Filling in the Gaps with Sweep Arpeggios

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: Hey guys! Let's hunker-down with some arpeggio play in a not-so-conformative way. We're all familiar with those oh-so-traditional minor/major sweep arpeggio sequences, so let's fill in the gaps. The primary focus of this lesson is to get you thinking about how many of these traditional sweep arpeggio shapes actually connect. We'll do this by joining var...

Media Length: 1:48

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: To begin, let's keep a close eye on the shapes, but also the 16th-note picking pattern (D-U-U-U). This pattern deviates here and there throughout the etude, but for the most part, once you master this cleanly, you're good. The first shape descends through a traditional 5-string "D minor shape" sweep arpeggio, while connecting with one note per sequence to th...

Media Length: 3:21

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: Not much to say here! Part II begins the exact way Part I began, except now we're playing an A minor shape. Since we're further up the fretboard, however, we'll get a bit of a break on the stretching! The main challenge you'll face in Part II is the transition from A minor to D major. Note that the pinky is responsible for playing the 20th fret to the 17th f...

Media Length: 2:51

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: More D-U-U-U goodness! Bar 12 is where things get interesting - The patterns change a bit, finger-rolling is heavily implemented and we flip the picking pattern entirely (D-D-D-U). Be sure to FEEL the quarter note pulse as much as possible. This is very important when it comes to keeping you on track, even IF you flub a note here and there. The main thing is...

Media Length: 3:50

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: To finish things off, let's dig a bit deeper with a few other fairly familiar arpeggios, being utilized in a bit of a different way. The first, Bm descending from the F# on the high E string. The main thing to keep in mind here is that we're covering a wide amount of "space" in a very short period of time. The finish line is just around the turn, though, so ...

Media Length: 2:39

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: Check out the backing track for my tutorial "Filling in the Gaps with Sweep Arpeggios" here. Try it at 160BPM!

Media Length: 0:23

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Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Cool Riffs Style: Metal

Excerpt: Check out the backing track for my tutorial "Filling in the Gaps with Sweep Arpeggios" here. Try it at 110BPM first, and then step it up to 160BPM!

Media Length: 0:35