Thou Shall Shred: The Ten Commandments Of Shred Guitar Speed

by Tom Hess

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In order to learn to shred on guitar quickly, thou must acquire knowledge only from sources that have already helped others to build guitar speed successfully. This will ensure that thine efforts and time are spent wisely and productively. Thou must be careful about trusting or following any guitar learning resource without seeing with thine eyes the “proof” that such method has enabled other guitarists to build shred guitar speed. To assist thou further in selecting only the expert sources of guitar teaching, study this guide for choosing a guitar teacher.

The Second Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Not Begin Guitar Practice Without The Most Effective And Personalized Guitar Practice Schedule Possible

An effective guitar practice schedule is the foundation of thy success in learning how to shred. A schedule must arrange all the items thou needs during guitar practice to build guitar speed in the most efficient and effective way possible. Thou must avoid the common mistake of arranging guitar practice time in an ‘even’ or ‘randomized’ way among the items thou are practicing. To determine the effectiveness of thy current guitar practice schedule, take this guitar practice routine test.

The Third Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Not Practice Guitar Without Tracking, Measuring And Managing Thy Progress

Tracking thy progress will help thou to know if thy guitar practice efforts are bringing results and what must be changed to improve thy guitar speed to a higher level. It is critical that thou must track progress in ALL elements of guitar playing in addition to only recording maximum guitar speed when learning how to shred. To learn how to track and measure thy guitar playing progress, see this page on how to get better at guitar.

The Fourth Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Keep Thy Mind Engaged And Focused When Practicing Guitar

Guitar speed is developed by using thy mind to train the hands to perform the correct motions needed for shred guitar playing. Achieving this will require thou to be focused and engaged at all times during all guitar practice sessions. Thou must not move on autopilot when practicing guitar, as thou will derive no benefit from the time spent practicing in this way. Thy mind is the most effective training tool for building shred guitar speed, identifying mistakes and knowing how to correct them.

The Fifth Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Not Use Excessive Tension While Playing Guitar

When learning how to shred on guitar, thou must learn to avoid building up excessive tension while practicing. When thou are tense, fast guitar playing becomes impossible. This skill requires training thy hands to relax in between notes and to let go of all tension in the parts of the body that aren’t needed for playing guitar. Tension control is a key element of shred guitar speed and developing it will demand the highest levels of focus and concentration during guitar practice.

The Sixth Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Focus On Maximizing Picking Hand Articulation To Make Shredding On Guitar Easier, Cleaner And Faster

A key element of playing guitar fast is the ability to make every note sound very clear, articulate and loud. The more power thou have in thy picking hand, the easier it will be to shred on guitar. Thou must train this skill by intentionally playing every note with great force and volume to maximize clarity at faster tempos ‘without’ letting thy fretting hand become tense as well. A great way to practice picking hand articulation is to turn the amplifier off and play guitar unplugged for a portion of thy guitar practice time. This will help thou to focus on getting thy notes to sound loud and clear.

The Seventh Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Train To Improve Synchronization Between Picking And Fretting Hands To Achieve Perfect Clarity When Playing Shred Guitar

To make thy fast guitar playing sound good, both hands must move in perfect synchronization with each other. This skill is practiced by getting both hands to move ‘together’ when playing every note on guitar. Even when thou practice guitar slowly, it is critical to move both hands ‘quickly’ to produce each note in order to prepare for effortless coordination at a higher guitar speed. To learn more about this element of thy guitar technique, study this mini course on how to play guitar fast.

The Eighth Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Practice Integrating Multiple Shred Guitar Speed Techniques

Guitar techniques are of limited use in isolation. In order to use thy shred guitar speed creatively in music, thou must conduct guitar practice by combining and integrating all shred guitar techniques easily and fluently. Thou must learn to freely change between sweep picking, string skipping, legato, 2 hand tapping, scale sequences and other guitar techniques cleanly, in time and without hesitation.

The Ninth Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Learn The Best Tactics And Strategies For Using A Metronome To Develop Shred Guitar Speed

Thou must use a metronome as a test to measure guitar technique progress rather than expect the metronome to actually ‘increase’ thy guitar speed. If thou are unable to play guitar cleanly at a certain metronome speed, it is a sign that thou needs to deepen thy guitar technique foundation before increasing the metronome speed further. To see how thou must use a metronome when learning how to shred on guitar, read this article about building maximum guitar speed.

The Tenth Shred Guitar Speed Commandment: Thou Shall Use Guitar Practice To Develop Consistency With Thy Guitar Speed Rather Than Seek To “Nail” Something Only Once

To have thy guitar speed become dependable in all situations, thou must set aside a portion of thy guitar practice time to train for consistency in performing fast guitar speed passages time after time. This skill can be practiced by inserting thy guitar shred licks in many different musical contexts, such as rhythm guitar riffs, position shifts on guitar, or in the context of a more melodic solo, making sure that thou are reliably able to play the desired lick in any musical situation.

The ten commandments of shred guitar speed are understood, followed and mastered by all virtuoso guitar players. To build blistering guitar speed, follow these rules consistently and thou too shall shred on guitar.