Guitar - how do you improve to the next level

[bennyboysvuk]

I've been playing guitar for about 20 years now and can happily knock out a decent tune and solo pretty reasonably all based around either major, minor and pentatonic/blues scales.

I saw the following clip on youtube last night and wondered what you have to do to be getting into these dark depths of phenomenal speed up and down the neck?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WP7B_D59T1o

Can anyone provide any hints or tips as to how to progress to this kind of level?

[Matthew_Eames]

why would you seek to play like that, sure it's technically impressive but think of the most memorable guitar players

the reason they are so good is that they pick and choose notes, and put a lot of "soul" into them, rather than just trying to play as quickly as possible
well thats the way i look at it, i have never been impressed by speed.

[bga]

bennyboysvuk said:

Can anyone provide any hints or tips as to how to progress to this kind of level?

get a metronome and practice alternate picking. It will take a while but if that's what you want to achieve then you will get faster over time. Sweep picking can also make you sound very fast - there are a few tutorials on the web

[smiller]

Steve Morse had a picking exercise that involved going through all seven modes in a given key across two octaves. Picking every note Kirk Hammett used to warm up for a gig by starting at no.1 fret low E and speed picking chromatically the next four notes, then moving to the A string to repeat, moving to high E, then repeating the exercise from fret 2 onwards. He used to stop at the 12th fret; 288 chromatic notes all speed picked.

It's all very impressive. I admire John Petrucci and Steve Vai etc. The lad in the video is very good.

Can't imagine Jeff Beck concerning himself with such widdly fluff though

[Ordinary Bloke]

I'm learning to play guitar, doing lessons and trying to practice a little every day. But I'm not sure I'd want to do what that YouTube guy is doing...

The secret appears to be PRACTICE...

[andy400]

Get a time machine, disguised as a phone box, then take a years intensive lessons from Eddie Van Halen (that won't take any time due to first acquisition), then form supergroup and bring about world peace with a re-vamped version of an Argent song.

Easy-peesy.

[bennyboysvuk]

smiller said:

Steve Morse had a picking exercise that involved going through all seven modes in a given key across two octaves. Picking every note Kirk Hammett used to warm up for a gig by starting at no.1 fret low E and speed picking chromatically the next four notes, then moving to the A string to repeat, moving to high E, then repeating the exercise from fret 2 onwards. He used to stop at the 12th fret; 288 chromatic notes all speed picked.

It's all very impressive. I admire John Petrucci and Steve Vai etc. The lad in the video is very good.

Can't imagine Jeff Beck concerning himself with such widdly fluff though

That sounds like a plan. Thanks for the info.

It's just something I'd like to be able to do I guess. Whilst maybe not that musical (my GF can't stand it) I find it quite mesmorising. Extra scales and knowledge gained through playing them has got to be good. I'm off to hunt out some tab.

[smiller]

Just make sure you've got a long and strong little finger

I tried Hammett's exercise 12 years ago. Only now is my left hand operating normally......

[Evil Jack]

PRACTICE!


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ES1RypBww_g 

Here's a lesson on how he does it:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=efq_lPN2TZE 

[smiller]

Evil Jack said:

PRACTICE!


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ES1RypBww_g 

Here's a lesson on how he does it:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=efq_lPN2TZE 

You know. I've never had much time for Paul Gilbert; too much flash for flash's sake.

But that second clip is very, very good