Not another speed thread I hear you cry.

[Si.]

Just back from a mini musician festival in Sunderland and I've realised everyone can play fast except me

I don't mind that i'm really just a pub pentatonic player, and I'm happy with that, but I just don't have any speed to my playing and lack general fast licks. I'm not talking about lightning fast shred licks, just general rock speed and rock licks (ala Slash/EVH/ETC)..

Can anyone give any advice? I've been thinking about just getting 1 or 2 lessons from someone just with the sole purpose of improving my speed, is it worth doing it this way? or can anyone recommend any decent youtube clips that might help..

Thanks.

[littlegreenman]

My stock answer to this, but I really do think it's the best option. Paul Gilbert's Intense Rock I and II dvd. Give them a proper go with a metronome or backing drum track and within weeks you WILL be faster.

They aren't just for shredders.

[erictheweary]

Just back from a mini musician festival in Sunderland and I've realised everyone can play fast except me

?



[it was that or the Kiss dwarves ]

[digitalscream]

Aside from the "get the PG DVDs", the single best piece of advice comes from Guthrie - basically, stop telling yourself it's difficult. When you've been playing for a long time and you know there's a speed beyond which you can't play, you have a total mental block. That means that in the couple of seconds before you try to play something like that, your brain is saying "Shitshitshit, difficult bit coming up" and you'll fluff it because you're too tense.

Relaaaaaax, man, and it's all easy

(says the guy who still can't play Crushing Day, despite 15 years of trying)

[dafuzz]

This is good:

(says the guy who still can't play Crushing Day, despite 15 years of trying)

I'm stuck on the sweepy bit near the start of the solo Only been trying 5 years though

[sambostar]

Do you mean runs and legato, cross string bending licks or what?

I find the main obstacle is not being able to hear or understand something properly to remember it, so then you can't replicate it despite your skills. It's the same sort of thing when you have no tone and no inspiration.

Basically of you can break the runs and licks down and understand where they go and how they fit against the beat and how they sound and feel it gets a lot easier.

EVH is basically a blues player with two handed tapping thrown in, but people criticise him for being sloppy. I love Slash's playing, people criticise him for not being proficient and being sloppy and not that fast, but he only use speed to translate the immediacy of stuff and he does that perfectly. I love the Live in the Ritz Nightrain solo, he totally keeps the tone and translates the urgency perfectly. I also love George Lynch, he is not a schooled shredder, he pushes his own boundries and has something organic and not perfect about him again. Rick Neilson, Joe Perry, Warren Demartini and Jimi and all of the above know how to nail the extra dynamics, although Slash has got a bit lazy. These people who play a guitar like a perfect digital piano are kind of missing the point of playing a guitar and are missing dynamics IMO

[welly_59]

I don't rate the pg DVDs if I'm honest. They just show a few basic exercises that you could have got from anywhere.

[musophilr]

I don't rate the pg DVDs if I'm honest. They just show a few basic exercises that you could have got from anywhere.

But PG is as good a place as any to get them from?

[welly_59]

yeah sure, maybe the videos are just way too 80's for me! i also dont think they go into any detail regarding holding the pick , wrist/finger movement etc

[welly_59]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13354411/T...f-Guitar-Speed