The Art of Sweeping
Sweeping, while by no means a new guitar technique, was rarely seen in mainstream music prior to prior to the millennium. Now it’s beco become me 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 modern metal/rock band out there. Sweeping is the new “shredding” or soloing that many guitarists exhibited throughout throughout the 80’s. It’ It’ss 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 sonic complexity. For observers it can appear to be a very difficult technique, simply because it looks that way, and don’tt get me wrong, sweeping is b y no means easy to master, it takes practice and determination don’ 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 it helps to have a fundamental understanding understanding of exactly what a “Sweep” is. Sweeping is a term that’s used to describe what is essentially just just a fast Arpeggio. An arpeggio is a broken chord or chord played one note at a time, usually based on an existing chord or triad. Instead of plucking the notes simultaneously as you would when playing a chord, you would ascend or descend one note at time playing the notes independently from each other. But there’s more to it than this. If you play an open op en chord one note at a time from the sixth string to the first string, an E minor for instance, you will hear a nice full tone, but all al l the notes will likely still be ringing even when you reach the final note or first string – string – this this is not sweeping. If you played it faster it would merely become a strum and all the notes will be ringing loudly together like a chord. While not a sweep, sweep, strumming is is the foundation of what a sweep is. is. The difference between a sweep and a strummed arpeggio or arpeggio played on an open ch ord is not the speed at which you play play it. A sweep must be performed in a staccato form. form. Each note must be plucked independently from the other and immediately immediately be silenced upon moving to the next string. string. This is what allows each successive not to ring independently from the the last. Each finger pushes down and immediately lifts off as the following note is plucked, immediately muting the string that was plucked before it. A typical sped up strum strum will leave you with every string still ringing, ringing, but the sweep allows every note in the arpeggio or every successive string to ring b y itself without having to share the spot light with the other notes. This is what makes the sweep a much more difficult technique to master than that of a broken b roken chord or Arpeggio. What you need to know before moving into Sweeping Bar sweeping – – Many Many sweep patterns require that you are able to cleanly play three or sometimes more notes with with one finger. This requires you to be able to perform a sweep with 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 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 mo ve forwards with sweeping that you master one finger sweeping or bar sweeping 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. – Keep Keep in mind all arpeggios or sweeps are generally g enerally derived from chords. The Chords/Triads – 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 master because you’ll already be familiar 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 th that the first string is the first string they see (the bass string). string). The bass string is in fact the 6 st string and the highest string is actually the 1 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 doesn’t know much about musical mu sical theory or rarely views staff music this may 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 general will usually start start on the root not and end on the root not. Down pick U p pick – If you look just above the fret number you’ll notice just above each – If
number is either a square brackets opening downwards or a pointed arrow opening upwards. This is telling you you which way to pick. The square bracket opening downwards means you should be picking down, the pointed arrow opening upwards means you should be picking up. Generally with arpeggios and sweeping, you begin picking down and then return to the root note by picking up towards where you began. curved line connecting two or more notes, this is known as a legato. A Legato If you notice a curved 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 technique sped up. Take your time when adjusting the metronome and don’t be afraid to turn it back a couple BPM’s if you notice your technique has begun to fall apart. Begin by mastering 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 metal bands may not even touch the major scale, of course it’s still good to know, 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. The technique you’re going to use is very similar to a slow strum you would use on an open chord. At first concentrate on plucking the notes individually at a slow speed, so your mind and hands become familiar with the pattern. Once your fingers are working through the arpeggio easily, attempt to slant the pick slightly. Don’t pick as hard, but rather let the pick sort of fall into the next note as your left hand guides your right hand. With each successive note your left hand pushes down, your right hand should just fall into it, as your previous finger simultaneously releases pressure from the fretboard, thus muting the note you just played just in time for the next
note. Don’t force the right hand to speed up, just let it slide down words as your left hand pushes down the frets until you get to string one. Remember, the left hand controls this technique. 3 String Sweeps – Major Arpeggios
Above are all seven of the major three string arpeggios. Note, as I mentioned in the introduction to sweeping, a few of the arpe ggios here require you to bar three successive strings, with one finger as in the fourth arpeggio p attern, 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. th You should practice this independently which each finger until you can move from the 6 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 it’s essential to mastering three string sweeps.
