There are really only three aspects to achieving speed while playing guitar: the fretting hand’s ability to move quickly and accurately, the picking hand’s ability to move quickly and accurately, and the synchronization between the two hands. If both hands can make their movements quickly and the two hands are tightly synchronized, you’ll be able to shred with the best of them. (Or, if shredding isn’t your goal, you’ll be able to play cleanly with great control, because you’ll never be pushing the limits of your ability.) But, if either hand is out of sync with the other, or if either hand is unable to achieve sufficient velocity, your speed will be limited.
This time around, let’s break down the two-handed process of playing of notes and focus on the picking hand. We’ll be using a practice technique that classical guitar players use, called “speedbursts.” The idea is that most fast passages aren’t all that long – just a few quick notes or a quick stream of notes – preceded and followed by slower notes. We’ll be using a simple exercise similar to one found in Scott Tennant’s (virtuoso classical player, both solo and with the L.A. Guitar Quartet) excellent classical technique book Pumping Nylon.
You’ll be playing solely on the open G string, so your fretting hand gets a nice rest, and the issue of synchronization is removed. Since we’re staying on one open string, your picking hand won’t have to deal with string crossing. This intentional limiting of the exercise allows you to truly focus on just picking. Here are some tips for getting the most out of the exercise:
- Relax! Tightening your picking hand or any part of your shoulder or arm will only limit your speed and increase the risk of injury.
- Follow the picking directions strictly as indicated, always beginning with a downstroke. Note that there are several places where consecutive downstrokes are played.
- Practice with a metronome.
- Start very slowly. I often start at 60 BPM. To ensure timing accuracy at slower tempos, you can double the metronome speed to 120 so that each click equals an eighth note.
- Strive for rhythmic accuracy and even note volume.
- After successfully completing the exercise, increase the metronome by 5 BPM and repeat. Continue this process, increasing the tempo in increments of 5 BPM until you are unable to play the exercise perfectly.
Do not push past the point where you can play with total control. Practicing inaccuracies will not help you develop speed! Go as far as you can, then stop for the day and repeat the exercise tomorrow (and every day), attempting to push the metronome one notch faster each day.
