Sweep pick sixteenth notes in four-note arpeggios fluidly at 220 bpm

Sixteenths, all down sweeps or all up sweeps: 84 bpm
Sixteenths, alternatiing down and up sweeps: 84 bpm

Things are naturally more awkward up at the 21st fret than they are at the 9th, and that’s the biggest bottleneck. So, I always start the exercises up there now.

I can do consecutive down sweeps of sixteenths at 60 bpm now. I decided to focus on them more, since up sweeps seem to come to me naturally. Now, when I warm up with eighths at 80 bpm I don’t bother with up sweeps. I don’t bring them into the picture at all until I get to eighths at 110.

I can now do sixteenth notes cleanly at 60 bpm if I alternate between down sweeps and up sweeps. That’s about 1/4 of the goal tempo. I can do them at up to 90, and it sounds passable, but not consistent.

However, I’ve forgotten about consecutive down sweeps. I tried them tonight, and I keep missing the first note of each sweep. I’m not sure if it’s part of the official goal, but I’m going to go back to eighth notes at 80 and pick that back up.

OK, right now, I can do eighth notes smoothly at 90 bpm. I start at the E on the ninth fret of the G string and work my way up to the E at the 21st fret in E minor.

So, I’m currently playing at about a fifth of the tempo that I want to. However, I’ve read that it’s really important to get the mechanics down at slow tempos to avoid sloppiness, so I’m not going to rush it.