Arpeggio Approaches

Hi GMC-ers and welcome to my new lesson! In this one we will check out some basic arpeggios, but the picking technique will be "mixed" instead of full sweep picking or full alternate picking. Basically we will mix the alternate picking with sweep picking.

The sweep picking technique is the most spectacular thing in rock guitar playing. Everybody wants to know how it works, but before we start to learn it, we have to check the arpeggios. I put some basic minor and major arpeggios to this lesson. ( E,D,C,A,)

The time signature is 4/4, the tempo is 90 bpm.

The speed is not too fast and not too slow, I think it's very comfortable to practice.

In my opinion the point of guitar playing is how to create only one note ( vibrato, and intonation), and to create the harmony between our hands. This lesson helps to work on this harmony. The difficult thing is that we have one note per string a lot of times, so we have to concentrate very much. The good thing is that we have a lot of possibilities in arpeggio playing. I show you some of these in this lesson. A whole lot of other licks and patterns can be created based on the versions I played.

Because of the good sound I used some pull-off and hammer-on technique as well. It makes playing easier, but it sounds softer, not so square as the full time staccato playing does.

Important things are
To take care of your picking hand's palm muting, because every note has to be perfectly distinguishable, they shouldn't melt together.

In general about the practice
The thoughts in our brains continuously move about in the form of electric impulses, and they get to from one place to another by synapses. The thicker the synapses, the faster the impulse. During practice, we actually strengthen these synapses, and in effect create harmony between our two hands.

Once we stop practicing something which we have previously learned, our brain thinks we do not need these synapses anymore, and slowly breaks them down. That is why regular and purposive practice is very important. It is no wonder leading guitarists practice many hours a day! Although we tend to be lazy, if we want to get better, we need to pay attention to this.

Techniques used in this lesson
- palm muting
- staccato
- alternate picking
- slide
- pull-off
- hammer-on
- bending
- vibrato
- sweep picking

Happy practicing!

-Krisz-


Used Gear: Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci model with Diezel VH-4 amp and Diezel 4x12 cabinet. Recorded with Shure SM57 and Samson C01. Drums are : Roland TD-3 with Addictive Drums.

Note: I always work with Power Tab which I prefer much much better than the Guitar Pro. Unfortunately during importing some mistakes occur which I can’t avoid. If you need the perfect version in ptb format, pls let me know via P.M