12-Week Shred Guitar Mastery
Shred Routine: Week 4
Introduction
You’ve made it to Week 4! By now, you’ve built strong alternate picking skills and practiced essential scale sequences. This week, we’ll continue developing your shredding vocabulary with another powerful scale sequence—and we’ll introduce a brand-new technique: sweep picking.
Sweep picking allows you to play arpeggios at high speed with incredible fluidity, and it’s a must for any modern shredder.
Alternate Picking: Scale Sequences
Sequence 3: Diagonal Movement (30 minutes)
This week’s sequence emphasizes diagonal movement across the fretboard, pushing your synchronization and string-crossing technique. It’s a killer way to connect shapes and break out of boxy playing.
Practice this sequence across all 7 scale shapes and be sure to keep the picking tight and clean. Alternate picking every note and maintaining clarity is the goal.
Sweep Picking
What is Sweep Picking?
Sweep picking is a technique where your picking hand performs a single, smooth motion across multiple strings while your fretting hand plays arpeggio shapes. Instead of alternate picking each note, you ‘sweep’ through the strings in one motion. It’s all about economy of motion and precision.
Let’s start with the most basic arpeggio shapes and build from there.
Beginner Sweep Arpeggios (20 minutes)
Practice the following shapes slowly and cleanly, using just one downstroke or upstroke across each group of strings:
– Exercise 1: E Major Arpeggio
– Exercise 2: E Minor Arpeggio
– Exercise 3: G7 Arpeggio – 2 Variations
– Exercise 4: E° (E Diminished) Arpeggio – 2 Variations
– Exercise 5: E Minor 7th Arpeggio – 2 Variations
– Exercise 6: E Major 7th Arpeggio – 2 Variations
Tonality-Based Sweep Drill (10 minutes)
Now, let’s take it a step further. Practice sweeping through all diatonic arpeggios in the key of C Major (or A minor). This is great for ear training, fretboard knowledge, and real-world application.
Wrap-Up
By combining a new scale sequence with sweep picking, you’re opening the door to more expressive and technical soloing. Don’t rush these arpeggios—precision is more important than speed early on. Once the shapes become natural, the speed will come.
Keep shredding, and I’ll see you in Week 5!
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