NEED FOR SPEED!!!

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:58 am

There is a lot of myth surrounding this aspect of guitar playing. As a kid struggling to play the guitar, I even believed at one point that some guitarists signed a contract with the devil in order to be able to shred (yeah…I watched the movie ‘Crossroads’…the idea of being Steve Vai in the movie makes it so logical why I should sign a deal with the devil right away!). Thank God I didn’t do that, since some good soul guitar player told me the magic tip….’just repeat the thing until you can do it’…in a way, that tip pretty much wraps up the whole speed thing and actually there is no need to even write an article at all on it. But since this aspect of guitar playing is always pondered upon and asked by guitarists…be it beginners and even veterans, I will delve a bit more on this subject.

PRECISION
Precision comes before speed. If there is no precision, there is no speed. A fast mushy guitar lick is worse off than a precise slow lick. You can't run as long you cant walk properly.Do you know that a cleanly executed slower run sounds faster than a faster sloppily executed one? To be frank...Yngwie and Paul Gilbert are not the fastest picker (John Sykes is faster!)...but their runs still sounds beautiful and fast because it's cleanly executed and precise. So...before you speed up...practice runs at the maximum speed that you can play cleanly first...once you get comfortable, than increase the speed further...and repeat the whole process until you can play at blinding speed comfortably and cleanly(you can use a metronome to objectively note the actual speed in bpm you are playing your licks, in order to actually quantify how fast you are today compared to yesterday. Though not a compulsory item, some players do swear by it). This approach of playing precisely and slowly stepping up your speed is the same with all the guitar heroes. Some guys like Steve Vai has his own 11 hour workout everyday, while Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen claim that they never practiced, but they play the guitar almost all the time (in a way, this is a sort of practicing as well…though not as regimented as Vai’s). When we talk about precision it is important to incorporate tone in the definition, that is getting the tone from the fingers rather than depending on equipment. To do that, I practice unplugged or on a clean tone...and try to get a full natural tone from my fingers as much as possible. After you achieved that, then it is important to practice with distortion so that you can practice muting unwanted noise while playing the same licks. Speed should be the result of good tone played in precision at high speeds. That is the equation to remember. After you have nailed to achieve yout natural finger tone, you will develop your own identity as well on top of being able to play fast. I sound like myself regardless of whether I’m playing a Les Paul through a Peavey amp or a Strat through a Marshall...because I let the fingers dictate my "signature" tone...err...hopefully that is!!! Everybody has got their signature tone...it is just that we all need to refine it Smile

PICKING.
I find that the thicker the pick, the easier it is to pick fast. If I'm not mistaken, Steve Vai and Paul Gilbert uses roughly about 1.2mm thickness picks, while Yngwie is known to have gone even up to 3mm thickness at one point! But currently he uses 1.5mm picks by Jim Dunlop(I use the same too...I seem to like this thickness the best). Local guitar heroes and my good friends(who have attained world standard in my opinion) Sham Kamikaze uses 2mm, while Man Keedal probably uses 1.5 or 2mm I think. How do you hold the pick? The unanimous answer that I get from every guitar hero is...whatever that is comfortable to you and the same time sounds good! That is the only right answer. Dont let some idiot force you into holding the pick "the way its supposed to be" or "my way" or any of that crap...coz all the different guitar heroes hold the pick differently...but they all sound good and at the same time unique to their styles, because that's the way which they execute the best sound and at the same time comfortable for them. Experiment to find your personal way! This may take months or even years to develop, but if you really want it, you gotta go for it.

LEGATO/HAMMER ONS/PULL OFFS/TAPPING
Dont believe it when people say that legato runs are easier than picking, because some properly executed legato runs are actually bloody harder compared to the same lick being picked! If they still think that legato is always easier than alternate picking, then ask them to play Alan Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen’s solos. When you pick, the energy comes from the pick, and the fretting from the left hand. But, in legato, all the work is coming from the left hand...and this puts a strain on one hand. A properly executed legato lick should sound as loud and clear without the aid of amplification/distortion. I call a legato lick as proper if I can hear it on the guitar while unplugged or on an acoustic guitar. If it doesnt come out as clearly, than more practice is needed.

SWEEP PICKING
This technique is commonly used when playing arpeggios or wide interval licks (a favourite term used by Greg Howe). The basis of this is hitting more than one string with a single stroke (hence also the term ‘economy picking’). The difficulty lies in the fact while sweeping, the right hand needs to hit the respective strings in synchronization with the notes fretted by the left hand. Practice the right hand by making sure that each string is struck with good timing to ensure synchronization with the left hand fretted notes. The trickier thing is that when playing wide interval licks, only one note should sound at a time to avoid ‘mushiness’. This need good muting techniques of both the right and left hands.

STRING SKIPPING
This is basically what it says, skipping strings. Though it sounds fancy, there is no magic to this technique. You skip strings in order to achieve wide intervals which is impossible by playing the normal way. That’s all to it really. The challenge is to skip without hitting the ‘wrong’ strings and causing unwanted notes/noise to ring out.

