Browsing Archive: April, 2009
My best alternate alternate picking exercisesSix notes up and down
Before I end this series on alternate picking I want to give you some of the "exercises" that I have used to build my picking speed. Please pick the ones that you are most comfortable with. The first two are super simple but also very fundamental. I use these licks all the time and you will too once you have them down. You can take these two licks and use them to go all the way up and down the neck. Try going all the way up an ... Continue reading ...
How to pimp your axe for maximum speed
Scroll down to see the tablature Creating the ultimate shred machine
Years agohttp://sitebuilder.yola.com/ide/index.jsp?siteid=8a49866a2000460f0120146473da37f1, I thought that any skilled guitar player should be able to play fast on any guitar. Even though I loved playing on a guitar that had all the qualities that I'm going to discuss in this article, I still did nothing to make my own instrument more playable. "Playing on an impossible instrument will ... Continue reading ...
The killer strategy for mastering string shifts
Scroll down to see tablature
The two headed monster
Every technique has its challenges. When it comes to alternate picking, shifting strings is definitely one of them. What most people aren’t aware of is that this is a two headed monster. There are two different string shifts that you can make:
1. Outside shifting
2. Inside shifting
Outside shifting is when you go from picking down on, let’s say the B-string, and then picking up on the high ... Continue reading ...
How to break through the speed barrier
Scroll down to see tablature The strategy described in this article could increase your speed instantly! (Seriously)I assume that you are using the methods described in the category “Get more out of praticing”. If you are not, you are going to experience a lot more challenges than I describe in these articles. But even though you do everything right, at some point, you are going to hit the wall. You are going to reach a level of speed that you cannot ... Continue reading ...
How to increase picking speed by 500 %
Scroll down to see tablature A crucial factor in alternate picking
The engine in a car is a complex piece of machinery where everything has to fit together to produce the power needed to drive the car. Imagine if some part of the engine suddenly started to loose it's place. If the explosions in one cylinder suddenly misfired and worked against the rest of the engine, then what would happen? The way to ensure that our alternate picking engine works perfect... Continue reading ...
How to make alternate picking easy
Scroll down to see tablatureBeware of this or you'll sabotage your self
The hardest lick to play with alternate picking is just going up or down the scale, shifting strings for every third note you play. Why? Because there’s an element of alternate picking that we rarely see or focus on. But before I reveal it to you, let’s make a quick list of the challenges involved in alternate picking:
1. Picking rhythmically up and down
(Accenting every third or fourt... Continue reading ...
How to pick with precision and power
Scroll down to see tablature Let's turn your axe into a machine gunAlternate picking is, in my experience, one of the hardest techniques to perform with precision. But it is also the most aggressive sounding technique I know. The consistent up and down motion with the pick, produces a machine gun like sound, that I can't seem to produce with any other picking technique. I'm also going to cover all other picking techniques on this website, so please don't as... Continue reading ...
The one key that determines whether or not you will become a master
Scroll down to see the tablature
You now have all the tools you need to practice effectively and get the most out of what you put in. But what’s going to make you practice? Why would anyone spend hours performing very small and repetitive movements with their fingers? Why do we bother? Well, it’s really quite simple right? We’re doing it to get something. It’s not a new car we want and it’s not a thing really, it’... Continue reading ...
Triple your musical vocabulary in months
Scroll down to see tablature
"Wasn't that a nice trick? I mean lick..."
How do you put together a jigsaw puzzle? Do you look at the picture on the box, then pick a pice up in your hand and try to place it in the correct spot right away? Or du you find pieces that are similar and try to fit them together until you have something that makes sense? Most people choose the latter.
But because of our curiousity and drive to learn something new, we nearly a... Continue reading ...
8 things that keep us from getting better, part 2
Scroll down to see tablature
Mistake number 5
Practicing licks in an uneven tempo
This seems like a small sin but it isn't. This will totally sabotage your chances of becomming a world class shredder. When you practice a lick, don't play the easy parts faster than the hard parts. Put your focus on getting the hard parts to be easy instead. If you fall into this trap, buy a metronome and make sure that it is your constant practice companion.
Ant... Continue reading ...
8 things that keep us from getting better, Part 1
Scroll down to see tablature Mistake number one: Biting of more than you can chew
Because we humans are impatient by nature, we tend to bite of more than we can chew. This is quite normal, but it is not an effective strategy. We suddenly decide to loose weight and since it has to happen now rather than later, we go for a 20 mile run. Then one of two things happen: Etiher we actually run the 20 miles, but because or body isn't ready for that kin... Continue reading ...
How to gain an extra 4 hours of practice time a day
Scroll down to see the tablature
The art of Practicing while watching TV...
It's no joke... When I first started playing guitar I needed tons of practice time because I didn't have the luxury of practicing effectively (You don't have that excuse anymore) I had 7 hours of school to attend to and I had to get some amount of homework done in able to survive the next day. (My teachers where lethal) But I managed to put in 6 hours of practice a d... Continue reading ...
Scroll down to see the tabs
The ultimate speed building strategy
In this blog I'm going to show you exactly how I went from playing like a turtel to shredding like a lamborghini. This is the most effective way, I know, to build incredible technique. It will not only make sure that you progress as fast as possible, it will also give you amazing precision in what you do. I call it The Metronome Game (Tadaaa). And it is truly a game. Besides making your practice sessions many times more effecti... Continue reading ...
Scroll down to see the tabs!
How to nail that new lick in minutes instead of days
I once heard of a guy who ate his bicycle... Really! He sawed it into little pill sized peices and swallowed them one by one. You can do anything if you eat your challenges one bite at a time, but if you don't, nothing is possible...
3. Challenge Isolation
Rule number three: Never take on more than one challenge at a time!
The third principle is the principle of challenge isolation. It’s about how much informatio... Continue reading ...
Scroll down to see the tabs!
Get faster, faster - and with less effortTo shred, thou must learn when to not shred In this blog, I’m going to cover the second principle of effective practice. Learning a new lick to the point where it becomes easy and effortless to do, is all about the right kind of communication between your brain and you. Basically we want to send this message to the brain: “Put this lick in the part of the brain where I’ll never forget it and where it becomes automatic... Continue reading ...
Scroll down to see the tabs!http://sitebuilder.yola.com/ide/index.jsp?siteid=8a49866a2000460f0120146473da37f1 
How to develop insane shredding skills
4 keys to getting better fast!
In this blog, and in the next to come, I’m going to show you specific ways in which you can speed up your learning curve. I will take you through each and everyone of the principles I developed and used to build my own level of playing skill. I’m also going to show you a way to predict the future. Let me explai... Continue reading ...
| |
