THE CROSSROADS Pt4 Rakes & Mini Sweeps

John Wheatcroft shows you how to tidy up your raking and sweeping in both blues and jazz styles. So grab your broom and get dusting.

- John Wheatcroft

ABILITY RATING

Moderate

Info

Key G

Tempo 160bpm

CD TRACKS 43-50

Will improve your…

Expressive delivery

Raking and sweeping technique

Stylistic awareness

Many young electric guitar players consider ‘sweep’ or ‘economy’ picking to be a relatively modern technique often associated with virtuoso shredders such as Yngwie Malmsteen or the amazing Australian fusion guitarist, Frank Gambale. It often comes as a surprise to discover early jazz, blues and rock and roll guitarists exploiting sweep picking ideas, essentially the concept of using a consecutive follow-through directional sweep of the pick to articulate multiple notes with one movement, a good half a century or so earlier.

Alternate picking is a great technique for achieving a balanced and even tone and for defining a strong rhythmic pulse to your playing. It does have its limitations, however. If you’re not familiar with the idea of sweeping, try the following exercise: