generally sweep picking is used to play arpeggios, ie: chords played one note at a time. practice slow, moving in all downstrokes across the neck, and pick each string at a time. use that time to work on arpeggio shapes for your left hand. do the same thing back across the neck using upstrokes. no alternate picking. after a while, when you find a few arpeggios that you are comfortable with, start speeding up. you'll reach a limit very quickly as to how fast you can singularly downpick each string in succession. that is your sweeping barrier. to go faster, you have to abandon picking one at a time very fast, and combine all your picking into a singular motion. also, having the right string gauge, knowing how to mute strings properly with BOTH hands, and using the right PICK (most important) will help you become comfortable faster. i generally stick to a 1mm ultex, or "heavy" tortex picks, and i like heavier strings on my elec, so i go with 10s. what will help you sound most excellent is knowing that sweeping is a simple thing, that is complex in your mind.

i think i found it easiest to start with 2 strings, and just play a major 3rd interval on them, while sweeping them. then i went to 3 strings, then four, then five, then all the way.

charles gillilan you are a absolute diamond, thanks i get it now its not really what i was doing at all, i must have read some duff information somewhere, or i misunderstood it, either way im cool with it its kinda a raking with a hammer pulloff and sweep the pick back up,,,,, its so simple, why some ppl really make a meal out of describing it ,,,,, anyway thanks a million dude.

there are some cool videos out there with dudes showing you how to do it. I saw a pretty decent one featuring Herman Lee from Dragonforce. Do a search or something

A few years ago, Frank Gambale put out a great instructional book on Sweep Picking. In it he describes how to 'sweep' major. minor, pentatonic scales and appeggio's. For example play a Emin appeggio like this

7-------------12
--8-------------
-----9----------
-----9----------
7-------10------
------------------

Start with the low E 7th fret 5th string with an up stroke. Play the G (10th fret 5th string)the B, E, G and B all downstrokes without letting the pick of the strings. Play the last high E with an upstroke. Reverse going down without stopping.

left hand = coordination

right hand =drag pick across strings like a stick across a wooden picket fence

I can play descending sweeps with no problem at all...but ascending ones, no. Which is weird, cause that's just like strumming a chord, effectively. Go figure. I think I learned the technique (albeit only halfway, lol) from a guy that had a video on Youtube , named Jonez or something...dude had a severe 80's mullet head going on, but something about the video made it sink in for me. Unfortunately, after much searching, i can't find the video on there now. :(