Speed Barrier

[Dave's Bitch]

I am trying to focus on playing a bit of lead guitar the past few weeks and am working on improving my speed.I have a few scales and have been running through them each day and my left hand seems to be improving a little but picking is giving me some problems,I seem to be able to get around half way through a scale and then my right hand gets lost and can't keep up.I have found a million different picking exercises online but i don't know which ones are effective

Can any of you guys recommend any good picking exercises or any tips to help me out?

[Seshmeister]

You're right to concentrate on picking, a lot of people neglect that and it really holds them back.

My tips would be to take your time, correct is better than faster but messy.

Try not to move your right hand too much keep most of the movement in your fingers holding the plck, don't flail around.

Try an exercise of 1234 on each string then move up a fret 2345, 3456 and so on.

You can even do it watching the TV or whatever as it can get a bit boring. If you are using an electric do it when not plugged in at least initially, people use distortion as a crutch and then don't improve.

Hope that's of some use, there are a couple of proper teachers around here who I'm sure will give you much better advice.

[Dave's Bitch]

You're right to concentrate on picking, a lot of people neglect that and it really holds them back.

My tips would be to take your time, correct is better than faster but messy.

Try not to move your right hand too much keep most of the movement in your fingers holding the plck, don't flail around.

Try an exercise of 1234 on each string then move up a fret 2345, 3456 and so on.

You can even do it watching the TV or whatever as it can get a bit boring. If you are using an electric do it when not plugged in at least initially, people use distortion as a crutch and then don't improve.

Hope that's of some use, there are a couple of proper teachers around here who I'm sure will give you much better advice.

Thanks for the advice Sesh,I will be sure to try that one.Looks like it will help me get comfortable up and down the neck,I am more of a rhythm player so my comfort zone is way down the neck .I have been grinding away at it while watching the TV or something and it has helped,I have noticed when i actually sit down to play i know where i am and where i need to be.I have been practicing on my electric not plugged in and been trying to get each note sounding clear and precise.I have also been starting from scratch when i make a mistake,Is that a good or bad habit do you think?

[Seshmeister]

It's good if you can without getting too frustrated.

You'll find that improving your picking will have just as much impact on your rhythm playing too.

[ashstralia]

You'll find that improving your picking will have just as much impact on your rhythm playing too.

this is so true... when i used to practise picking a lot, my rhythm playing became much more authoritative. it's something i drill into my students.

as far as the net goes, paul gilbert videos are always entertaining and informative.

and DB, if you do fluff up, i recommend starting again. also, isolating strings is helpful. playing a 6 note sequence on strings 2 and 3 feels VERY different to the same pattern on say strings 4 and 5, ideally you want to get proficient on all string pairs. then you can start to explore the wonderful wacky world of string skipping!

[Seshmeister]

Paul Gilbert has always looked a bit too difficult to me...

[DLR Bridge]

...correct is better than faster but messy.

I can only partially agree with you Sesh. Faster but messy has it's place, too (insert Rick Nielsen's solo to Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace here). A little bit o' sloppiness keeps the performance human IMHO.

Paul Glibert plays so damn perfect that when he tries to play Page-like, it sounds like he's faking it. I think the song I'm thinking of is called Attitude Boy off of his Flying Dog CD. The intro is a nod to the Heartbreaker solo.

Im not trying to imply that less practice is better, mind you. It basically boils down to what your ultimate goal is, style-wise. Do you want to be like Ace, Page or Rick or do you want to be like Paul, Nuno or Yng?

[Matt White]

1.) Get a metronome...start slow & be patient.....speed takes time





try this.....concentrate on the direction of your picking....2 down then 2 up...take it slow

alternate picking is a good thing to always work on.......

Figure 1

d u d u d etc
|-0--0--0--0--3--3--3--3--4--4--4--4--7--7--7--7-|-8--8--8--8--11--11--11--11
|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------
|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------
|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------
|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------
|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------


-12--12--12--12--15--15--15--15-|-16--16--16--16--15--15--15--15--12--12--12
--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------
--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------
--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------
--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------
--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------


-12--11--11--11--11-|-8--8--8--8--7--7--7--7--4--4--4--4--3--3--3--3------||
--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------||
--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------||
--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------||
--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------||
--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------||

as always....take it slow

[ashstralia]

Im not trying to imply that less practice is better, mind you. It basically boils down to what your ultimate goal is, style-wise. Do you want to be like Ace, Page or Rick or do you want to be like Paul, Nuno or Yng?

i wanna sound like me! ironically, after 34 years, i do.

