Speed Buster. Part 3 - Improving Technique

Increasing speed above 140 beats per min (4note pattern), was a great challenge for me. I just couldn't. My wrists just could take the pressure. I played wrong notes, and eventually lost control. That's when I started watching John Pettrucis Rock Disclipline carefully. The tips he gave were:

01. One should always start playing from 80 (or less). Then we should increase the tempo by 10 beats everytime (Depends on us). Only then will we able to get to our target speed.

02. Try playing something faster than your target speed, then try your target speed. This means if 150 beats per minute is your target. Try 160 first even if you cant. Then try 150, it will be a lot easier. You will feel more comfortable. (Keep in mind you are working your way up the metronome).

03. Play a pattern (In one string) at a slow speed a few times, then at a greater speed (The Fastest you can) the next few times, then again at a slow speed few times and then again at a fast tempo, and so on. You will find out your greater speed is increasing everytime you alternate. Keep in mind you dont need the metronome for this.

These tips were useful, but still I struggled. I remember I got to 146 after a lot of effort. But the next time I picked up a guitar I could even get to that. So I decided to look at my technique. I found several problems:

01. I was not holding the pick properly. I was holding it too straight, and my grip was too hard. So I held increased the angle with which I was holding the pick, and I loosened my grip.

02. I was also fretting notes quite tightly, and striking the strings with more intensity. So I was fretting more simply, and picking the strings as mildly as possible. (If you want to listen to your notes so carefully, why dont you just increase the volume).

03. I noticed when I picked a note I moved my right arm and wrist a bit. So I tried not moving my forearm and upper arms too much. I also tried to keep my pick as close as possible to the strings. So when I struck a second note it took less time to get to it.

04. My third finger and fourth finger were very weak. Whats more if I played a normal three note riff, with my second, third and fourth finger (pinky) I struggled. So I had to do many exercise to strenghten my muscles (below third and fourth finger). Exercises are given at the end.

05. Finally I changed my posture I. e. the way I was holding at guitar and the way I was sitting.

At the end all the changes did work. My speed increased all right, but not as much as I wanted! Thats probably because I did not practice as much as I needed to. To tell you the truth these are things you have to learn when you first pick up the instrument. For someone who has not been using these methods, it takes a while to get used to and overcome your bad habits. So beginners take notice. Watch your technique carefuly, its very difficult to change it after two or three years of playing. These exercises are very useful and give your left hand (right hand to lefties) a good workout.

-------------------------------1-2-3-4-3-2---------------
-------------------------1-2-3-------------4-3-2---------
-------------------1-2-3-------------------------4-3-2---
-------------1-2-3-------------------------------------4-
-------1-2-3---------------------------------------------
  fingers      2  3  4

After doing this several times, instead of picking all three notes, use hammer ons and pull off's. Play the 123 with hammer ons, and 432 with pull offs. You will not find it easy. This is the best exercise. If you need more, let me know.

- Jeeshan Mirza ([e-mail])

Comments

[bassest123]

good lesson

[moodriffs]

man speed picking is just natural to me. I hold the pick at a lower left tilt and just vibrate my hand and fingers and the pick goes with it. You just have to find the sweet spot on the string.

[Aetius]

the problem i have with picking fast, (100-110)I tend to be inconsistent, i usually miss out on a few tones and after a while my wrist increases it's grip thus increasing the grip on my pick... can anybody help me out here?

[Aetius]

How do I pick fast, I have lots of trouble playing 100-110 bpm, my wrist keeps tightening the grip and i miss out on a few tones... please help

[array45]

great lesson. it helped me a little. i just have to practice some more but this helped a lot

[fixxxer_928]

Aetius...i hope you are picking using up-down strokes and NOT JUST down strokes which begginers do...when moving down a string use a down stroke and when moving up a string use up strokes

[Aetius]

thank you very much, you really helped me out here! Cheers mate!!

[timetraveller02]

that was a damn cool lesosns. I'm gonan go playt hat now. :cheers:

[Ace From Space]

100 is real friggin slow! i thought i was slow and i can get to about 260!!!

[Aetius]

yeah right, 260 does not even exist in musical terms and that would mean you'd have to play 18 tones per second which is impossible. sorry dude but you've made a spelling mistake or you're simply lying....

[Shoestick]

260..............yeah....
.anywayz....

Great lesson, but put some more exercises in the next one.

[burningAnkh]

either lying or he's retarded.

Good lesson, I've been playing for more years than I can count and it actually helped my technique. Course playing with 2mm picks probably dosnt help the situation. . .

[Aetius]

2mm damn, and i thought 1 mm was a bit to thick.... well 2 mm isn't that bad cause it's meant for soloing rather than playing chords

[rahulkulkarni]

well the suggestions dont seem to help much.

[Aetius]

actually it does help, I'm saying that 2mm picks are actually quite handy

[fatboy]

Im guessing the guy meant he could play 260 playing on every beat the metronome does, not 4 notes in between each beat.

[codyatkin]

really good lesson. helped me out cuz i just started

[riffomaniac]

iv been playn for 1 year an iv been doin finger exercises the whole time an i can play at 157bpm hitting every note so it cant be that hard to learn or gett up to that speed

[Guitarro777]

maybe you guys can help me out here. How fast don u have to be to be considered good? 16th notes (four notes per click on a metronome)at 160? 180? I can play 16th notes at 160.

