The 5 Sweep Picking Patterns (Patreon)

I get asked about sweep picking a lot, specifically how to get started with the technique. Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Richardson, Tosin Abasi and every other shredder on planet earth utilizes 5 basic shapes for sweep picking. 

Each of these patterns is taken from the CAGED system, which is derived from the open position chords, C, A, G, E and D, which you probably already know. They look a little bit different when you play them further up the neck as arpeggios but you should be able to recognize the basic shapes. 

Try using consecutive downstrokes when ascending each pattern and upstrokes when descending.....and boom! You just used sweep picking technique. I'll leave the 5 shapes below in tab format. So grab your axe and clean house!