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Technique · Expert · 8 min

A Minor Sweep, Five Strings

One continuous pick stroke across five strings, each note separate and clean.

How to play it
  1. Fret the shape at the 12th position: string 5 fret 12, string 4 fret 10, string 3 fret 9, string 2 fret 10, string 1 fret 8 then 12.
  2. Push the pick through the strings in one downward motion, lifting each finger as soon as its note has sounded.
  3. Come back up with one upward motion. Stay slow enough that the scorer hears each note on its own.

What the coach checks: Pitch of each note in order. Notes that ring together can blur the reading, which is the point of the drill.

Goal96 BPM · 80% accuracy
Your bestNo result yet
Rating–

Tab player

Hear the line

eBGDAE12

Tap any number to hear it. Four clicks count you in.

100% is the goal tempo, 96 BPM. The speed presets climb from Learn to Goal about 10% at a time, and the practice slider below uses the same scale. Build a full ladder to your goal

Your practice room

Find each note

Single-note pitch feedback. Practice waits for each note; Play checks the sequence at your chosen tempo. This does not assess chord quality or fret buzz.

This checkpoint needs 96 BPM or faster and the required accuracy. Slower Play attempts still produce practice scores.

Exercise map · 11 targets
  1. 1. A3Bar 1 · beat 1 · string 5 · fret 12
  2. 2. C4Bar 1 · beat 1.5 · string 4 · fret 10
  3. 3. E4Bar 1 · beat 2 · string 3 · fret 9
  4. 4. A4Bar 1 · beat 2.5 · string 2 · fret 10
  5. 5. C5Bar 1 · beat 3 · string 1 · fret 8
  6. 6. E5Bar 1 · beat 3.5 · string 1 · fret 12
  7. 7. C5Bar 1 · beat 4 · string 1 · fret 8
  8. 8. A4Bar 1 · beat 4.5 · string 2 · fret 10
  9. 9. E4Bar 2 · beat 1 · string 3 · fret 9
  10. 10. C4Bar 2 · beat 1.5 · string 4 · fret 10
  11. 11. A3Bar 2 · beat 2 · string 5 · fret 12

Chord names and stroke directions are visual guidance. Rhythm scoring measures attack timing.

Target 1 of 11A3String 5 · fret 12

Play one note at a time.

Tune first. Audio stays on this device.

Why this drill

A sweep is one pick stroke that falls through the strings, and it sounds like a clean arpeggio when each note stops as the next one speaks. Played slowly, it builds the rolling fretting-hand mute that keeps the notes apart.

Common mistakes

  1. The notes ring together into a chord

    Fix: Lift each fretting finger as soon as the next string sounds, so only one note rings at a time. If the coach hesitates on a note, the previous one is usually still ringing underneath it.

  2. Picking each string as a separate stroke

    Fix: Let the pick come to rest on the next string after each note, then push through. The five notes from string 5 to string 1 are one downward push, and the four notes from string 2 back to string 5 are one upward push.

  3. A weak pull-off at the top of the shape

    Fix: Keep the index finger planted on string 1 fret 8 while the pinky hammers fret 12, so the pull-off from E back to C has a fretted note to land on and the turnaround stays in time.

Tempo plan

100% is the goal tempo, 96 BPM. Each rung sits about 10% above the one before it, so every step up is one you can hold. The speed presets in the player above use the same rungs.

  1. Learn 72 BPM · 75%Treat every note as its own event. The coach should hear eleven separate notes: A, C, E, A, C, E on the way up and C, A, E, C, A on the way down.
  2. Build 79 BPM · 82%Join the strokes so the pick falls from string to string in one motion. At the top, the hammer-on and pull-off take over while the pick waits for the up sweep.
  3. Push 87 BPM · 91%Switch to Play · full check here. Two clean passes in a row earn the next rung.
  4. Goal 96 BPM · 100%The five down-swept notes take two and a half beats. Keep that motion one smooth push, not five small ones. A pass at 80% accuracy or better clears the drill.
  5. Stretch 106 BPM · 110%Run a few passes here, then return to the goal. Time above the goal makes the goal feel settled.

Build a full ladder to your goal with holds and back-off sessions, starting from the tempo you can play today.

Make it music

Sweeps are a staple of neoclassical and metal soloing. This A minor shape works as a fast fill over an Am chord or as the climax of a phrase in A minor; finish on the low A at string 5 fret 12 so the run resolves.

Variation

Move the whole shape down five frets, starting on string 5 fret 7, and it becomes an E minor sweep: E, G, B, E, G, B. Alternate the A minor and E minor shapes for a i–v movement in A minor.

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