[Aetius]

it depends what you want guitarro, you can still be a good player even if you play 120 or so.. it depends on your style, do you solo much or do you use different techniques. In my opinion playing 150 bpm is fast enough

[Guitarro777]

afifury69 you're an idiot. I know 160 is not that fast. I'm just stating my speed so people can kind of help me out and tell me if it's fast enough. btw thanks aeutius

[Chili_dog]

hey guitarro that dude wasnt referring to you chief, he was talking about gooch mcdouche up there somewhere^

[Guitarro777]

oops... sorry about that... (feeling sheepish) looks like I'm the idiot

[Kai-7]

260 bpm? in that case, im doing 590 *grin* what an arsehole. yeah man, u dont need to be ultra fast- sweep pickin a million miles an ahour to be good. just play whatever fits, you know? and as long as it doesnt sound like its the same thing over and over again.. good lesson man.

[obduro piaculum]

good lesson one thing though. the excersize at the end has only 5 strings

[mamedai]

yeah!!!

[jeesh]

The fastest guitarist i know is Michael Angelo who can play around 260.
Getting to 200 is a challenge! If anyone of you get there, u better check if youre doing clocking the right way, coz its not easy. It will take years and years of practice.
More exercises in Speed Buster IV

[Aetius]

The fastest guitarist i know is Michael Angelo who can play around 260.

No, Ace from Space can play that too.

100 is real friggin slow! i thought i was slow and i can get to about 260!!!

See, he can play 260 as well :P

[jeesh]

Hey Aetius!
U dont know what you are talking about! Michael Angelo is Michael Angelo. Trust me this guy can burn steel!

[Aetius]

I know him, he's good

I was just making fun out of Ace from Space...

[jeesh]

Aetius, consistency doesnt come that easily. How do you generally practice? Exercise from the three lessons will really help. If you practice these carefully for a month or two your consistency will come. If you stop, you will have to start from the beginning again.
Guitarro 777, 160 is quite fast! Trust me it takes a lot of effort to get there. If you do so, you better start trying more difficult 16 note patterns!

[Aetius]

I beg my pardon, when did I say that consistency comes easy? By the way I practice about 30 mins-60 mins a day working on this speedy stuff. Besides that I play many chords and practice other things. I can reach 130 bpm thanks to this. Cheers

[Guitarro777]

it's hard to get fast. Usually there's a point where it seems like you're not getting faster then one day... it happens!

[mcfrld]

You Guys should get a life!

[Zeve]

If you hold your hand out in front of you, the palm facing the floor and just let it go limp, then keeping it limp flip your hand over, your first finger and thumb will naturally come together. thats where you put the pick!

[Ace From Space]

Im guessing the guy meant he could play 260 playing on every beat the metronome does, not 4 notes in between each beat.

thats what i meant.

[Nemesis_x]

Really helpful lesson. I'm gonna work on that right now. (The fast that im a lefty playing right-handed doesnt help )
Oh, and Guitarro, speed alone does not make a good guitarist. Never judge a guitarist by how fast he can pick.

[jetman_james]

good lesson but ace from space has lost his mind! i'm pretty fast, although i've never been timed, and i know that i cant and never will play 18 beats in a second. not picking. not unless i had 9 fingers and could do a 9 finger pull-off cycle for a whole minute. you don't have to lie to make friends, ace; you just have to lie to keep them. i'm not your friend so let's be honest man.

[jeesh]

Please join http://groups.msn.com/Jee
shansWorld
for more in depth discussion regarding Speed Buster and other Guitar related discussions.

[Slashpepper]

I'm only up to about 140 at the moment, but I know Steve Vai has been recorded up to 25 notes a second... thats 375bpm (check out the total guitar worlds fastest players). But thats not the point. I don't need to be fast. I need to be good. Theres a difference.

[jrmy54]

hey, i've been playing guitar for about a year and a half. I've been playing acoustic and now I want to start learning scales and stuff....how do i know what proper tech. looks like, and if i am doing..or if i am doing something wrong? any suggestions or anything??? thanks!

[cloudsquall17]

who cares if u can play lightning speed. u probly can only play lightning speed without any musicality. creativity should be above speed. who wants to listen to someone wank one string super fast?

[harak]

What are you all actually playing when you say you can pick 16th notes at 140+bpm ?

[Wickeh]

Nice one, 260 can be a lie but I dunno. I can play about 200 without real effort, look @ Lagwagon - Baggage if you want a nice idea of how speedstrumming/picking would be like. There's a powertab on www.powertabs.net on it .

[Wickeh]

*with real effort lol, sorry :P

[Bleed_On_you]

im too lazy to scroll up to see who typed it , but 260 DOES exist in musical terms... im tryin to remember what words he used.... cuz master of puppets is played at 220 i believe , and Stone cold Crazy from queen is at 250 or 255 or something like that , so either your a moron or ur a newb

[Remebol]

well, is master of puppets is 220 bpm, i am like, 230 bpm, becuase i can just blow through that crap

[Remebol]

any my brother played that song is god damn triplets, so that s like , a lot (guess:260 maybe, or 255 i dunno, i need a metranome)

[Remebol]

***..let me retype that crap,,, And my brother played that song in god damn triplets, so that is like, a lot

[Wojdude]

i'm confused, is this the same as trem/tremelo picking, as in fast alternate up+down picks? or is it something differnt to do with that?

