As guitar players, oftentimes when we think of “sweep picking” techniques, the first stylistic associations that come to mind are heavy metal and shred guitar playing. However, sweep picking methods are used in a variety of different guitar styles, including, but not limited to, flatpick and bluegrass guitar playing.

One of the most critical elements of the shred guitar aesthetic is the quick and fluid transition from notes in the higher registers to those in the lower register and vice versa. Oftentimes, rock guitarists will execute these transitions through the use of arpeggios, outlining the song’s harmonic progressions through fast melodic lines that feature consecutive ascending or descending chord tones. However, it is also very common for guitars performing in the shred style to jump directly between notes in the higher and lower registers. Executing this properly often requires a deceptively difficult technique called string skipping.

Award-winning master guitarist, co-founder of bands Racer X and Mr. Big, and internationally-renowned shred guitar icon, Paul Gilbert has been an instructor at ArtistWorks since 2012 and has played an integral role in helping us achieve, and continue to live up to, our mission to teach the world music.

One of the most beautiful characteristics that all musical instruments share is their unique ability to mimic the emotive qualities of the human voice. Musicians are able to perform subtle inflections on their instruments that imitate the expressive nuances of the human voice in a way that speaks to us and moves us universally as people. The guitar is no exception to this trait, and there are several techniques in particular that highlight the vocal-like qualities of the instrument, including hammer-ons, pull-offs, the use of grace notes, vibrato, and more.