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Lovely stuff - you're one of my favourite players around here! Perfect mix of technique and musicality and precisely what I'm trying to get better at!
https://www.facebook.com/benswanwickguitar
Thanks mate..that means lot to me welshboyo said: This has made me giggle
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
But the Yngwie/shred/sweeping stuff alludes me - just can't get that down, this year I've made it a mission - but it's a long slow slog, do others find it different? Even three string sweeps are taking ages to get working
In an attempt to quantify "fast" guitar playing, I usually see three benchmarking systems:
For years, I've seen guitar mag writers like Shaun Baxter state that fast playing begins at
which are equivalent to
respectively. (Inevitably, many will point out that this isn't all that quick compared to wossname, but one has to start somewhere... )
I think the lower figure for sixteenths allows for the fact that three-note-per-string fretboard patterns make it easier to play tuplet ideas in time. And that timing becomes a bit more "subjective" with tuplets. Ahem.
Further exploration will likely lead down the rabbit hole delved by internet ledge WillJay:
https://forum.troygrady.com/t/willjays-nps-clocking-project/2600
And trying to actually get faster might well (also) lead to Troy Grady, who in that thread also says that the fastest playing of all gets pretty boring. I agree, but it is exhilarating to a point. That point often being where things become inaudible/indiscernible.
But all that's putting the cart before the horse: Exploring some of Grady's materials ought to help one get from "slow" to "fast", or at least "fast-ish". @Peteri will find good "Yng for beginners" licks here. And exploration of how other shredders tried to sound like Yngwie and discovered different techniques of their own on the way. It might be the same notes, but it sounds different.
If you find Grady too much, here's a more no-nonsense approach:
This was good, too:
I call it "goosing it" – pushing the envelope is important once you've got a good idea of what to do.
If you've no health issues and can put some time in, you can get faster.
But failure to land on a "good note" consistently after "the fast bit" will undo all of the above, unless you're Kmac2012 or Rudy Ayoub and doing it for tehlolz.
[1]FTFY.
to my mind, effects are not just gain, delay, reverb, swirlies etc, but also include note selection, note density, direction, melodic lines and phrasing..
I like to use different note densities to generate specific musical impacts.. long lyrical notes to create space and open out the solo.. greater densities to create a sense of urgency or to make a solo climax..
the solo here starts around 3.00-ish mins
note in this one the bulk of the sol is about space and melody.. however I use a few brief bursts to head into notes that climax.. and then tear into it a little more at the end for the final climax..
this one follows a similar mentality but in a different context.. start melodic, then tear it up to increase the intensity..
this one comes from a different place.. at the start I'm trying to be 'cool / sassy' sounding..
then I just throw in something flash as that's just how I felt like playing at the time..
having a little show-off here and there is fun..
so it was less 'thought about' than the previous two.. I was playing more instinctively here
The key to playing fast is to play slowly to start with
Which, in hindsight, is accurate but a little bit like fortune cookie wisdom. There are a lot of good contributions that make various important points in this thread that make that snippet a bit redundant.
Fast playing (on its own) =/= good music/soloing.
But it can be a part, an integral part, of many different styles. I think the key is actually to continue to push our musical horizons in what we play, what we learn and what we listen to. Speed is just one part of the language of music and competence at playing fast comes (like all competences) by hard grafting practice. So keep listening and playing and consciously pushing yourself.
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and yes, start the lick slow [as in slow motion rather than just at a slow tempo] and little by little build it up.
but you yourself already know this as do many because it's been repeated over and over by every guitarist inline.. even those that can barely play [not joking or having a pop at them, it's just a simple fact]..
the trick to playing fast is not only repetition.. yes this is important to build the neural pathways, but there's more...
here's the bit that's missing..
posture - poor posture restricts dexterity, limits strength and control, reduces stamina
consistent picking patterns and fingerings - choose the most efficient ones for that lick / moment and then do not alter them as the tempo increases.. playing snotty fast is like a reflex.. you don't think, you just do.. so you drill consistent ways of playing certain high speed licks / note groupings / scale locations..
economy - do not do anything at all that does not need doing.. sounds obvious don't it.. so don't swing the pick in a wider arc than needed.. don't apply any more pressure than needed.. etc.. be efficient..
one size does not fit all - there is no such thing as "this is THE way you should play always because it's right and proper". I switch techniques, hand shapes and picking patterns all the time.. even mid-lick.. just do whatever it takes to make the lick sound clean and well articulated.. learn the combinations of techniques and methods, burn them in and then start winding up the tempo..
a 'one size fits all' approach to technique only really works for exercises, it does not always work for real music
Found this extremely useful for left hand economy
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
You mentioned Kossoff in your original post, who was my first guitar hero in my teens. In an attempt to emulate his sound, I spent well over a year trying to develop finger vibrato, including watching him live. I never really nailed Kossoff's vibrato, so I even failed with that, but hopefully I developed a half decent vibrato in the process of trying.
You also mention Larry Carlton and Van Halen. I've struggled more with playing some Larry Carlton stuff than some Van Halen. For example, Larry Carlton's Strikes Twice riff (or should I say 'Jaguar' by Johnny Smith ) is an absolute pig for me and I have to keep working at it.
I can play pretty fast with legato (probably helped by the fact that I'm left handed but play right handed), tapping, and 'pick every note' linear scalar stuff. But, to my great frustration, I still can't get that rapid fire 'pentatonic picking thing' up to the speed and articulation of Eric Johnson and Joe B, even though it's much slower than other stuff I can play.
As people are posting clips, here's a 'Spinal Tap' moment from a recent gig . Warning it's not for those that like tasteful playing and I have no illusions about it being musical. I can already feel the hate that's going to come my way, but it always goes down a storm with the audience.