Why Your Sweep Picking Feels So Awkward (Until You Learn This)

Sweep picking is one of those areas of lead guitar that can be super tricky to pull off cleanly--especially at high speed. I always thought it was so cool how the fluid, dazzling sound of a well-executed sweep mirrors the flowing motions produced by the hands. When I first heard my guitar heroes pull this off, I knew I just had to figure it out myself.

The thing is, it can be super frustrating seeing how easy guitarists make this technique look. Then, when you try to do it yourself, it feels awkward and clunky. At best, you put a bunch of time into it, and it feels inconsistent and just out of reach.

What I've found is that the key to this advanced shred move lies in a super basic technique we first learn on guitar as soon as we pick it up. But for most of us, when it comes to sweep picking, it's like we totally forget to use this fundamental skill.

Today I'm going to show you why sweep picking has probably felt awkward this whole time...and why the solution isn't another advanced exercise.