Shred guys, your .02 please

Matt300ZXT

Matt300ZXT

Well-known member
I'm FINALLY taking time to play songs/solos I wanna learn with a metronome, or slowing down the Guitar Pro track and learning the solos note for note, getting timing and feel down, etc and am slowly bumping the speed, but it doesn't seem to be doing much for me. Is that how you guys do it or do you have other methods? Some stuff I can play almost at speed right after learning it, but usually it's fast descending runs that give me problems.
 
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You have to play scales using alternate picking, three notes per string. Simple straight scales up and down all over the neck then groups of three notes (aka stairs), four notes, six notes (harder). Then there are some specific exercises for specific player styles... For example, fast two notes per string pentatonics licks for Zakk Wylde (very hard), sweep arpeggios for Friedman (hard at first then super easy once figured out), sweep scales for Malsmsteen (easy but needs some practice to get perfect) etc.

Exercise for minimum half an hour every day (the more the better) with a metronome focusing on regularity and clarity and you'll feel some serious improvement in your picking/playing after only three months.
 
You might have to re-examine your technique. If you have the wrong technique you will be able to play it slow and will get better with practice…but you’ll still have a limit to your speed. Sometimes you have to just let it fly to reveal the incorrect technique.

Descending runs are often the hardest due to way your pick is slanted. They are for me, I have a downward pick slant. Descending runs make my pick tend to hop/bounce up and down…and that right there literally cuts your speed IN HALF!
 
I’ve watched several of this guy’s videos. He’s a really good player with solid technique and he explains and demonstrates things very well. Good stuff!
 
When you start getting comfortable at a certain BPM, push it up like 20-30BPM, into a range where you KNOW you’re going to fuck it all up and give it a shot a few times.

There’s physical differences in what your muscles are doing at a controlled, practiced tempo and what they’re doing at a tempo you haven’t gotten under your fingers yet. My fingers aren’t doing the same things at 180bpm as they are at 200bpm. Without getting a feel for what those differences are, they turn into a wall you can’t get past because you’re expecting the same muscle movements to perform something different.

I’m not a teacher so someone who teaches could probably find a more efficient way of explaining it, I just recorded this for a buddy who was having the same issue-
 
RevDrucifer said:
When you start getting comfortable at a certain BPM, push it up like 20-30BPM, into a range where you KNOW you’re going to fuck it all up and give it a shot a few times.

There’s physical differences in what your muscles are doing at a controlled, practiced tempo and what they’re doing at a tempo you haven’t gotten under your fingers yet. My fingers aren’t doing the same things at 180bpm as they are at 200bpm. Without getting a feel for what those differences are, they turn into a wall you can’t get past because you’re expecting the same muscle movements to perform something different.

I’m not a teacher so someone who teaches could probably find a more efficient way of explaining it, I just recorded this for a buddy who was having the same issue-
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This is kind of where I'm at. I'm no expert but I do like fast music. There's something to be said about learning something slow but for me that is just to be able to know exactly what's going on. For me, if you want to play something fast you just have to go ahead and do it fast, keep doing it again and again. Even faster than you need to. Eventually you'll get it.
 
I've been dealing with this over the past six months or so. I honestly never really "practiced" or focused on technique and it shows. Started learning the scales in all positions and modes. Boring metronome stuff for as long as I can take it. Up and down, any pattern my small mind decides it wants to do, over and over all over the place. I did not try to start as fast as I could reasonably accomplish. Instead, I started off deliberately slower than I needed to because it wasn't the speed I was concerned about at that point but rather the realization that picking technique indeed is a huge factor. So before I started speeding up the metronome I made sure I was COMFORTABLY picking all the way through as efficiently as possible. Then I would just bump up 5 BPM for as long as it took until that became too easy and then did it again, and again. Still doing that.

My playing still sucks but there's no doubt that I can do things faster than I used to.
 
If you want shred lessons I can truly help . There’s a few guy on here doing it and it works .hate to sound like an add but fr I ca help and it’s fun
 
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alan67 said:
Ben Eller is great......also I'd recommend Cracking the Code
https://troygrady.com/
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Yes! Troy Grady really has his approach dialed in and explains things so well. I loved his free lesson on Steve Vai’s ‘Intimidation Lick’ from the duel in Crossroads! Before that vid, I had most - but not all - of the notes right, but the positions and shifts I was using made it virtually impossible to play up to speed. On guitar, correct position is as important as the correct notes.
 