Minor 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 you’re 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.
Here’s the last three. On the first chord string the first two notes on fret 15 and 15 should be th barred with your ring finger, your second finger should play the 13 fret, your pinky should play th the 17 . * Note: you should always descend the same way as you ascended with the exact same fingering. th
nd
2 Arpeggio – second finger on the first string, bar strings five and six on the 10 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, rd
th
th
3 Minor Arpeggio – Use your first finger on the 8 fret, your pinky on the 11 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
Augmented and Diminished triads have a lot in common, they both aren’t frequently used 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. rd
An augmented chord is when the 3 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 – half tone progression, so you’ll notice there’s a lot 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 ha s more notes, much closer to one another, than in the typical western diatonic scales, such as th e major or minor scale.
Sus4 Triads
A suspended triad is a triad in which the third note is omitted, replaced usually with th either a perfect fourth or a major second, in this case however the 4 , which is far more common than a suspended second. The lack of a minor or a major third in the chord creates anopen sound, while the tension between the fourth and fifth or second and first creates dissonance. th
Each suspended chord has two inversions. There’s the suspended 4 chords and suspended second chord, they are both inversions of each other, however the suspended fourth is far more common. For example, Gsus2 (G-A-D) is the first inversion of Dsus4 (D-G-A) which is the second inversion of Gsus2 (G-A-D). The sus2 and sus4 chords both have an inversion that creates aquartal chord with two stacked perfect fourths. 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
As mentioned above suspended triads don’t have a clear happy or sad tone because the 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 nd perfect second note, thus it is dubbed the suspended 2 . Like the Sus4 chord the Sus2 triad has a dissonant sort of sound.
ADD 9 Triads th
The add9 chord is really just a major triad with an added 9 . The difference between an th th th add9 chord and regular 9 chord is that the add 9 doesn’t include the 7 note like the 9 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 major chords that you’ve already lear ned. They sound more interesting than your typical perfect fifth chords and are often employed b y more technical musicians who are tired of the clichéd power chords and black and white minor and major chords.
Madd9 th
Madd9 is the Minor version of the added 9 chord. So for instance if you have an A minor th chord, A, C, and E, the ninth in this case would be B. As with the Major added 9 there is no th seventh note, it is strictly the ninth. This is what distinguishes it from your regular 9 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 .
th
6 Arpeggios th
th
6 arpeggios are similar to 7 arpeggios except in this case it’s the sixth note of the Ionian mode/major scale that is included along with the original triad. If you took out the third th note it would than in be an add6 arpeggio, however the 6 arpeggio’s 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.
Minor 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.
th
Major and Minor 7 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 m inor 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 d oesn't lend itself to uplifting melodies. It is contemplative but can also be used to get your groove on.
th
Major 7 b5 th
Major 7 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 rd chord will always have a minor 3 and a flatted fifth. As discussed in the section on Augmented th and Diminished Chords, the augmented and diminished suffix effect the natural of the 5 note or th third note in a triad. So a major 7 is essentially a diminished chord with a major third instead of a minor thir d. So for instance if we’re in the key of C, a diminished chord would be C, the minor rd 3 , E flat, and a diminished fifth which would be G flat. This would be the C diminished Chord. th The Major 7 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 th case you also have the added seventh as well. So the Major 7 flat 5 chord, given the tonic is C, would be C, E, G flat, and B. These chords tend to be difficult to properly employ because they don’t reall y fall within the context of the C major scale. A G flat note suggests the chord would fit over an E minor or th G major key signature and there for it would be best used as a 6 chord in the case of e minor, or th as a 4 in the case of G major. Of course rhythmically it could also be used as an accidental chord as well.
Major Seventh Augmented 5
th
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 th
5 chord, only instead of the fifth being lower a semitone as it is the with the Major Seventh th
Diminished 5 , 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.