[DLR Bridge]

i wanna sound like me! ironically, after 34 years, i do.

Me too! Some how, after 31 years, I ended up sounding like the drunken aborted love child of Rick Nielsen and EVH when I dare to solo. IIII'm sticking with rhythm.

[ashstralia]

funny too Bridge, 98% of the time we're playing rhythm. so we'd better learn to enjoy it!

all hail the great rhythm players... malcolm, i'm looking at you.

[Coyote]

I am trying to focus on playing a bit of lead guitar the past few weeks and am working on improving my speed.I have a few scales and have been running through them each day and my left hand seems to be improving a little but picking is giving me some problems,I seem to be able to get around half way through a scale and then my right hand gets lost and can't keep up.I have found a million different picking exercises online but i don't know which ones are effective

Can any of you guys recommend any good picking exercises or any tips to help me out?

Try visualizing. Imagine yourself nailing those exercises (and pretty much every other lick/riff you want to play) spot on.

At first your mind will resist, but give it a week or two, and it'll turn around.

It worked for Vai...

[Seshmeister]

I can only partially agree with you Sesh. Faster but messy has it's place, too (insert Rick Nielsen's solo to Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace here). A little bit o' sloppiness keeps the performance human IMHO.

Ah but I'm plenty sloppy so aspiring to be precise just gets me to being a bit sloppy.

[Seshmeister]

Try visualizing. Imagine yourself nailing those exercises (and pretty much every other lick/riff you want to play) spot on.

At first your mind will resist, but give it a week or two, and it'll turn around.

It worked for Vai...

I used this exact method to add three inches to my...

Ahh maybe too early in the day to lower the tone...

[Matt White]

Heres some more stuff to work on...........

remember...take it slow...get the fingering (UH UHhuHUuh UHHuuh....sorry) pattern memorized 1st....speed is a product of repetition.......when you've played the same lick a million times you'll be doing it FAST.......







remember....do it SLOW...and concentrate on getting it perfect....soon, you'll be able to play it with your eyes closed...it just takes time

[ELVIS]

Mine goes to eleven...

[ELVIS]

Look Bitch, It's like Yngwie says...














































Fuck, I forgot...

































No, it's like Yngwie says...

You can't play fast what you can't play slow, or some bullshit like that...

Meaning that you need to have your licks and scales down slow 100% with a comfortable picking position and the speed will come naturally with time...

Yngwie plays exactly the same way slow as he does fast, while some other players may have an entirely different technique to play fast as opposed to their slower playing...

I dunno...

To each his own...

[Matt White]

And speaking of Yngwie........

I bought a dvd of his years ago, to challenge myself cuz I play NOTHING like that......

working on his stuff is a BITCH....but, that being said, it made learning other solos easier...just becuz Yngwies stuff is outrageous......its all in the picking hand...watch him play...his right hand moves very little...he said a former bass player of his said it looked like "he was knitting" when he played the super fast stuff......its just practice....Yngwie, Gilbert, Batio, Lamb of God dudes, Mustaine & Friedman.....just takes abunch of practice..........

[ELVIS]

I like how Yngwie doesn't even know what his right hand is doing when he's picking past and changing strings...

[Matt White]

Paul Gilbert's SHRED ALERT columns in GUITAR WORLD were always very useful....this is from the DEC 2008 issue............

[Dave's Bitch]

Thanks for the awesome responses guys,A ton of cool looking stuff for me to practice

[envy_me]

And speaking of Yngwie........

I bought a dvd of his years ago, to challenge myself cuz I play NOTHING like that......

working on his stuff is a BITCH....but, that being said, it made learning other solos easier...just becuz Yngwies stuff is outrageous......its all in the picking hand...watch him play...his right hand moves very little...he said a former bass player of his said it looked like "he was knitting" when he played the super fast stuff......its just practice....Yngwie, Gilbert, Batio, Lamb of God dudes, Mustaine & Friedman.....just takes abunch of practice..........

I actually pick just like Yngwie does :-)

He is SO fantastic!!

[Nitro Express]

I still like this guy.

