All The Sweep Arppegios You'll Ever Need

What is a sweep arppegio?

Sweeping is an awesome technique that guitarists use to play arpeggios rapidly. When executed properly, a blazing sweep arpeggio sounds very lethal.

In order to sweep properly, it is going to require a lot of time and patience on your part. I will do my best to guide you down the path to becoming a sweep picking monster. Only with discipline, hard work, patience, and lots of practice will you be able to master this technique. So what are we waiting for? Let's get started.

Major Apeggios

First I am gonna teach you the major arppegio, the forumula in making a major arpeggio is 1, #3, 5. So if you were to play an a major arpeggio the notes would be A, C#, E. Or if you wanted to play a E major arpeggio the notes would be E, G#, B. Figure 1 shows an a nice way to play the A Major arppegio with the root on the a string.

S= Slide
h= hammer-on
p= pull-off


Figure 1
e--------9h12p9----------
b------10------10--------
g-----9----------9-------
d---11------------11-----
a-12----------------12---
e------------------------

Another way of playing the A major arppegio would be to play starting on the low e string. Figure 2 shows how you would do that.

Figure 2
e-----------9h12p---------------
b---------10-----10-------------
g------6s9---------9s6----------
d-----7---------------7---------
a----7-----------------7--------
e-5h9-------------------9p5-----

Now since you know how you could play the major arppegio starting on the E and A string what you can do is put them together. Figure 3 shows how you can play them together.

Figure 3
e-----------9h12p----------
b---------10-----10--------
g------6s9---------9-------
d-----7-------------11-----
a----7----------------12---
e-5h9----------------------

As long as you know that a major arppegio is made of 1, #3, 5 out of the key you are playing in you can create tons of your own patterns.
Major 7th arppegio

Now to get a bit more of a interesting sound of the major scale you coud add a 7th to the major arpeggio. So now the arppegio would be made of 1, #3, 5, 7. So the notes in A major would be A, C#, E, G. Figure 4 shows how to play a Major 7th arppegio in the Key of A.


Figure 4
e-----------9h12s15s12p9------------
b---------10------------10----------
g-----9h12----------------12p9------
d---11------------------------11----
a-12----------------------------12--
e-----------------------------------

Usually you probably wont end up using the major 7th arppegio all the time but it has a neat sound.
Minor arppegio

The Minor arppegio is made up of 1, 3, 5 so if you are playing a A minor arpeggio the notes would be A, C, E. The Minor arppegio is used a lot in rock/metal. Fiugre 5 shows the A Minor arppegio on the a string.


Figure 5
e--------8h12p8-----------
b------10------10---------
g-----9----------9--------
d---10------------10------
a-12----------------12----
e-------------------------

Now that you know the pattern starting on the a string now on figure 6 with be the A minor arppegio using all 6 strings.

Figure 6
e-----------8h12p9------------
b---------10------10----------
g------5s9----------9s5-------
d-----7----------------7------
a----7------------------7-----
e-5h8--------------------8p5--

Now that you know to patters on the a and e strings you can now put them together figure 7 shows how you can put the 2 arppegios together.

Figure 7
e-----------8h12p8----------
b---------10------10--------
g------5s9----------9-------
d-----7--------------10-----
a----7-----------------12---
e-5h8-----------------------

Sometimes yu can add notes to arppegios to give them an extra boost to the soud. Figure 8 shows a way you can do that using the a minor arppegio.

Figure 8
e--------8h11h12p11p8--------
b------10------------10------
g-----9----------------9-----
d---10------------------10---
a-12----------------------12-
e----------------------------

Once you get good at using sweep arpeggios you can start tapping notes in them. Figure 9 shows how you can do that. incase you don't know tapping is basically when you hammmer-on a note and then tap on the string with your right hand.
h=hammer-on
p=pull-off
t=tap



Figure 9
e--------8h12t17p8---------
b------10---------10-------
g-----9-------------9------
d---10---------------10----
a-12-------------------12--
e--------------------------
Diminished arpeggios

A diminished arppegio is a arpeggio that repeats itself every 3 frets. If you were playing an a diminished arpeggio you could play it starting on the 2nd fret, 5th, 8th, 11th, and so on. Usually the diminished arppegio is played using 3 strings. Figure 10 shows a way you could play the diminished arpeggio.


Figure 10
e-------8h11p8--------
b-----10------10------
g-8h11----------11p8--
d---------------------
a---------------------
e---------------------

A way that the diminished arpeggio is commonly played is showed in figure 11.

Figure 11
e------2h5s8p5-------5h8s11p8-----------
b----4--------7-----7--------10---------
g-2h5----------8p5h8-----------12p8-----
d---------------------------------------
a---------------------------------------
e---------------------------------------
Putting what you know together

Now that you know the diminished arpeggios, minor arppegios, major and major 7ths you can now put them all together. Figure 12 shows how you can do that using the a diminished and the a minor arpeggios and putting them together.


Figure 12
e------2h5s8p5-------5h8s11p8----------8h12p8--------
b----4--------7-----7--------10------10------10------
g-2h5----------8p5h8-----------12p8s9----------9-----
d-----------------------------------------------10---
a-------------------------------------------------12-
e----------------------------------------------------

Now you know pretty much all the useful arpeggios. Now it's your turn to come up with some of your own patters and ways of playing these arppegios. Hope you learned alot.