Sweep lab — arpeggios & combos

CAGED sweep shapes, metal-friendly qualities (7ths, dim, m7♭5), legato hammers, and multi-chord practice cells — same clean-stroke rule as Sweep picking · lessons. Intention: practice scale harmony (arpeggios inside a key) — see scales job, then map roots on Scales / CAGED.

Path: Open-string sweep · this lab · Solo drills · Am sweep

Sweep lab

Pick a key and tick chords for one long sweep-practice tab. Shapes auto-shift for smooth voice-leading.

Presets

Chords in sequence (order = left to right in tab)


        

        

          
        

      

      

        Qualities cover common metal / neoclassical sweeps: triads, 7ths, dim7 (symmetrical
        — shift +3 frets), m7♭5, aug, sus4. Legato adds pick–hammer cells where chord
        tones allow (A/E pick–hammer at the bass, high-e reach for a higher octave — same MIDI pitch is not repeated).
      

    




    


      
Why combinations?


      


        
Real sweep solos chain arpeggios through a progression — not one chord in isolation. Michael Angelo

          Batio and neoclassical players move voicings by fourths or through ii° diminished cells

          to land on the tonic. Try preset Am · C · Bdim in A minor: three shapes, one

          continuous tab.


        
Dim7 tip: symmetrical stacks of minor thirds; the same shape moves in 3-fret blocks

          (Fundamental Changes / Guitar World diminished-lesson consensus).


      


    




    


      
Left hand · one note at a time


      
Open-string lessons on Sweep picking let you focus on the pick alone.

        Here each string has a fret to hit — separate notes, not a held chord.


      


        
Plant, pick, release. Put one fingertip down just before the pick crosses that string.

          Lift or lightly mute so the string stops, then move on. Roll across the shape; do not grip like a strummed chord.


        
Legato hammers: pick with 1, hammer with 4 when the tab

          shows h15 / h17 — adds chord tones without an extra pick stroke.


        
Start slow: eighth notes at BPM 60. Fix the left hand before raising tempo. Compare

          Am shape · high region with

          Sweep picking · Am fingering at fret 12.


      


    




    


      
Practice note


      


        
When to use this: after open-string sweeps on Sweep picking

          sound even. Try one chord, then a three-chord combo in the same key before speeding up.


        
Then: Solo drills ·

          Break rut · sweep chain.


      


      


        Sweep lessons

        Solo drills · sweep