[Wojdude]

ah, i think this is trem picknig then if ur talking about master of puppets. Hehe i have a m8 who can whiz through that no problem. In fact i know 2 guys in my area who can play extremely fast so i dont think 260 is impossible, he coulda bin tellin the truth

[aprilburnsblack]

are we talkin 4 notes i was just randomnly reading this and see about tempos, i went on http://www.metronomeonlin
e.com/ and the fastest on there is 208, i can pick 4 notes per second for each beat. is that what ppl mean when they say they can pick at a tempo (4 notes per beat)? whos that dude who can play 260, just listenin to my 4 notes per second on 208, 260 seems pretty impossible. surely no one could play that... but i dunno, im quite far behind the likes of malmsteen and vai, maybe they could

[SiisAZN]

260 bpm sixteenth note tremolo picking is possible. I can pull 270 and I've been playing for just over a year. Now, playing notes... Well, I can pull off 3 note/string at about 230. Jason Becker, Michael Angelo, and John Petrucci are three players I know that can pull off about 280 bpm playing notes, and over 300 tremelo picking. I don't think it's physically possible to play accurately after about 300 though.

[cannonball_900]

this requires some serious practice

[Tranquility]

Well isnt world record 26 notes in a second?

[pinak]

lesson was cool!!!!well i agree 260 is awesome...but its not bout' speed but the melody u can create even at 60 or 80......anyone out there who's a fan of Alexi Laiho...

[pinak]

That lesson was ***in' cool!!!!well i agree 260 is awesome...but its not bout' speed but the melody u can create even at 60 or 80......anyone out there who's a fan of Alexi Laiho...

[pinak]

Need some tips to help me nail arpeggios.....hey!!! check out the new G3...Malmsteen kicked ass!!!!!

[the_smazal]

shit

[purerock]

did this guy lose a finger in a war? if you're going to play a chromatic scale play it 1-2-3-4 with all your fingers all the way up and down the strings, and gradually move up fret by fret until you do the entire neck. and for those of you bitching about playing at 260, it's not impossible, I play that chromatic scale at 250 (as that's as fast as my drum machine goes) but of course anyone can pick an open string on one note as fast as they god damn well please (260 and faster) with the proper picking technique.

[dk-Lupnus]

i can play 170 Bpm, i just got the online metronome and im playing 170 easily

[dk-Lupnus]

ahh its 4 tones between each beat, god i need too take lessons
+

[TONfan01]

dont bitch at "Ace From Space", i believe he can hit that anything is posible on gtar, but there is no mood, no felling, playing that fast is cool but not always appropriate. also the article was very basic, good for beginners.

[skwerl066]

this is pretty good. i tried doing this little part that i made up. i started it slow but now i can rip through it. this is on the high e string:

e -12-7-8-7-10-8-7-8-5-7-5-7-8-7-5-7

just keep repeatin that

[skwerl066]

***...this article is for bass isnt it? im ***ed in the head....well for those who play guitar too, try it.

[dimebag_andy]

Yeah nice lesson man but i agree with " purerock" With the four finger descend. P.S Does any one know what pick-ups dimebag darrell uses on his dimebolt 333 i think it Seymour Duncan 59 at bridge and washburn 600 or dimebucker at neck????

[Alien_from_a_cd]

cool article. Helped me.

[distraught]

Right on article - very useful stuff there! Some of the folks here need to re-evaluate thier definition of fast though. Metallica shouldn't be your gauge if you're talking pure unadulterated technical speed ability. Check out Rusty Cooley (www.rustycooley.com) or Francesco Fareri (www.francescofareri.com) for some shred!

[80s_rock_girl]

Thanks, this lesson helped. Is everyone teacing themselves?

[80s_rock_girl]

Does anyone know where I can find an online metronome?!!!

[jason_whoelse]

I play at about 160-180 right now and I am wanting to increase my speed to at least 210-220. Does anyone know of any good songs that have decent solos? So I can print off the tab and practice with my speed and try and increase it? if you find anything email it to [e-mail] and label it "tab of solo" so I don't think it is junk mail . Thanks

[mortalone]

I can tell that some of you are confused about how fast you are actually playing. So... let me try to help all of you at least understand how these things are calculated... that way you don't end up saying you play a good deal faster than anyone else on the planet.
Just so that everyone is on the same page. At 200 bpm, if you are playing 16th's notes... and that means 4 notes per click. you are playing 13.3 notes per second. Now... if you move the metrognome back down to 132 and you play 16th note triplets... 6 notes per click you are also playing 13.3 notes per second. Consequently... if you are playing 260 on the metrognome... which anyone can do...the question you really need to answer is, are you playing triplets, 16th notes or 16th note triplets? Because, if you are playing three notes per string...or triplets... you are not playing as fast as Michael Angelo... not even really close... Here is the difference.

260bpm - 16th notes (4 notes per beat) = 17.33 notes per second (M Angelo)

260bpm - 16th note triplets (6 notes per beat) - 26 notes per second (hmmm??)

260bpm - triplets (3 notes per beat) - 13 notes per second.

My bet is that most of you...particularly if you are playing triplets patterns at a high metrognome speed are playing straight triplets and not 16th notes or 16th note triplets... don't get me wrong... playing triplets at a speed of 260 is quite fast... but not nearly 17 notes per second.

On another note, I have yet to check out Vai's piece in which he plays 26 notes in one second, but unless he became amazingly fast overnight (unlikely since that was never has forte)...my bet is that he did not nearly come close to playing 26 notes per second...but then that's another story.

[pinak]

What the ***.....everyone talkin' 260 260......u people suck.....create an original melody like sweet child o mine....or like the intro of Uncle tom's cabin....(Warrant)....these guys have really nailed their axes in slow speeds.........say it isn't soo...

