Many guitar players have the dream of being able to burn through their favourite sequences and solos just like their heroes, but only relatively few ever live it out.
I have noticed than many people have a mistaken idea of what enables somebody to be able to play fast, so I set out to write this piece aiming to help any guitarist get faster and improve all round within 7 days.
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Paul Gilbert once said that speed is a by-product of accuracy, and he was definitely accurate (pun intended) with that statement. The more accurately your hands and fingers can move, the less time it will take them to do things because they have less moving to do. Make sense?
To seriously improve as a guitarist, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have a goal in mind-What is it you want to be able to play? Clapton’s famous Crossroads solo or maybe the tapping section from Vai’s Tender Surrender? Both are doable, maybe not in seven days but hopefully you will continue to practice long after the seven days are over, once you see the improvement from some focused practice. It’s always better to have a long term goal in mind because then you are able to measure your progress. It may be hard to notice improvement day to day, but if you have a definite yardstick to measure yourself against, results are hard to ignore.
I’m here to bust open the myths and the “secrets” which people seem to think hold the key to playing fast. Implement these tips and you will be faster in seven days. I guarantee it.
1-Practice-It’s obvious but many people claim they want to be a great guitarist but don’t put the time in. You get out what you put in! Even if you don’t have much time to spare, half an hour a day is enough to help you improve.
2-Focus your practice-You can increase the benefits of your guitar practice exponentially by practicing the same stuff each time. A good way to start this is to choose 4 licks or scales or parts of scales (anything except chords will work just fine), and play through each lick in a loop for 15 minutes. By the end of the FIRST WEEK you’ll be two or three times as fast as you were with those licks to begin with.
3-Think long term. Focused practice everyday is great, but it’s even better to have a goal in mind. for example if you want to learn a particular piece, gear your practice toward licks and techniques used in the piece and then dedicate the last 15-20 minutes(depending on how much time you have) to practicing the actual piece. Nothing helps you stay focused and motivated more than being able to see your daily progress.
4-Work on legato-Legato actually means smooth, or flowing, but in guitar circles it is the term given to fretting notes with your left hand and making them sound without actually picking anything with your right hand. It could also be called the art of hammering on and pulling off. Excellent practice as it will strengthen your left hand, not only making you faster and smooth, but will improve your vibrato and chord changes too. It just makes your hand fitter! A great way to practice this is to run up and down some scales, but only pick the first note on each string, so you will be hammering on going up and pulling off on the way down. It’s tough at first but persevere and you will get rewards!
5-Use a metronome. Other musicians seem to use metronomes with no trouble, but guitarists are allergic to them, or at least seem to be! I’ll spell it out - An hour with a metronome does A LOT more good than an hour without. It’s simply the best tool for highlighting the weak areas and inefficiencies in your technique. There is a learning curve but stick with it-your playing will change for the better, permanently! Buy one!
6-Use a hard pick. Controversial? I know that people should use whatever pick they want to, but a softer pick WILL slow you down, and a harder one won’t. It’s simple physics. Most picks have a degree of flexibility, so after picking a note we have to wait for it to return to its proper shape before we pick again, or the note is not picked cleanly. Put it this way-trying to learn to pick fast while using soft picks is like putting bicycle wheels on a Ferrari and then trying to drive fast. Not going to happen!
7- Start slow-Work on something until you can play it with no mistakes at all before you crank up the speed. This will do more for your all round musical skills than just pushing the metronome up a few beats every few minutes. If you move forward before your skills are ready your playing will be very very sloppy, and that will be a real hard habit to get out of!
8-Spot your weak areas-If you notice your pinky lagging behind everything else when you change from the third to fourth string for example, isolate that move and work on it until it improves! Something like that may not seem like a big deal initially but as you start to get your speed up things like that can seriously trip you over and hold you back!
9-Be safe! This may be the most important tip of all-look after your body. Playing fast guitar is pretty strenuous on the hands and wrist etc, so if you feel any pain, stop and rest. If it persists see a doctor. It's a good idea to warm up properly before you play too. Start with some simple strumming and scales etc, then stop and stretch your hands and forearms and wrists. It may also help to massage the tendons etc.
This is not weightlifting, we aren't trying to fight through the pain barrier or anything like that. As far as guitar playing goes, no pain equals more gain!
10-Learn your licks all over the neck! There is nothing more pathetic than a guitarist who is fast in one place on the neck and slow in another. It just shows a lack of common sense while practicing. Don't be like these guys, learn everything you know all over the neck. It will be better for the health of your hands and wrists too!
I'll update this regularly and maybe see if I can get some tab going for some useful licks and exercises etc, so stop back often!
Steve Higgins has been a guitarist/musician for over 20 years, both playing and teaching in his local area. If you find these tips useful and would like to learn more please visit here
