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smegolas · September 2005

OK im having trouble with the whole shredding thing. i got pertuccis vid and im working through it. slowly.

what EXACTLY is the proper right hand technique (what works for you)? pls describe each finger and the general position and the hand/palm, wrist etc. like my pinky tends to be touching the pickguard to level my whole hand, but that might be slowing me down?

how do you hold the pick? how far forward or back is your pick (ie. over the neck pickup, etc)?

any suggestions for learning to shred would be much appreciated!

aRcTuRuS · September 2005

I am no awesome shredder like Jason Becker but best advice equipment related i can give you is to use a Dunlop Stubby 3.0 pick. They are tiny as and give a cleaner smoother sound when doing shred, especialy clean when doing sweep picking.

armada1 · September 2005

Picking?!!! mmmm I can do 16th notes and 8th not triples at about 160bpm. Still workin on geting faster! I personaly use my right hand pinky as a anchor. Some do not use a anchor and this known as fly picking. #1 when picking use wrist not fingers. If you do 16th notes at 80bpm then try 16th notes at 160 bpm there should be no variance in your picking technique. I am at 180 bpm with 16th notes but strugle with 8th note triplets at 160bpm. But start slow like the video tells you and make sure you are relaxed. Also when attacking any one string keep the pick no more then 16th of an inch either side of the string. Light toch with left hand. Alot of guys just grip the guitar to hard. The lighter your touch the faster you play. Use your drum machine and do your finger exercises in intervals. I start at 100bpm and run my routine until I am at 200bpm.
Do not accept anything but clean crisp playing.

Hope that helps!!

Tal Rules · September 2005

I don't consider myself a shredder these days. In my younger days \"Speed\" was king. Dimeola is the guy I tried to emulate in my 20's and I can still play most of \"Race with the Devil\" at speed.

I can still play pretty fast when I want though. Best advice I can offer is to practice scales. All kinds of scales. Use the metronome feature on the GNX4 and start out slowly, until you can play the scale cleanly and with the body in a relaxed state. Then gradually increase the speed while keeping the body relaxed.

Do NOT tense up for speed. You'll get a little advantage at first but stamina will eventually play out. Use a firm pick stroke but not a tensed up right or left arm with the muscles bulging out of place.

I personally use a heavy pick to get a stronger attack on the strings, but I play with Daddario flat wounds starting with an 11 and ending with a 52.

Practice the scales until you know where to put your fingers subconciously. If you have to think about where to put your fingers while playing at speed, you're not ready to play at the tempo you selected.

Keep relaxed, and above all,
Have Fun,

See Ya,
Tal

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