[joshpwc]

very good lesson lots of info.

[80s_rock_guitar]

I agree with Pinak. Why is everyone so concerned with speed? Sure its always nice to shred crazy solos with notes at speeds that arent comprehendable to most people, but theres nothin' like a good ol' melody. Nice choice of songs by the way! Havent heard anyone talk about Warrant in a longggggg time!

[Hen-Drix2004]

Concentrating on melody and phrasing is way more important than playing fast. Some of you are are extreme losers worse than a bunch of guys bragging about their penis size. "Oh look at me, I can play 16th notes at 220 bpm!" Seriously, why does anybody really care about playing at that speed? Most guys who play fast do it for one common reason: They've been ugly all their lives without a chick, and their only chance to score is to play fast and impress one. Think about it. All the fast shredders are ugly knobs. Michael Angelo and Yngwie Malmsteen are extremely grotesque people.

[6_string_razor]

I thought the lesson was ok. If you really want to increase your playing speed, practice with a god damn metronome. Or you can record yourself down picking for one minute straight (suck it up, pussy) as fast as you can, every time you practice, try and see if you can pluck faster than the recording. It's what I do, and I think it works.

[demonic_damon]

i can play 125 bpm in 16th notes

[death_metal]

I can play 220, and Hen-Drix2004... no, your the ass. I concentrated on speed. And I got it after a lot of practice. AND NOW, anything slow and rythymic is extremely easy. It's like a cakewalk. Trust me, learning speed over rythym is much harder. And you have to have extreme coordination to pluck a different note every time while moving your hand back and forth as fast as you can to pluck. Anything by Slash that I thought was rythymicall hard, is now easy.

And I think yoru just mad because your penis size isn't ever big... and your an ugly fruit... I mean you have to be a fruit if you can tell if a guy is ugly. That means you've got the hots for them.

[Vinura]

far out man
i saw that lesson about 4 months ago, back then my pinky sucked and now it is very strong coz of that little exercise

good lesson

[GayPower]

Actually, 260 is not hard at 16th's, I can do it easily. Especially whilst tapping and 4 finger scales(ie playing with all 4 fingers on the left hand)
I can play probably 400 if I really want to as well.


PS
Here's a exercise for you all I call it "the old one two"

e---..
B---..
D---..etc etc
G---..1-2---..
E----1-2---..

and end it like this when you reach the end of the guitar neck

e---12~~~..--etc etc etc
B---..

~ = vibrato using shaking of finger

This is how I got to play so fast.

[Speed_DemonX]

Right, I thought I'd set you lot straight, since most of you seem to not know what speed is at all!

Firstly, whoever the dipshit was who said that 260bpm doesn't exist, and playing 18 notes per second is impossible, is, well, a dipshit.

Secondly, I believe the world record (don't know if thats official) for picking speed was set by Marcus Paus, a Norwegian guitarist in a band called Mr. Cucumber, and he can play around 45 notes per second! Clips are scarce, but if you do a search on Google, for Marcus Paus or Mr. Cucumber or Caspersens Secret Fetish (Song title) I'm sure you'll find it. It actually sounds pretty cool in my opinion, much better than most other shredders, like Francesco Fareri for instance.

Anyways, the lesson was very good, SHRED

[trioxyde]

Good workout... Hopefully it gets me past the 160 mark

[kirk_rules!]

i dont get the 160 mark^^^thing. i can play some things at 200, but some i cant get past 110 or so.

[theartificer]

It's already been reiterated a few times, but, just for the sake of beating the putrescent pool where a dead horse once lay, I have to comment on this whole speed obsession.

As near as I can tell, from my own experience, developing speed while retaining articulate notes and simultaneously working on your theory is a great way to improve your skill.

Every guitarist has a bag of tricks. By combining one technique with another or several others, one may create a new technique, more complicated than the constituent parts used to make said technique.

This is good to keep in mind when auditioning guitarists for a band. Usually, whatever they show you in the first five minutes or so is their most technical-sounding stuff. After that is when you hear what they really have. That's when you can begin to determine their ability to play by ear, their technical prowess, and their rhythmic sense. Helps you to get past the bullshit. Remember, when learning new skills, we always go through a simple, logical progression: Emulation, experimentation, and, finally innovation. When we can take old techniques and make them our own, that's real creativity.

Also, as far as playing fast, just keep in mind what type of notes you're playing. If a guitarist says that he can play 128th notes, then he probably means that he can do it at about 10 beats per minute, which is still OK. Nobody says that, though, because, at some point in time, it gets a bit silly with the numbers. Just keep working your way up to 120 bpm with quarter notes, then eighth notes, then sixteenths, then thirty-seconds, and beyond.

I, personally, can play 64ths at 130-150 bpm, depending on what day it is, but I can only do it on one string at a time. It stops sounding impressive with heavy distortion at that speed, anyway. In fact, it really isn't that impressive to begin with. It simply took me a while to play consistently at those speeds. Of course, I used to practice a ridiculous amount of time, too, so what you put into it is what you get, mein freund.

On the fastest guitarist: Listen to the first 10 or so seconds of "Jowls" from Buckethead's album Monsters and Robots. I don't know exactly how fast it is, but I'd like to see the man who could count all of those notes. :-P

Flame me if you like. It seems like there are a lot of people here who seem to like doing that to those who are capable of playing faster than 90 bpm, eighths.

