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Undoubtedly, one of the most popular
subjects that my subscribers inquire
about is how to get their fingers to fly
over fretboard clean and fast.
I remember being floored by two and only
two guitarists in my entire life. Ed Van
Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. I listened
to Yngwie's debut CD over and over and
couldn't wait to see him live. When I
DID, I was even more blown away by how
easy he made that speed look.
Now, after a lot of study and practice
myself, I've come to realize that
"making it look easy" is simply a
by-product of being on top of your game.
In other words, Yngwie doesn't labor to
get his fingers to move that fast. He
had to labor to get to that level, but
now that he's there, it's just a matter
of relaxing and playing.
Now, my right hand picking technique
really developed when I started getting
control of my timing. That timing was
developed by practicing my scale
patterns, sweep picking my arpeggios
using a metronome and recording a lot of
tunes.
Prior to that, I was really good at my
left hand technique and relied on it a
lot to get my speed. You know, hammer-ons
and pull-offs.
But I titled this article from a problem
that I still have to this day. Unless
I'm conscious of it and remind myself
not to do it, I sometimes have a
tendency to labor when I play fast.
Ok, here's what I'm talking about.
There's a fine line between pressing too
hard on the strings and slowing yourself
down, and pressing light enough to get
your speed while preserving your note
quality.
In contrast, let's say you're doing a
bend on the third string, second fret.
That's an A to a B and a bend that
requires some effort from your fingers.
Give it a try. Notice how much force you
need to exert to get that A note up to
the B.
Now when you're doing a straight
succession of notes such as indicated
below, you want to play with a lighter
touch to the strings.
Tablature
E
--------------------------------------------------
B
--------------------------------------------------
G
-----------4------------------4-------------------
D
--4--5--7-----7--5---4--5--7-----7--5-------------
A
--------------------------------------------------
E
--------------------------------------------------
Play this example a few times. As you
do, pay close attention as to how your
fingers manipulate the strings.
Some things to keep in mind:
1. When starting, keep your first,
second and fourth fingers stretched over
the frets that they will play. This is
crucial to your efficiency. Before you
even play a note, position your fingers
in this manner.
2. Learn to keep your fingers as close
to the strings as possible when you are
NOT touching them. This simply gives you
a faster response time for pressing and
releasing the string.
3. Only press the string as hard as
necessary to sound the note cleanly.
Stay away from laboring and literally
putting too much muscle into your
playing.
Practice these three simple points and
I'm sure you'll immediately see an
improvement in your speed.
And lastly, always practice with a
metronome. I know...I know. You probably
hate metronomes. I used to hate them too
because they revealed how crummy my
timing was. Well, looking back, I wish I
had the discipline back then that I have
now.
Try not to make the same mistake I did.
Your playing will become stronger in a
shorter period of time when you get
accustomed to a metronome and practice
those three simple points.
Will |
