and some will take a
while to get used to.
Once you get one of these down then you can move it anywhere up and
down the neck. So, if you know one sweep then you know 12!
Always take your time when practicing itʼs better to know one sweep and
play it really well than to know 20 sweeps but sound awful. True story.
Sweep 3!
How are you doing? By now your hands might hurt a little. Itʼs smart to
stretch and massage your hands, wrists, and arms.
If you donʼt take care of your body then eventually stuff starts to hurt and
you become obnoxious and grumpy and lash out
at random people who donʼt deserve it.
Sweep 5!
The sweeps that start on the low E or A string might be a little more unusual
to play than the ones that start on the D string. Try getting all the ones on
the D string down first then move on.
Sweep 7!
Ok, so here is the last of the 4 string major sweeps. Learn all of these and
keep a lookout for the “How To Master 4 String Sweeps” eBook.
Sweep 9!
Well, that is it for this free downloadable guitar lesson! I hope that you
learned something new and apply all the sweeps you learn in your own
music.
Leave me a comment and let me know what else you would like to learn
and let me know how Iʼm doing. Also, let me know what you think of this
guitar pdf!
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