Cheers: To the music!

[Rodders]

That casperans secret fetish thing is a load of shit. It may be fast but it is really badly phrased and just sounds stupid. I can best relate it to the music off Mario-for that is what it sounds like....except the music off mario is better phrased and actually rather more decent...

[guitar addddicc]

YO DUDE NICEEE.. LESSONNN BUT I HAVE TO PRACTICE MORE FOR THIS

[Zackdamaniac]

I can only play 16th's at 100... and I've been playing two years! I won't give up damnit! I can tap pretty fast though but I guess that's easy... It's all practice though and I haven't been trying to get fast so I don't feel bad.

[ROCKaMIC]

I've been playing for almost 4 years now, i've always wanted to be fast and i was faster than most people i played with, anyways, about 6 or 8 weeks ago i started using the metronome, my max speed was at around 115, now i'm able to play at 152bpm.

When ascending (9-10-11-12) my 3rd and 4th finger lag so i can't go any faster because of the 2 suckers lol i think i'll spend some weeks working on them, and staying at 152bpm and then continue going further.

BTW before some of the guys flame me, no, speed is not everything but wouldn't you like to be able to play a shred every once in a while? come on.

Besides, it's a technique just like all others, so why neglect it, variety makes excellence.

Anybody has some good exercises for working the 3rd and 4th finger?

[drock19]

good excercise but should also use the 4th finger.. don't neglect the pinky!

[Axer]

WTF!!!.. I cant believe this. Everyone is talking about playing how fast they can play blah lah blah. But no one sais what they are playing at said speed. Ill just say that I can play all scales I play (major minor, all modes, harmonic and melodic minor, diminished and whole tone) at 160bpm in 16th notes (four per beat) while still being relaxed... And Im not playing 3 note per string shapes, just traditional five patterns for each scale. This is completely relaxed and a comfortable tempo for me, and im sure a lot of other people. This is very common in jazz music to play lines at speeds like this (not just scales up and down) which I do. Just saying, when you say "I play at XXXbpm" that could mean anything.

[Axer]

WTF!!!.. I cant believe this. Everyone is talking about playing how fast they can play blah lah blah. But no one sais what they are playing at said speed. Ill just say that I can play all scales I play (major minor, all modes, harmonic and melodic minor, diminished and whole tone) at 160bpm in 16th notes (four per beat) while still being relaxed... And Im not playing 3 note per string shapes, just traditional five patterns for each scale. This is completely relaxed and a comfortable tempo for me, and im sure a lot of other people. This is very common in jazz music to play lines at speeds like this (not just scales up and down) which I do. Just saying, when you say "I play at XXXbpm" that could mean anything.

[Axer]

sorry bout the double entry... was an accident

[dan_the_pie]

OMG ANGELO IS 17 NOTES PER SECOND? I CAN PICK 42 NOTES PER SECOND, NOT JUST OPEN STRING EITHER.ITS SCALE RUNS ON THE B AND E strings AND I USE MY PINKY AS WELL AS THE OTHER 3 FINGERS

[dan_the_pie]

OMG ANGELO IS 17 NOTES PER SECOND? I CAN PICK 42 NOTES PER SECOND, NOT JUST OPEN STRING EITHER.ITS SCALE RUNS ON THE B AND E strings AND I USE MY PINKY AS WELL AS THE OTHER 3 FINGERS..
o by the way, i hate children of scrotum. he cant sing, its like a painful wail

[dan_the_pie]

sry bout the dual postings. and in rwegards to picks, i use dunlops 3mm stubby

[lespaulbuddy]

drock. just do take you left hand

and go (2-4-2-5-2-4-2-5hameron's and pull'ofs until you can't anymore....
or like (3-2-0-4-2-0-5-2-0)
these work for newbs cuz teh 2 for you social finger lets the other weaker ons get ready, so less, DA** I CAN'T DO IT, to , DA** I CANT MOVE MY PINKY AND RING FINGER!!

[SpacefingerS]

I can play 1520bmp 78 notes, and i'm using just 2 fingers

[rochesterguitar]

cool lesson i think most peoples proplem though will just getting there pinky to do what they want it to do, also 2mm picks? i use a brass pick and its f-ing sweet, it just takes about a week to get used to.oh and alexi liaho can kick your ass even if he cant sing he's still a sick guitarist

[lsf]

I feel I should point out that Fucking Hostile by Pantera is 190 BPM, and that during the solo Dimebag switches to 16th notes (380 bpm) so the assertion that 25 notes per second by Vai is the record is bullshit. Check out that song ON FUCKING RECORD by Dimebag and stop talking out of your arses.

"The fastest guitarist i know is Michael Angelo who can play around 260. "

BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT. Dimebag is hardly the fastest shredder going. I can hit 190 as standard, and usually solo around 240 bpm, I've been playing since 14 and I hardly practice. Some of you need to stop putting people off. IT IS NOT HARD TO PLAY FAST. It just takes 3 hours practice for a year, and you'll master it maybe for 5 years before you need to brush up again. Check out Darrell. Wasn't even practicing before he got shot. Hit the speeds on auto pilot.

