sweep picking
techniquesSWEEP PIK-ing
A guitar technique using a continuous picking motion across strings to play rapid arpeggios.
In sweep picking, the pick glides in one direction across multiple strings while the fretting hand forms an arpeggio shape, lifting each finger just after the note sounds to prevent notes from ringing together. The result is a rapid, harp-like cascade of notes. Popularised by jazz guitarist Frank Gambale and neoclassical shredders like Yngwie Malmsteen, sweep picking enables arpeggios at speeds impossible with alternate picking.
Frank Gambale literally wrote the book on sweep picking; his 1988 instructional video systematised the technique and gave it its modern name.