Picking Speed Exercise - How to Increase Guitar Speed

Hey guys,

I know it’s been a while since my last post, but I think this one will make up for it. It’s a common request from almost all guitarists. Today I bring to you a lesson on how to play guitar faster (notes or lead that is).

There is no magic pill to speed up your playing speed, but with a few tips and adjustments and constant practice, you will be able to accomplish your goal in no time at all.

It is important to remember that when soloing, playing fast doesn’t necessarily mean what you’re playing is good. In certain instances like legato licks or certain rock and metal licks or even small ‘runs’ in most styles, fast picking may be required. To help you be able to reach that pace comfortably in the above and many more instances is the goal of this lesson. I’m going to give a small reminder of a lesson I put up a while back. Refer to it for the tips in detail. It’s on picking efficiency. Also note that when learning a lick play it slowly first to improve muscle memory and then speed up.

KEY TIPS

-       Minimum movement of the fretting hand away from the board.

-       Move only your wrist when picking.

-       Tilt your pick slightly (refer to the picking efficiency lesson for a detailed analysis).

I’m going to write about each exercise as short as I can. If there is confusion don’t hesitate to comment or mail me at universeofguitars@gmail.com

Clarity of the notes is the most important thing to remember with regard to this lesson (which is why I constantly repeat it). Fast playing without clarity and fluency is pointless and sounds ‘messy’. Take Steve Vai for example, if you slow down one of his solos, you can hear each note clearly. That should be your objective.

Speed Improvement Exercise 1

It’s a pretty simple exercise, but if learned properly and you really stick with this, It’ll work wonders for your playing.

Take the first four frets of the guitars on the high e string and keep your index, middle, ring and pinky fingers on them respectively. Throughout the exercise each finger must only be used to play the fret assigned and cannot switch into other frets. Alternately pick the first 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th fourth frets. Then move onto the next string (the B or 2^nd string) and work your way through the first four frets of all strings. Then move up the neck a half step (1 fret) and do the same thing throughout the neck. FLUENCY IS KEY HERE. THERE IS NO USE PLAYING AND PRACTISING WRONG THINGS. MAKE SURE THE NOTES ARE WELL CLEAR. DON’T REMOVE YOUR FINGER OFF THE FRET TOO EARLY WITHOUT LETTING IT RING.

To follow up, pick the notes from the bottom of the neck and move back down. For this, pick the notes starting from the pinky to the index. After finishing a fret in this manner, move 1 fret down.

Practice it slowly and gradually speed up without losing fluency and clarity.

This is the first and most important exercise that I think that you should include in your practice schedule. I will teach you some more advanced variations of this exercise soon, but till then, I recommend that you practice this for at least a week before moving ahead.

Practice this,

Reach new heights,

Visal.