[fender 168]

hey nice lesson anyway i wanted to show u guys what speed is all about download this song Yngwie Malmsteen- Trilogy Suite Op in the begining it sounds really good than he starts playing fast on a acusting and it is kinda wierd to hear so much speed on a acustic anyway i am not really a big fan of him i mostly listen to Ritchie Blackmore stuff he has some speed too anyway get that song and enjoy

P.S
try playing it it might improve your speed

[semus]

n1 mate

[bluehicke35]

eh, i didn't think it was the best lesson but still good. Next time use some more examples of exercises to improve technique. Just a tip

[bluehicke35]

not the best lesson in the world but still good. You should use more examples next time to improve technique. Just a tip

[bluehicke35]

dannit! i posted it twice

[ibanezrocks]

o.k. i've been playing for about 5 months. i was playing above 200bpm but then i too realized that i wasnt playing 4 notes per beat. now when i try to the chromatic scale 1234etc all 4 of them making 1 beat on up the fret board i'm only doing dont laugh but only 66bpm that way all this talk about 200 this way is discouraging. please help me someone how can i improve seriously. any feedback would be appreciated.

[Kyrios]

dont worry ibanez, when i was at 5 months i was probabbly slower than you, im like 1.5 years now and im probably at like 120+ depending on the scale/pattern/position.

Do speed drills like that, then switch the patterns around, try 1423 and 1324 when you get faster, also focus on working your ring and pinky, they are naturally weaker and need more work to keep up.

[ibanezrocks]

kyrios thanks alot.i've got a friend that is really fast and he is like at 175bpm at the chromatic. he's been playing for awhile. i want to start a metal band and be a lead player. i'm somewhat fast at some things and can play a couple of songs like come as you are and beautiful people i know very easy huh. well thanks you keep in touch pal.

[sam_morad]

if u wanna become fast ur picking hand must pick fast
so try to the pps (potential pickin speed)

[ibanezrocks]

thanks sam i'm currently up to almost 100bpm 16th notes. i love this web site

[Jarrott]

Personally, I find this lessont to very uninformative. But you gave it a try and you do have some information, so I'll give it a 5.

[guitarmonkey77]

hi i just registered on site after seeing post i downloaded a metranone(demo it only went to 250)
and i found it easy to do the above lesson at that speed and i couldve gone faster so i dont think the guy is lying who said he did it at 260 but nice lesson although you should av added the pinky..

[the_solo]

Sup i just registered as well. I seem to have real troble with speed picking. I'm tryin g to learn cowboys from hell by pantera and even though it's probably pretty easy for you lot it's quite hard for me. I find sometimes I can do and sometimes i cant. You'd think that if i can play the solo then surely i can play the main riff. But I think playin it with upstrokes will make it a lot easier, stupidly it never really occured to me.

[Godly Moose]

Tranquility wrote:

Well isnt world record 26 notes in a second?

No it's 44.6 nps. But that is still iffy.

[Godly Moose]

Also I'm at around 200 bmp's hitting 32nd triplets

[d d b b z z]

how can you tell... 160.. 230..16th..32th?????can someone please tell me how do i measure this.am i stupid? how can u count the notes at that speed.. and listen to the metronome AND play..?

[The Novice]

Thanks for reminding me to train my pinky finger

[sheumack111]

Marcus paus plays 44.6 nps in "casperens secret fetish" in his band called Mr. Cucumber. Marcus has a nerve condition in his hands which allows him too doo soo. This equates to about 1750bpm playing 64'ths (16 notes per beat)!!!

[sheumack111]

Marcus Paus (from the band Mr Cucumber) is the world record holder. In "casperens secret fetish" he plays 64'ths(16 notes per beat) at about 175bpm. This equates to 44.6 nps. He has a nervous condition which allows him to do soo.

[ibanezrocks]

I just dont see how its possible to do that.

[Immortal_Guitar]

Neither do I. But I think several years of practice can help

[kobtron]

Have you ever tried singing any melody fast, then try to play it on the guitar? If you can sing any melody fast then you have the capability of producing that same sound using any instrument if phsysically possible. Just don´t think too much on the technique. Your brain does it all. I'm not lying! Try it.
If you couldn't sing it, just practice tuning your voice, and develop your ear capabilities by hearing and singing music you like. Remember, the guitar is like an extension of your voice.

[Metalology]

Speed_DemonX wrote:

Right, I thought I'd set you lot straight, since most of you seem to not know what speed is at all!

Firstly, whoever the dipshit was who said that 260bpm doesn't exist, and playing 18 notes per second is impossible, is, well, a dipshit.

Secondly, I believe the world record (don't know if thats official) for picking speed was set by Marcus Paus, a Norwegian guitarist in a band called Mr. Cucumber, and he can play around 45 notes per second! Clips are scarce, but if you do a search on Google, for Marcus Paus or Mr. Cucumber or Caspersens Secret Fetish (Song title) I'm sure you'll find it. It actually sounds pretty cool in my opinion, much better than most other shredders, like Francesco Fareri for instance.

Anyways, the lesson was very good, SHRED

That clip is bullshit and sped up.

[vai_way]

" ibanezrocks :
I just dont see how its possible to do that.
POSTED: 04/29/2006 - 010 pm / quote |"

Why you even saying that. Just google on that guy there is a mp3 (bad quality) but that just proves it. I have loaded that piece on my Tascam and tried to slow it down to max and it was still fast like hell.

[mauritia]

just a tip, i shaved a few millimeters off the side of my pick, it really helped me pick up speed....

[mauritia]

just a tip, i shaved a few millimeters off the side of my pick,which made it kanda pointy it really helped me pick up speed....

