How To Harmonize Your Sweep Picking For EPIC NEOCLASSICAL SHOWSTOPPERS

One of the coolest tricks all shredders want to learn is sweep picking. This technique involves playing the notes of a chord quickly by “sweeping” them as opposed to strumming or picking them in a staccato fashion. Once you master this skill, as with any other guitar skill, there is always a higher level to take it. Harmonizing your arpeggios is a powerful way to break through the ceiling. By doing so, you create a sonically satisfying dual guitar attack that will make you go from sounding like a good player to someone who really knows what they’re doing. In this video, I’ll show you the two arpeggio shapes that give you this killer effect, plus I’ll show you how to combine them musically.

Guitar 1: Minor Arpeggio

Below you will find a tab with sheet music showing the E minor arpeggio shape starting on the 7th fret of the A string. You'll likely notice how the major arpeggio has a darker sound to it. Pay special attention to the direction of the sweeping as indicated by the corresponding symbols. We want to sweep downward during the ascending portion of the arpeggio shape and sweep upward on the descending portion.

Downward Sweep Picking Symbol:

Upward Sweep Picking Symbol:

Guitar 2: Major Arpeggio

Next, you will find a G major arpeggio shape starting on the 10th fret of the A string. The mechanics apply in the same way as described in the minor arpeggio; we just play different notes. You'll likely notice how the major arpeggio has a brighter, happier sound to it.

Forming The Harmony

There are several ways to hear a two-part guitar harmony as you play it.  You could invest in a looper or use recording software, such as Reaper. Check out the video I livestreamed where I show you everything you need to record guitar at home. My favorite way to do this is to team up with a friend who plays guitar and take turns playing different parts. If you haven't harmonized with another guitarist before, you should totally give it a try.  Feel free to share this lesson video with a friend and you can each play a different guitar part at the same time. You'll amaze yourselves as to how magical it sounds.

To add a bit of theory to this lesson, we are harmonizing entirely with thirds. Depending on each dyad, the notes will either be major third or minor third intervals. Whenever you want to get a minor sound with a nice harmony that displays a lot of consonance, playing a major sequence 3 intervals above it will always give you that sonic stability. The result is an insane, dual guitar, face-melting experience.

Conclusion

So, we’ve covered the minor arpeggio shape, and the major arpeggio shape, and we’ve combined them by using a looper, recording software, or by forming an epic guitar duo with a friend. One of the main takeaways with harmonizing anything is to layer your harmony three scale degrees above your existing melody. This will give you a really satisfying sound and unlock tons of other creative avenues for you and your compositions.

Watch the full lesson here: How To Harmonize Your Sweep Picking For EPIC NEOCLASSICAL SHOWSTOPPERS