Most people who ever pursue a worthy goal, such as the guitar, do so with only a vague idea of where they are going. It may seem like enough to simply try to be like your favorite guitarists, or become determined to be “good enough” to play your favorite technique, but these things will never get you there on their own.

It’s difficult to avoid clichés when talking about something like this. But one way to think of this is to compare it to going on a long journey to some destination. If you set out with only the goal of getting there, and the road is difficult and filled with distractions, it’s unlikely that you will arrive. It’s not enough to simply know where you’re going. Knowing how to get there is obviously important, but some of that you can learn on the way. The most critical factor to ensure that you actually reach your final destination is to know why you are going there.

Think about this. You set out on that journey and find it to be extremely difficult at times. Along the way, there are things you can enjoy that are easy by comparison. You could stop at this or that destination along the way and not have to push forward anymore. In fact, you’ll be tempted to stop rather frequently. Maybe it’s just meant as giving yourself a “well deserved” rest for a few days. But if you stop and lose your momentum, what is going to spur you forward again? How can you be sure that you’ll continue on?

The truth is, the vast majority of people who set out on that journey never actually arrive at their original destination. And the reason for this is simple. Their reason for getting there was not strong enough to justify the challenges along the way. That’s it. There really isn’t anything else to it.

The guitarists who reach their goals, become masters, become professionals, become successful and famous, do so by having reasons that are more important to them than being comfortable or having fun. They have reasons that give them such intense excitement and motivation that they can’t help but give their all. If they begin to falter, all they have to do is think about those reasons and their motivation reappears in full force.

For some, this might sound impossible. Maybe you’ll think to yourself that you couldn’t possibly find a reason strong enough. If you do think that, I’m happy to tell you that you’re wrong. It might take you some work and a good deal of introspection, but if you take the time to figure it out, you absolutely can find a reason that will push you forward harder than you could imagine is possible. And working towards something that you feel that strongly about is more rewarding than any entertainment or distraction can ever be.

Dan Mumm

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If you’re looking to become a better Metal Guitarist, you’ve either already started pursuing sweep picking or have been thinking about it. You may think that it seems too difficult or nearly impossible to do as well as some of your favorite guitarists. The truth is, if you know how to approach it properly, it’s easier to learn how to sweep pick than you think it is.

There are a lot of myths out there about talent and it’s easy to believe them when you see someone expertly blasting through sweep arpeggios, with each note being perfectly clear and articulate. In reality, talent has NOTHING to do with sweep picking. It’s all about knowing how to practice the technique correctly and putting the proper amount of time in.

If that seems like a controversial idea to you, take some time to read about some of the studies that have been done on the subject. Technical skill is not really a characteristic of natural talent. It’s simply a reflection of the time that has been put into practicing something. The literature is clear on that point. If there is such a thing as talent, it’s pretty much limited to musical sensibility and the connection of your ear to your instrument.

Another factor that’s important is to have access to the right sweep picking exercises and sweep picking patterns. If you approach practicing sweep picking correctly, with the right patterns at your finger tips, you will be able to push forward at the right times while continuously expanding your “arsenal.” Over time, this will lead to you having an intuitive understanding of how sweep arpeggios work, which is critical if you wish to write your own solos or use sweep patterns while improvising.

I’ve always been fascinated with sweep picking. Ever since I first heard it, it struck me just how much more could be done on the guitar with that single technique. It opens up the possibility of playing music written for the piano or harp, in the same way the violin’s analogous bowing technique does. It vastly increases the potential for dynamic effect in solos, improvisation and compositions for the guitar. It became something of an obsession for me for a long time.

As a result of spending over 20 years studying, teaching, experimenting, utilizing and adapting sweep technique, I made a very large number of distinctions. These came in the form of optimal learning and practice methods, methods of rapidly memorizing patterns, building an intuitive knowledge of how sweep patterns work and methods of attaining absolute perfect precision and articulation at extreme speeds.

By understanding these methods, it makes it easy to find, expand on, or change any pattern as it’s needed. It also opens up for the incredible possibility of seeing the fretboard, and how the notes and scales are laid out, in an entirely new way. This is something that allows for an unbelievable degree of mastery in improvisation for just about any style you can think of.

Coming to these conclusions, and seeing how well a lot of it worked with students back when I taught private lessons, I decided to put everything together for other guitarists to learn from. This started with the making of The Sweep Picking Compendium, which all said and done contains a total of 455 sweep arpeggio patterns. However, it soon became clear that most of the information contained in the compendium was too obscure on its own for players to learn what I wanted them to learn. That’s when I decided to make the Compendium’s video lesson counterpart Sweep Picking Mastery.

With Sweep Picking Mastery, a guitarist can learn all of the correct practice methods that are so critical to breaking through the common frustrations associated with learning sweep picking. With these methods, a player will achieve absolute precision and clear articulation with their sweep picking. The patterns in Sweep Picking Mastery go from basic all the way up to advanced 6-string multi-tapped sweep arpeggios. Every step of the Mastery course is mirrored by the sections of the Sweep Picking Compendium. When the two products are combined, the player will have everything they could ever need to go from beginner to absolute master level.

From there I combined the two products together, with some extras, to create The Sweep Picking MEGA Pack.