FINGERING
I was so confused about fingering for a long time...everyone has their own style so which style do you choose? I tried all of them then at last I used a combination of those and a bit of my own permutations...the most important thing is..as long you can deliver the lick comfortably the way hear it in your head. Yngwie Malmsteen didnt play with his fingering because he wants to make it difficult...but because that is the easiest way for him to execute his ideas...the same goes to other guitar heroes.

Another thing...speed comes after prolonged practice...see Vai/Gilbert/Satriani/Petrucci were all born with immense amount of talent...but on top of that these guys still practice 11-13 hours a day!
But really…how long do you need to practice? It depends, if you got the time, maximize the time that you can practice. As for me, being a medical student in my early years and now a doctor/father/husband severely limits the time I can spend on the guitar to almost non-existent. Even in my younger days, on a lucky day, the most I could get in a day is 2 hours. Most of the time I didn’t get to play at all. The most important ingredient is passion and pure love for the art of guitar playing. Somebody who plays/practices with passion in less time is more likely to improve faster than somebody who puts more time in practicing, but does it for the wrong reasons (to get chicks or whatever).
After practicing, do have jamming sessions. Jamming is the time you force yourself to bravely try all that you've practiced...fingering...scales...sounds...and this is where it doesnt matter whether you make a mistake or not. And always record your jamming sessions so that you can analyse it later. You’ll be surprised that you might discover something new in your playing as well! George Lynch always records every gig and listens to it critically to still learn about what works and what doesn’t in his playing.

So guys, remember this…

PASSION + PRECISION + GOOD NATURAL TONE = SPEED

This article is not the end all of all articles on speed, and this is not like the monthly columns that you get in guitar magazines, but rather an introductory one and serves as a road map…but you have got to do the travelling yourselves. There are hundreds or thousands of sweeping/picking licks out there and it’s impossible to cover any of these in detail here, but thanks to the internet, there are tablatures and stuff out there which exposes the secrets of the guitar heroes to all of us mere mortals...

What I aim to do is to address issues which were never or rarely mentioned in other columns. Your participation in asking questions, giving opinions and correcting me will further contribute towards addressing these uncovered issues, and thus provides an educational purpose to anyone who reads this article and it's comments/responses.

Feel free to ask any questions!

kudo · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 2:07 pm Post subject:

too flabbergasted for words! a well-written piece and i will definitely start on the 'passion' aspect of the guitar workout when i pick up my gtr this evening..

Ridzi · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 3:45 pm Post subject:

Sorry Doc...but i couldn't help my mind wandering somewhere else when i read the 'Fingering' part Laughing

Very well written article.... Seriously I think the quality of the articles here in this website is way better than most magazines in Malaysia. Does anyone agree with me on this??

/ridzi[/b]

Bode · Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Articles: 10 Comments: 25

Kalau nak puji diri sendiri...mesti la aku setuju! Laughing

Fingering huh Ridzi? Heh heh... Very Happy

Ridzi · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:36 pm Post subject:

Heheh....still looking for that sweet spot.....tee hee hee... she said im getting closer akakakakakaka....

i think thats too much information.... i'll stop now

/ridzi

Ridzi · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:37 pm Post subject:

Arghh nothing like a bit of random acts of sensless obscenity!!!! Laughing

/ridzi

Bode · Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Articles: 10 Comments: 25

All music talk and no jokes can only make Bode and Ridzi boring sods! Very Happy

suicide-by-overdrive · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 4:47 pm Post subject:

mcm baca article dlm guitar world la doc!!!! Very Happy

ckutu · Joined: 07 May 2004 Articles: 1 Comments: 1

Wah Bode, makes me wanna pick up a guitar and see what the fuss is all about.. good write up !

Bode · Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Articles: 10 Comments: 25

Thanks guys...!!! I really hope that this article is of some help at least...and I also hope that it will spark some interest and passion in the art of guitar playing amongst more peeps Smile

monizag · Joined: 12 May 2004 Articles: 1 Comments: 2

i think bode has presented his opinion eloquently on picking, speed, accuracy, etc.

but i'd like to add a little bit on 'picking'.

a player can hold the pick pointing downwards and strike the strings in an angled position, or hold the pick pointing upwards and strike the strings, also in an angled position. one player will find that pointing downwards is more comfortable, whereas another, find it otherwise.

there may be no hard n fast rule about this but it's good to hold the pick and strike the string, in the most optimal way. since i've started off, with the pick pointing upwards, then downwards....then back to upwards...and now back to downwards again...i feel that having the pick pointing downwads is the most optimal way.

in fact, most of guitar players, shredders ..hold the pick with its tip pointing downwards. the advantage is, you can play with your guitar straddled very low..like slash..comfortably without stressing your wrist.

just like running. there is a good way of running, without inducing much strains on the lower limbs. but if a runner has been running in a certain manner and he is so comfortable with it..he may not realise that he cant go further and faster..otherwise he is more likely to sustain injury.

i think it's good to start picking the right way. check out some websites that gives various opinion on this.

just a food for thought.