I have a fast right hand. It's always the left hand I have to really work on. I do hand stretching exercises and even use those chinese balls you roll around in your hand. It's strength and dexterity. When I start to pick fast I just relax and let my hand go into a spasm. I will play fast trills on open strings and just go string to string until my arm and wrist starts to burn and I can't do it anymore. So it's like lifting weights. You stretch everything out and warm up and then you do your workout and then stretch some more and cool down. The best exercise is actually playing but it helps to just focus on one thing at a time and get it down to where you are satisfied with it and then you can mix it up.

I actually play a lot of surf guitar. That's good fast right hand exercise right there. Play Miserlou well and you can shred anything well.



Check this guy out. LOL! Yeah play some surf songs and tear em up. People dig it. If you are good they will pay you.

[DLR Bridge]

I have a fast right hand.

Now we're talking about guitar playing, remember.

[Matt White]

More stuff DB................

[Diamondjimi]

Lots of practice and dedication. Paul Gilbert is definitely one of guitars finest pickers.


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CIl3Qtjusqs

[jhale667]

There's also a ton of scales mapped out in The Guitar Edjumacation Thread.

[Matt White]

I'll see if I can hunt up an old issue of GFTPM that I have...its got a killer Uli Roth lick that Kirk Hammett breaks out as a picking exercise.......I've been playing it forever.......HELLS BELLS! I just realized..that issue is from 1986! 27 years of the same damn lick!!!

[Matt White]

and for those wanting to really dig into scales & modes...in all keys...with all the extensions....

check it out....




enough stuff to keep you busy for years...........


bet J has been hip to this baby for years! I've had a copy for longer than I can remember...........

[ashstralia]

that 1st example in Matt's post #25 is also an excellent legato excercise; pick hammer hammer/ pick pull off pull off etc...

(minds out of the gutter please! )

[Hardrock69]

Fuck thinking about it.

Just play.

Figure out your own patterns, think about what you want to do, and go for it.

As posted above, even just noodling while watching TV is good exercise.

You will be training your hands. Call it Physical Memory Training.

So that you eventually can do stuff on auto-pilot without thinking about it.

But above all, play in a manner most comfortable for YOU.

Some people rest their picking hand (palm) on the bridge.

Some people never rest their picking hand on the bridge.

It is all about what you feel is best for you.

Sure.... what I have just rambled on about is not really anything specific, but the specific stuff was covered by other peeps.

The main thing is to play a LOT. Eventually you will realize how much you have improved over the weeks/months/years.

[ashstralia]

Paul Gilbert has always looked a bit too difficult to me...

nah, me you him and a couple of beers... no probs.

[vandeleur]

The Tao of Vandy

Practice practice practice just to get to carn.....ya know the words .

It doesnt matter how many excercises ya have copies of or books you own if you dont sit down and learn them its all for laughs .

I buy into the practice watching tv, to some extent it is a lot of muscle memory .
Learn it all , steal it all , mix it all until you forget if its yours or you stole it and your getting there

You dont practice till you play it well you practice till you cant play it bad .

[Dave's Bitch]

I am pretty much running up and down a few scales when ever i sit and watch the TV,Mainly common ones like the E minor pentatonic in most of it's positions.I am trying to mix up my picking patterns though,So i will do all alternate one run then mix that up a little.I have also been trying the 1234 one Sesh suggested,That one is helping with alternate picking but my little finger sucks .I am planning on trying the exercises Matt suggested a little later,I will let you know how i do

Patience and repetition.Thanks again for the awesome responses

[ELVIS]

Hey Bitch...

Try to master the lick at the 2:50 mark...



I think it will help unlock some insight into playing impressively fast licks...

[envy_me]

[envy_me]

He is hypnotizing. I could watch him forever.

And his guitars are great. I love playing on a scalloped neck. I have to feel that I'm playing. My brother used to have the 25 Anniversary Strat, the strings were so low in it, I didn't feel a thing. I need some pain to feel alive. But that's another thread

[ELVIS]

Most of mine are scalloped...

A few I did myself...

[envy_me]

Most of mine are scalloped...

A few I did myself...

Those are the only ones I like. Thin and scalloped neck. It has to be thin, I can get my hand around a thick one, but it doesn't feel as comfortable.

[DLR Bridge]

We checked in with DB to see how she was coming along...

Holy sheeeyittt!!!