i want to learn some really good solos on guitar which sound great but im not fast on the fretboard. are there any scales, methods or anything that can help me improve my speed with my fingers? any solos that are good to start off with?
This is going to be a long answer so bear with me!
Start by playing through your amp clean, NO distortion. You want to make sure that you’re hitting every note cleanly and not muted. Also play slowly to begin with. What you’re trying to do is teach the muscles in your fingers, getting them to remember things in a way. What you dont want to do is teach them badly if you get what I mean.
Scale exercises are a good way forward as all solos are made up from various scales and modes. A good warm up exercise that I use is 1-2-3-4 on each string, and then 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 again on each string. This gives you practice in using all 4 fingers and gets your little finger used to playing.
When learning a solo, break it down into manageable pieces, for example 4 bars at a time. Then learn the next 4 bars and link it together until you have th full solo. If its a fast solo start off at a pace that you can manage fine and then work up to the tempo of the piece. A metronome is vital here, you can buy one in any guitar shop.
Other techniques can be used for speed playing such as legato. This is using hammer-ons and pull offs to reduce the amount of notes that you are picking. Joe Satriani is a master of this. Even if you’re not a fan check out some of his tracks to hear it.
2 handed tapping is another method of playing quickly. As well as Satriani, check out Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert- all super fast guitarists.
For solos to learn I would go for anything that you listen to, it makes it easier if its a song that you enjoy. This will make the practicing a lot easier and more rewarding when you complete it.
Remember to be patient though, it won’t happen overnight but you will start to see improvements. Kerry King from Slayer described getting his speed up in a similar way to weight lifting, you have to start low and build up over a period of time.
Sorry if I;ve gone on a bit, hope some of this is useful to you. Best of luck!
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learn and practice scales
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practice the blues scale with high gain on your guitar most solos are shredded and judging by the question you dont know what this is they arn’t normaly picked you pick like every 4 notes just doing hammer on and pulloffs . try playing songs by slayer like raining blood and songs by A7X like unholy confesions
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Practice some blues scales. Also get a "gripmaster". It’s like a little workout device for your fingers. You just squeeze it to strengthen them. It helps to keep your fingers from cramping up when playing.
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,you need to practise, practise, practise, it will come in time. you have to learn to be accurate, the speed will come naturally. good luck, and practise. Mr.C.
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This will be very tedious at first, but the technique for playing guitar fast should be the same as playing slow, only faster. Thus, you should begin practicing primary scales (major, pentatonics, etc) very slowly and steadily. You should be able to find these in any guitar method book. Pay close attention to the consistency in your right hand movements and make sure that the fingers of your left hand move as little as possible. The best technique will always be the most efficient. Find the easiest way to play most effectively.
References :
This is going to be a long answer so bear with me!
Start by playing through your amp clean, NO distortion. You want to make sure that you’re hitting every note cleanly and not muted. Also play slowly to begin with. What you’re trying to do is teach the muscles in your fingers, getting them to remember things in a way. What you dont want to do is teach them badly if you get what I mean.
Scale exercises are a good way forward as all solos are made up from various scales and modes. A good warm up exercise that I use is 1-2-3-4 on each string, and then 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 again on each string. This gives you practice in using all 4 fingers and gets your little finger used to playing.
When learning a solo, break it down into manageable pieces, for example 4 bars at a time. Then learn the next 4 bars and link it together until you have th full solo. If its a fast solo start off at a pace that you can manage fine and then work up to the tempo of the piece. A metronome is vital here, you can buy one in any guitar shop.
Other techniques can be used for speed playing such as legato. This is using hammer-ons and pull offs to reduce the amount of notes that you are picking. Joe Satriani is a master of this. Even if you’re not a fan check out some of his tracks to hear it.
2 handed tapping is another method of playing quickly. As well as Satriani, check out Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert- all super fast guitarists.
For solos to learn I would go for anything that you listen to, it makes it easier if its a song that you enjoy. This will make the practicing a lot easier and more rewarding when you complete it.
Remember to be patient though, it won’t happen overnight but you will start to see improvements. Kerry King from Slayer described getting his speed up in a similar way to weight lifting, you have to start low and build up over a period of time.
Sorry if I;ve gone on a bit, hope some of this is useful to you. Best of luck!
References :