[paulowther01]

hey i thought music was about melody, harmony, rhythm? people u dont necessarily need speed. yeh its good to have and of course i love shreddin and all that! but dont focus completly on learning to increase speed. develop the skills needed to create music. oh and at the end of the day learn what u want to learn,i tell you all to create music but if you want to just shred its up to you!

[Rapid_Fire]

I like practising triplets along with a metronome to build speed and accuracy. So far doing one per beat I can go up to 250 bpm (works out to 12.5 nps) its definately a good thing to practise.

[bigal_85]

I think the people that say speed is gay are the ones who cant play fast, i agree melody harmony and rythm are all really important, and can sound as good but seriously, dont you sometimes just feel like a shred!

[Qaphela]

thanx man! this lesson helped me a damn lot! not that i am yngwie malmsteen now (i just read the lesson) but what u said about holding the pick loosely and fretting the strings more softly already increased my speed! cheers! Keep shreddin'!

[Qaphela]

moodriffs wrote:

man speed picking is just natural to me. I hold the pick at a lower left tilt and just vibrate my hand and fingers and the pick goes with it. You just have to find the sweet spot on the string.

this helped me too! thanx man! cheers keep shreddin

[bigal_85]

wohoo i hit my eventual goal of 200! (4 note cromatic pattern) i find a good way to increase your speed, and keep it so that the next time you pick up a guitar it is way easier is to play to your absolute limits, and then put the metronome down to a speed that you usually find hardish. this will now seem easy, and after playing it for a bit that speed will be wired in, and a lot easier next time.

[Uber_guitarist]

wow thast easy, even wicked fast,

[Shinedownfan411]

hell yeah, great, use this with the economy picking lesson and you're set

[shadowartist06]

is that a single tap
or a double tap

i got 157 on single taps
and 241 on double tap

[Tankengine]

I can play 250.... and im not that good! speed isn't everything guys.. style, smoothness and sound kicks its ass!!

[Tankengine]

U guys that r playing at only 140>160 etc. really need 2 pracice though cause thats beginner level.. its not that hard if you put your minds 2 it though, i promise..

[thrashtilldeath]

Tankengine, you must be playing along with the beats every beat, and not playing the 4 notes IN BETWEEN every beat, because 200 is very considerable difficult! You would have to be flying to go over 200 and still retain form and not get sloppy! For real tank, how is 160 bpm beginners? Beginners level is something like 80-100 bpm. Even that is difficult for a beginner. I have been playing for 2 and a half years now, and i can only reach 180 bpm without getting sloppy.

[justine0393]

Bleed_On_you wrote:

im too lazy to scroll up to see who typed it , but 260 DOES exist in musical terms... im tryin to remember what words he used.... cuz master of puppets is played at 220 i believe , and Stone cold Crazy from queen is at 250 or 255 or something like that , so either your a moron or ur a newb

is M.O.P. really about 220?? if it is then...good for me cuz i can play it faster than the version of metallica..maybe just as fast as the version of trivium...just maybe how fast is triviums version of MOP?

[justine0393]

Tankengine wrote:

I can play 250.... and im not that good! speed isn't everything guys.. style, smoothness and sound kicks its ass!!

yehp! it does...

[webbster87]

I have a problem!!!! yo my pinky finger is 1 inch smaller than my other fingers and its hard to play with a short pinky. What can i do to help my techince?

[webbster87]

I have slow speed around 80 to 90 bps. I got bad picking problems!

[webbster87]

webbster87 wrote:

I have slow speed around 80 to 90 bpm
. I got bad picking problems!

[vanhalen984]

i got the same problem with the pinky. what should i do

[vanhalen984]

webbster87 :
I have slow speed around 80 to 90 bps. I got bad picking problems!

me too

[vanhalen984]

webbster87 wrote :
I have slow speed around 80 to 90 bps. I got bad picking problems!

me too

[vanhalen984]

webbster87 wrote:
I have a problem!!!! yo my pinky finger is 1 inch smaller than my other fingers and its hard to play with a short pinky. What can i do to help my techince?

i got the same problem. what should i do?

[blakef_55]

i don't know man....um grow a pinky? but everybodys pinky is smaller than the rest of their fingers right?
i'm kinda new so i think i can do around 100-120 maybe

[blakef_55]

guitarmonkey77 wrote:

hi i just registered on site after seeing post i downloaded a metranone(demo it only went to 250)
and i found it easy to do the above lesson at that speed and i couldve gone faster so i dont think the guy is lying who said he did it at 260 but nice lesson although you should av added the pinky..

he did add the pinky, that's your 4th finger

[blackperson139]

guitarmonkey77 wrote:

hi i just registered on site after seeing post i downloaded a metranone(demo it only went to 250)
and i found it easy to do the above lesson at that speed and i couldve gone faster so i dont think the guy is lying who said he did it at 260 but nice lesson although you should av added the pinky..

where did you download a metronome?

[brush200400]

i can play great with my picking hand i just dont have the coordination to play like john petrucci, which i own his book

[ddl0806]

ther isn't anybody here can play at 260 other than Michael Angelo. it's just too much. you'd have to be playing about 18 notes a second...so don't think that you can play at that...maybe you can play at 260 but only on the beat, not with 4 notes in between...you just can't do it...even playing at 200 with 4 notes in between is hard...you'd be doing at about 13-14 notes a second...i should know i can play at 180 with 4 notes in between..and at 250 on the beat but with a lot of effort. besides i'm not here to talk shit...but i'm just setting things straight...but even if anyone can play that fast...it wouldn't matter...speed is useless unless you can play accurately and with rhythm...other than that if you work on those excercises posted along with those on the comments...you'll increase speed...just not to the point that you can play at 260 with 4 notes per beat...

