Guitar master Yngwie Malmsteen recently talked with Guitar Interactive and revealed a surprising confession about his guitar technique.
He said that he don’t do sweep picking. Here’s the statement (transcriped by Ultimate-Guitar):
“I like to have a smooth – almost like a violin – type of effect. I don’t do sweep picking by the way. People say that. *plays a lick* That’s not sweeping, it’s whatever note is up ahead.
It’s so funny because I’ve seen these terms, sweep picking, and this and that. It’s not really how it’s done. Not what I do anyway.
[As a kid] I wanted to play it like a violin, that’s the thing. [Laughs] It’s funny because when I was 19 years old I went to Japan for the first time. And they start asking me about the picking.
It was the first time I ever looked at the picking hand. It’s so funny because I never thought about it. ‘How do you hold your pick?’ I’m like ‘Ummm… Oh, like this!’
So I never really thought about it so much with the technique per say as much as what it sounds like.“
Click here to entire interview.