Some of the faster stuff I've learned & played over the years came pretty naturally to me, and I was able to bump up the speed with relative ease (Randy Rhoads or Satriani for me) There's a lot that wasn't natural at all though, and it was a painfully slow process to work my way up to playing anything that wasn't complete slop (Paul Gilbert or EJ) I know those examples are worlds apart technique wise.

I think it's helpful to find a mix of both; stuff that you can blaze through & build some confidence, and pieces you're going to have to really slow down and put in some time to absorb that'll make the process easier with repetition.

Don't stray too far from the metronome. Every time my playing has just kind of wandered sideways over the years, I was being lazy & just solo noodling.
 
I created a Powertabs (but you could use GP) file of a bunch of different exercises. Similar to the Vinnie Moore video, B and E string, three notes per string scale patterns, all the way up the neck and back ascending, then descending. I also threw in John Petrucci's semi chromatic exercise from his instructional. I would do those exercises at various tempos, but I would spend at least 10 minutes a day on them, usually more.

Most people subconsciously play different at speed then slow, so I usually started the tempo for 16th note septuplets at 110bm and would go up from there. 120 was my sweet spot, but I would always go to 140, which is where Paul Gilbert lived.
 
shredhead7 said:
I created a Powertabs (but you could use GP) file of a bunch of different exercises. Similar to the Vinnie Moore video, B and E string, three notes per string scale patterns, all the way up the neck and back ascending, then descending. I also threw in John Petrucci's semi chromatic exercise from his instructional. I would do those exercises at various tempos, but I would spend at least 10 minutes a day on them, usually more.

Most people subconsciously play different at speed then slow, so I usually started the tempo for 16th note septuplets at 110bm and would go up from there. 120 was my sweet spot, but I would always go to 140, which is where Paul Gilbert lived.
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Like any good guitar player, I also have Power Tab Editor ;)
 
SpiderWars said:
You might have to re-examine your technique. If you have the wrong technique you will be able to play it slow and will get better with practice…but you’ll still have a limit to your speed. Sometimes you have to just let it fly to reveal the incorrect technique.

Descending runs are often the hardest due to way your pick is slanted. They are for me, I have a downward pick slant. Descending runs make my pick tend to hop/bounce up and down…and that right there literally cuts your speed IN HALF!
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I'm the opposite. I'm an upward pickslanter so descending im way faster than ascending.

I imagine OP would learn alot if he videos his right hand while playing a tough run.
 
DanTravis62 said:
I'm the opposite. I'm an upward pickslanter so descending im way faster than ascending.

I imagine OP would learn alot if he videos his right hand while playing a tough run.
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I agree on making videos of your playing.

I place my iPotato in the mic clip on a boom mic stand. Position it so that you can play the guitar standing with strap such that it looks down the fretboard at your picking hand. Works pretty good.
 
OldGtrGuy said:
This is kind of where I'm at. I'm no expert but I do like fast music. There's something to be said about learning something slow but for me that is just to be able to know exactly what's going on. For me, if you want to play something fast you just have to go ahead and do it fast, keep doing it again and again. Even faster than you need to. Eventually you'll get it.
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I wish this worked for me. I find myself string hopping but I don't know how to break free from it. I start overthinking it then I get discouraged and walk away from it...never ever getting better at it.
 
Metalhex said:
I wish this worked for me. I find myself string hopping but I don't know how to break free from it. I start overthinking it then I get discouraged and walk away from it...never ever getting better at it.
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The trick isn't starting slow and building up your speed.

It's starting slow with a smooth movement/game plan and building up your speed.

If you just play it slow exactly how you're already playing (that isn't working) it's never going to get any better, if that makes sense
 
One method of learning never worked for me. Even though Techdeth helps me immensely; I still watch videos of Troy G, Ben Eller, EVH etc etc. Different perspectives balance my technique. Cool runs… cheats… tricks.. isms.. passing notes… scale modulations. A very cool thing about George (@Techdeth). He knows the history which helps me remember tricks that I use. Here is a Clapton vibe, Dime, EVH, Nuno, SRV…. It helps me in songs that I’m copping or the vibe I’m getting while free play. It’s like high school. Multiple teachers make you whole and “dangerous”.
 
Metalhex said:
I wish this worked for me. I find myself string hopping but I don't know how to break free from it. I start overthinking it then I get discouraged and walk away from it...never ever getting better at it.
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The biggest challenge is to keep doing it, not walking away, not matter what (unless it's a physical problem like tendonitis etc.). Progress is not linear, it sometimes stagnates for months (even years !) then suddenly everything clicks and in a matter of a week, giant leaps are made. One sure thing is that no progress is made if you don't even try.
 
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