[mohawkkidJohn]

i dont really want to play 260 bpm with 4 notes per beat.there are only like 5 people in the world(if that)that can play that fast.if you can play that fast and you want to play with someone else then you would have to play so much slower you would get bored playing.

[ShreddingSkin6s]

I just make drum patterns that are like 200-250 bpm and play along with those and that is a fun way in my opinion to learn to play fast. Like the song, "silent night fever" by Deminsion Zero is set at 250, what I do it make a similar drum track and set it at 250 or if I need to work up to it I set it to say 215 and then make two more to work up to like I'll have one at 215, one at 230 and one at 250 and pretty soon with practice you'll get it and learn a new song.

[rusted gut]

OK fixxxer_928 : what you said in the bigiining just makes me angry!!! ``when moving down a string use a down stroke and when moving up a string use up strokes`` Ever heard of alternate picking? It doesnt matter if you are going up or down... if picked up last you pick down next... ALWAYS... it doesnt mater if you change strings! if your hands get a constant up down motion you have better teqnique and speed... otherwise youl be doing this sweep picking mixed with alternate and up down strokes wich will suck! I love tremelo picking, but its important to be able to play licks and scales full speed with teqnique, but yea, watever fits the song. Yngie Malmsteen is one of the best because of his great vibrato bend thing! not speed

[fleh]

rusted gut wrote:

OK fixxxer_928 : what you said in the bigiining just makes me angry!!! ``when moving down a string use a down stroke and when moving up a string use up strokes`` Ever heard of alternate picking? It doesnt matter if you are going up or down... if picked up last you pick down next... ALWAYS... it doesnt mater if you change strings! if your hands get a constant up down motion you have better teqnique and speed... otherwise youl be doing this sweep picking mixed with alternate and up down strokes wich will suck! I love tremelo picking, but its important to be able to play licks and scales full speed with teqnique, but yea, watever fits the song. Yngie Malmsteen is one of the best because of his great vibrato bend thing! not speed

try looking up economy picking then apologize.....

[guitarist10]

I play guitar and can play fairly fast for a beginner (about 115bpm w/ 3 yrs of exp) and I'm confused... how much of an angle does it take to be holding it properly, because I play with it at a rather steep angle and it then almost sounds like a pickslide. Then, if I hold it at a less steep angle I feel like I'm holding it too parallel to the strings.

So, about how much of an angle should I hold it at?

-Guitarist10

[guitarist10]

vanhalen984 wrote:

i got the same problem. what should i do?

I rotate my hand so I can play with my pinky but, I also play with my thumb behind the neck.

[fleh]

moodriffs wrote:

man speed picking is just natural to me. I hold the pick at a lower left tilt and just vibrate my hand and fingers and the pick goes with it. You just have to find the sweet spot on the string.

init- i can vibrate any part of my body ¬¬

[dashboardconfes]

im pretty sure 260 is the world record, and the guy played a song not just a bunch of note repeated or a scale going up and down (even thou in this article it isnt technacally a scale)

[eCaHdAgSbEe]

its true that speed isnt every thing but nowadays even the most average famous guitarist can play fast so if any of you prefer to play slow then your morons, and if you think fast guitarists are tasteless then let me ask you this one question."Do you think classical music is tasteless?" or answer this "do you think Beethoven was tasteless?" if so then your a tasteless douchbag who should not be discussing who does and doesnt have taste.But if you do like classical music then you should no almost all of Beethovens stuff was not easy therefor when Yngwie Malmsteen plays Beethovens 5th symphony you better not call him a tasteless shredder.

[eCaHdAgSbEe]

Oh yah, I have an important question. Ive got a problem with my ring finger on my fretting hand. The skin underneath the finger nail has pulled down away from the nail about half a cm.( or maybe less than a cm.) Ive just noticed it, ive never thought about it before but i guess ive practiced bending the strings a little to much or something it must have worked the finger down away from the nail. It looks like it does right after you clean your fingernails only it seems like i cleaned way the hell in there! Im wondering if this will keep getting worse or if it will stick back together. ANYONE WITH THIS PROBLEM PLEASE POST AND TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO BECAUSE I REALLY DONT WONT TO SCREW UP MY FINGER AND HAVE TO STOP PLAYING.Ive been makeing some serious brake throughs and dont want to stop practicing.

[eCaHdAgSbEe]

Sorry "Break throughs".

[K. Hoaglund]

Check out Guitar World's July 2008 issue. 50 fastest guitarists of all time. Shawn Lane wins with 18 notes per second. Page 83. In the words of EVH, " I play as fast as I need to, to accomplish what I want." Speed is great, but there's more to playing guitar then that.

[ash9486]

alright lessondoesnt explain alot though

[MetalGear1786]

Is 160 bpm really that fast? I mean I can always get up to 200. I have one of those clock looking metronomes... I dont mean to sound like a jerk but I was always mad at myself for not being able to go over 208 b/c it still felt slow...

[georizzo]

u also wanna practice while standing up

cant rock sitting down!

[WhiteWTHStripes]

MetalGear1786 wrote:

Is 160 bpm really that fast? I mean I can always get up to 200. I have one of those clock looking metronomes... I dont mean to sound like a jerk but I was always mad at myself for not being able to go over 208 b/c it still felt slow...

Well i guess it just depends on what note you're playing, i.e whole, half, quarter, etc.