Not Dead Yet

Well, I ended up taking an unexpected two month break from guitar. A bunch of things were going on and I just lost a desire to play. Thus, my "Road to Freaking Awesome" ground to a halt. A little over a week ago, I got the desire back. I've put down sweeping for a moment and have been learning George Lynch's solo on "Breaking the Chains." It's relatively easy for a Lynch solo, but requires lots of precision bending. I'll be getting back to the sweepy goodness soon.

Four String Sweeps

I started working on four string sweeps today. The good news is that I seem to be picking them up more quickly than I anticipated. I suppose now that my fingers are more used to sweeping semi-properly, it's only a matter of adding an extra string. Hopefully this isn't a one-night phenomenon.

Exercise 10 Clip, Take Three

I know I've been working on exercise 10 a long time, but I felt that there was no point in moving on until I could play it in a way that sounds not too terribly unlike sweep picking. So here it is; tell me what you think. Exercise 10, March 11th edition.

By way of comparison (and so you don't have to scroll back through the blog), here's what it sounded like on February 24 and February 21. At the very least I think you can hear a noticeable improvement. I think it's time to move on!

Exercise 10 Clip, Part Deux

Here's another bash at Sweep Pick Mechanics Exercise 10. It's definitely getting smoother. I wish I could play the whole progression like I played the first sweep. My main issue now is getting my hands in sync for the beginning of the sweep so the notes aren't quite so cut off on some of them. Nevertheless, progress!

Exercise 10 Clip

OK, here's the first semi-decent clip I've been able to get of me playing Sweep Pick Mechanics Exercise 10. Some of the notes don't ring out as clearly as they should and there is a minor mistake at the end. I hate it when I have an otherwise decent take only to screw up at the end.

Exercise 10

I finally got myself to sit down and take a crack at some new exercises in Sweep Pick Mechanics. I have been practicing exercise 7 all along and have it down pretty smoothly. Today I mapped out exercise 10 and began working on it. I can get all the patterns in the right order at the right fret, but it is by no means smooth. The good news is that it is now all a matter of patient repetition. I hope to post some new clips soon.

Delay of Game

The holidays took their toll on my practicing regimen. Unfortunately, once I get out of it, I have a hard time getting back into it. I'm still practicing, but not with the consistency that I should be. I hope to rectify that starting, well, immediately. I practiced for a while just now. I forget how much I like my Jet City JCA20H when I haven't played in a while. You *can* practice an electric unplugged, but it does seem to miss the point.

Exercise 7

OK, here's my attempt at playing Sweep Pick Mechanics Exercise 7. Obviously it lacks a bit in the smoothness department, but I was pretty pleased with how it turned out--on the first take, no less! I also have to roll my finger more consistently on the one barre pattern so that multiple notes don't sound. Progress!

I find it interesting, though, that there's only so many times I can play these exercises in a row before the law of diminishing returns kicks in. It seems that after a point, I actually start playing them worse. So, I just put the ol' guitar down for a bit and come back to it later.

On to Exercise 7

I'm working on exercise 7 in Sweep Pick Mechanics. It combines the first four three-string arpeggios you learn into one progression. Yesterday I mapped it out so I could make it clear to myself which arp went where. Today I've been working on playing it in the right order. I can do so . . . very slowly. Now it's just a matter of repetition to build up the speed.

First Recording

Well, here it is. The moment you've been waiting for. This is my first clip of me trying to play exercise 4 of Sweep Pick Mechanics. I have played it smoother and more fluidly than this, but this is the best I could get for now. I recorded it using TapeMachine on my HTC Desire phone. I edited (just for length, no other processing) and converted the resulting WAV into an MP3 using Audacity.

Exercise 4

For what it's worth, the signal chain looks like this: Jackson DK2M->modified BYOC OD2->Boss DD-6->Jet City JCA20H head->Jet City JCA12S cab

Minor Breakthrough?

I was playing my guitar unamplified last night whilst watching T.V. I was working on exercise 4 of Sweep Pick Mechanics. To my amazement, it actually sounded like I was sweep picking! I've been taking my time with this, making sure that I don't mess up the left hand fingering while also making sure I'm picking properly and not "cheating." Despite having two eyes, it's hard to watch both hands at the same time. Nevertheless, there seems to be progress! I need to post some clips . . .

Road to "Freaking Awesome"

I just picked up a new DVD from Metal Method called Sweep Pick Mechanics. I've always been interested in sweep picking but didn't know the ins-and-outs. At the end of introductory video, Dan Mumm (the author), says somewhat jokingly that if you consistently practice, in a year you'll be "freaking awesome." I don't know if anyone would ever call me that in regard to anything, much less sweep picking. So I decided I'd take him up on it. I'm going to resurrect my blog here to track my progress, including posting clips. Use the label "R2FA" (see the title of this post for an explanation) to follow along.

Here's the intro video I mentioned: