Any tips on speed picking? (shreading)

Yeah, I have been concentrating on playing alot of acoustic, but shreading on and electric is much more flashy. I need to play somting that impresses people on like shreading. So if you have any, got tips???

Shredding on acoustic can certainly be done (Hell, I saw Yngnie do it), but it's far from easy. Guitarists like Al De Meola, Paco DeLucia, and McLaughlin are basically acoustic shredders (since speedy flamenco styles closely parallel shredding techniques used by electric guitarists). I can't really help you with acoustic shredding, except to say that having a GOOD quality acoustic guitar will make a huge difference in your playing. If your acoustic has bad action, you won't be going very fast at all. Ovation and other high-quality acoustics are something to look into, especially if you want to emulate flamenco styles.

If you're just talking about shredding in general, I've gotten extremely fast at alternate picking. It's all in the wrist. Just practice alternate picking various scales (and NOT pentatonic...way too cliche) along to a metronome. Gradually increase your speed. It takes time, but it's not rocket-science.

Okay, I understand what you are saying about how action effects performance on playing. I have a pretty good flamenco guitar and I am a decenty fast. Though I want to learn on electric first because from what you said, shreading on an acoustic is very hard. So do you recomend any popular songs I can practice on?

But I can add one more shreader to your list. Check out a guy named Juan Serrano. This guy is mindblowing . . . well at least in my opinion.

You want shredding to practice... Try stuff by Paul Gilbert (Racer X), Yngwie Malmsteen, and Michael Romeo (Symphony X). These are 3 shredders, and you can easily find tabs and songs by them.

I don't think you can put it so succinctly as when Paul Gilbert once said the action of the wrist is similar to scrachin' a dog with small vigourous movements.
'may your picking sound like popsicles on bicycle spokes'

Just to help out lame-brains like Pantallica:

a lot of people try to rush their speed Thresh hold, as they get impatient.

Playing guitar is a lot like playing golf in that the movements you are making are not natural movements that the body is used to. This is one of the reasons why a golf swing is so difficult to master, there are a 100 things you must do correctly, and your body is 'fighting' you subconsciously.

This is where the concept of muscle memory comes into play. you gain speed because your muscles have learned the movements so well that they are second nature...and be aware, muscle memory can take a long time. but the payoff is worth it. Yngwie, Paul Gilbert, DiMeola, did not wake up one day with the ability to shred..it took them thousands of hours of practice to develop their skill.

play scales, licks at a comfortable mistake-free tempo , as a good rule of thumb, make sure you can play a scale over and over without stopping, cleanly and consistently for , say, one minute.. then increase the tempo by one setting and repeat the exercise.

Don't cheat!!!! Go back a setting if you make even the slightest mistake!!! or you are merely deceiving yourself. Find that tempo where you made a mistake and mark it down as your "goal" then go back to the setting where you can play cleanly and stay there for a week or two. then try to play at your goal tempo...I bet you'll find that you can do it.

for years I cheated myself by playing a scale at an ultra high tempo, but only later did i realize that I could not do it cleanly every time...this was very distressing to me....but I forced myself to go back and work on stuff at slower tempos...it was like I was learning all over again! it was very depressing but I know that doing things correctly is a far better payoff...

Another thing is to be aware of tension, monitor where and when you are tensing up. Is it when you cross strings? Pick the higher strings? when ascending or descending? anticipate the areas where you tense and when you get to that area..say to yourself in your head (or out loud) "R E L A X"...you'll be amazed at how your body listens to you.

Best of luck!!

Originally posted by snimbkar
a lot of people try to rush their speed Thresh hold, as they get impatient.

Playing guitar is a lot like playing golf in that the movements you are making are not natural movements that the body is used to. This is one of the reasons why a golf swing is so difficult to master, there are a 100 things you must do correctly, and your body is 'fighting' you subconsciously.

This is where the concept of muscle memory comes into play. you gain speed because your muscles have learned the movements so well that they are second nature...and be aware, muscle memory can take a long time. but the payoff is worth it. Yngwie, Paul Gilbert, DiMeola, did not wake up one day with the ability to shred..it took them thousands of hours of practice to develop their skill.

play scales, licks at a comfortable mistake-free tempo , as a good rule of thumb, make sure you can play a scale over and over without stopping, cleanly and consistently for , say, one minute.. then increase the tempo by one setting and repeat the exercise.

Don't cheat!!!! Go back a setting if you make even the slightest mistake!!! or you are merely deceiving yourself. Find that tempo where you made a mistake and mark it down as your "goal" then go back to the setting where you can play cleanly and stay there for a week or two. then try to play at your goal tempo...I bet you'll find that you can do it.

for years I cheated myself by playing a scale at an ultra high tempo, but only later did i realize that I could not do it cleanly every time...this was very distressing to me....but I forced myself to go back and work on stuff at slower tempos...it was like I was learning all over again! it was very depressing but I know that doing things correctly is a far better payoff...

Another thing is to be aware of tension, monitor where and when you are tensing up. Is it when you cross strings? Pick the higher strings? when ascending or descending? anticipate the areas where you tense and when you get to that area..say to yourself in your head (or out loud) "R E L A X"...you'll be amazed at how your body listens to you.

Best of luck!!

Very good advice. Muscle memory is a key aspect of guitar playing. That's why I always suggest playing scales while doing something else like watching TV, or reading something..because then you get used to playing that scale or lick subconsciously and when you go back to actually play it, it becomes very easy.

Hey your advice really helped. I did not belive that really starting off slow will help you but it did. Thanks.

Try using the 1-2-3-4 fingering down the fretboard, alternate picking everything. Work on this as you gradually increase your speed.

Originally posted by alucard0941
Hey your advice really helped. I did not belive that really starting off slow will help you but it did. Thanks.

hey my pleasure:)

Sometimes it's very frustrating as the brain tends to program mistakes a lot easier, and quicker than correct movements..I don't know why this is..some cruel joke of nature i guess:p !!

And when bad habits are 'programmed' sometimes it feels like it takes an eternity to fix them!!

I think a lot of the most gifted players realized this early on, and prevented or fixed it quickly..which is why the rest of us spend all our time in their wake!!!:)

Originally posted by Pantallica1
Very good advice. Muscle memory is a key aspect of guitar playing. That's why I always suggest playing scales while doing something else like watching TV, or reading something..because then you get used to playing that scale or lick subconsciously and when you go back to actually play it, it becomes very easy.

:p
yeah, I remember the first time that was suggested to me..i was like...'WHAT?? watch TV while practicing??are you crazy?" then i read about subconscious learning and all the related information, and then it made complete sense.

Here are a few things that helped me increase my speed to EJ or Yngwie levels are

- Pick Mapping (figuring how I was going to pick, not alternating everything)
- Switching to light picks
- Curling my fingers in (stop anchoring)
- Picking more with index/thumb movement than wrist
- Relaxing the muscles in my forearms and shoulders and just glide

Pick Mapping, for example, can save 33% - 50% of the effort it takes to pick every note. If you are doing a run, try paying close attention to how you are picking... As you switch from string to string, minimize the distance your pic has to travel by "falling" or "pulling" to the next string (depending if you are ascending or descending a riff).

So for example on the low E string, Down-Up-Down (and instead of going Up-Down-Up on the next string, try:) Down-Up-Down. So the two "Downs" together actually require only "One" pick swipe by you but it produces two notes and a much cleaner and smoother transition to the next string.

Anyway, hope this helps someone.

Late
Mitch

What does "anchoring your fingers" mean?

Originally Posted by: guitarmitchHere are a few things that helped me increase my speed to EJ or Yngwie levels are

- Pick Mapping (figuring how I was going to pick, not alternating everything)
- Switching to light picks
- Curling my fingers in (stop anchoring)
- Picking more with index/thumb movement than wrist
- Relaxing the muscles in my forearms and shoulders and just glide

Pick Mapping, for example, can save 33% - 50% of the effort it takes to pick every note. If you are doing a run, try paying close attention to how you are picking... As you switch from string to string, minimize the distance your pic has to travel by "falling" or "pulling" to the next string (depending if you are ascending or descending a riff).

So for example on the low E string, Down-Up-Down (and instead of going Up-Down-Up on the next string, try:) Down-Up-Down. So the two "Downs" together actually require only "One" pick swipe by you but it produces two notes and a much cleaner and smoother transition to the next string.

Anyway, hope this helps someone.

Late
Mitch

Interesting concepts Mitch.. I never thought of it in those terms...Thanks.

Originally Posted by: GrassrootWhat does "anchoring your fingers" mean?

If you're talking about Right hand (or Picking hand technique)

It means that you physically place your fingers on the guitar body while picking... (I tend to anchor my pinky on the Bridge pickup when I pick the strings, for example).

The idea being that you are creating a reference point in relation to your pick and the strings. Try to play a scale while floating your picking hand in the air..you'll probablynotice that it is more difficult as you cannot accurately guage where the strings "are".

Anchoring Lets you know exactly where the strings are in relation to your pick.

The anchoring is good because you are not trying to create muscle memory for different points of reference each time you practice if you are holding the guitar slightly different.
I just got to where I started practicing alternate picking the get a lil' more speed than down-down-down all the time and seemed like my left fingers were remembering but my pick hand always caused me to start slower cuz tho I tried I always held it a lil' different, propping the ol' pinky on the pick guard made a big difference in the speed of my progression.
I dont know if this makes a difference but I most often run scales while sitting watching tv and with in a fw moments I don't really have to pay attention 'til I try to up the tempo then after a few runs back to tv lol.
I can run the scales I've been practicing up to about 90 bpm but these 4 lil' notes I can't do 20 times at 75 without error hehe, don't know why. Like a tongue twister applied to guitar :P

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---8-6---6-8---8-6----
-------8-----6------8-
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Wow, thanks for the help guys. Now its July and back then was Febuary. And I have to say. This helped and now I can shred