How Close Are You To Mastering Electric Lead Guitar Technique?


Many of my most advanced students score perfectly on this assessment. What about you?
 
Note: When I talk about "lower strings" in the questions below, I am referring to the thicker strings of the guitar (the ones lower in pitch), and when I say "higher strings", I am talking about the thinner strings of the guitar (the ones higher in pitch).
1. I know how to use the fretting hand's index finger to mute the higher strings from ringing. *

2. I control extra string noise from the higher strings by using the inactive fingers of my picking hand (the fingers not holding the pick). *

3. I keep my playing very clean by muting the lower strings with either my picking hand's palm or thumb. *

4. My picking hand motions are controlled and efficient. *

5. My fretting hand motions are very precise, and I can shift from using one finger to another with no gap of silence or sloppy noise between notes. *

6. My two-hand synchronization is smooth and flawless when changing strings. *

7. My two-hand synchronization is clean and tight when skipping strings. *

8. When skipping one or more strings, my pick does not touch the string(s) it is supposed to skip. *

9. When I pick through scales and sequences, every note is articulated accurately and heard clearly. *

10. My string bending is clean with no extraneous sloppy noise from the other strings. *

11. I can bend in tune consistently and can do so with all 4 fingers. *

12. I can play arpeggios (using sweep picking) and every note is clean and clear, with no extra noise from the strings not being played. There is no "bleeding" of notes together (only one note of the arpeggio is sounding at a time). *

13. I can switch between different arpeggio shapes cleanly and easily. *

14. My finger rolling technique for playing arpeggios is very clean, in every position on the fretboard, with all fingers. *

15. When I play legato passages, my pull-offs are just as clean, loud, and clear as my hammer-ons, and there is no extra noise from the other strings. *

16. I can play cleanly, with perfect synchronization at the speed of 500 notes per minute or higher (16th note at 125 bpm or 16th note triplets at about 83 bpm). *

17. I can play cleanly, with perfect synchronization at the speed of 600 notes per minute or higher (16th notes at about 150 bpm or 16th note triplets at 100 bpm). *

18. I can play cleanly, with perfect synchronization at the speed of 800 notes per minute or higher (16th notes at 200 bpm or 16th note triplets at about 133 bpm). *

19. I can play cleanly with perfect synchronization at the speed of 1,000 notes per minute or higher (16th notes at 250 bpm or 16th note triplets at about 167 bpm). *

20. I can seamlessly, smoothly and cleanly switch between playing notes with a pick and two handed tapping. *

21. I can tap with more than one finger. *

22. I can control the width and speed of my vibrato, from very fast and narrow to slow and wide. I can make the "pulse" of my vibrato match the pulse of the music. *

23. I can do vibrato with all 4 fingers. *

24. I use the appropriate (not more OR less than necessary) amount of tension for everything I play. *

25. I can consistently play pinch harmonics well. *

26. I can cleanly perform double stops and double stop bends. *

27. My hands don't get tired easily after playing fast. *

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