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how long does it take it to get good at alternate picking?


Still.ill

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Posted

i've been playing almost 3 years now but i only really started practicing fast alternate picking runs for about a year.... right now like my max is 120 sextuplets bpm.... im most comfortable playing like around 114-116 bpm sextuplets.... my goal is just raise my comfort zone like by 10 BPM... but it seems to get lot harder now

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Posted

Trying backing up. Can you do dead even quarters for 5 minutes? Why not? How much beginner stuff have you mastered? Why none?

 

etc... etc...

 

If all you want is faster. Look into Tom Hess. He deals exclusively with getting to maximum speed. Charges though.

 

Sorry for the presumptions. lulz

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Posted

 

Sextuplets at 120bpm? You mean you can fit 6 notes per click at 120? You already _are_ good!!!

 

 

i saw someone say 120 sextuplets was like a "respectable" speed

then again it was forum where the guy posted something that ranked like all these shredders by their speeds like it was like

 

(im making up random numbers here)

petrucci --- 146

yngwie -132

 

etcc etc

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Posted

All part of the service :)

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

 

GaJ

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Posted

There's a whole bunch of free stuff out there, I don't think there's any need to pay for expensive lessons if your main goal at the moment is to increase your speed. That's something that depends on you, and you alone. Once you start moving into other musical endeavours, then it may be wise to start taking lessons, either online or IRL.

 

I would recommend finding songs that incorporate alternate picked bits, and work on those licks. First slow, then faster and faster. Use a metronome, gradually increasing the clicks. Use an amp, if you can, and make sure you can play the same things cleanly using both a clean tone and dirtier tones. Many do the mistake of either practising using only a clean tone, or only with full distortion. Both can mask inaccuracies, and it's important that your fast licks sound effective even with a less-than-stellar tone. Record your own playing, listen to it and see if you can tell if you're doing it wrong. Be completely honest with yourself and your abilities.

 

Remember, there's no short cut to speed. You have to work on it for a long, long time to get good at it. Don't be afraid of asking for help. Here at the Lesson Loft, there are many who can give you good advice. If you post clips of your playing, it'll be easier for others to listen and give advice based on how you actually sound.

 

Best of luck.

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Posted

 

There's a whole bunch of free stuff out there, I don't think there's any need to pay for expensive lessons if your main goal at the moment is to increase your speed. That's something that depends on you, and you alone. Once you start moving into other musical endeavours, then it may be wise to start taking lessons, either online or IRL.


I would recommend finding songs that incorporate alternate picked bits, and work on those licks. First slow, then faster and faster. Use a metronome, gradually increasing the clicks. Use an amp, if you can, and make sure you can play the same things cleanly using both a clean tone and dirtier tones. Many do the mistake of either practising using only a clean tone, or only with full distortion. Both can mask inaccuracies, and it's important that your fast licks sound effective even with a less-than-stellar tone. Record your own playing, listen to it and see if you can tell if you're doing it wrong. Be completely honest with yourself and your abilities.


Remember, there's no short cut to speed. You have to work on it for a long, long time to get good at it. Don't be afraid of asking for help. Here at the Lesson Loft, there are many who can give you good advice. If you post clips of your playing, it'll be easier for others to listen and give advice based on how you actually sound.


Best of luck.

 

 

what ive been doing is rolling off the volume knob to zero and trying to play the same thing unplugged... that really brings out any errors

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Posted

Yngtchie and Gennation nailed it really. If you want to get better than 16ths at 120..you will. But, it's a never ending game!..if increasing your speed is important to you than give it everything you've got..until the next obsession. Good luck! :thu:

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Posted

I would recommend Troy Stetina's Speed Mechanics book. Sextuplets at 120 bpm is very fast,though. It's like 16ths at 180 bpm.

IIRC, this is 160 bpm:

[YOUTUBE]g_Qc5YYp4Cg[/YOUTUBE]

 

I can play that, but not as cleanly. One thing that helped me is to set the metronome around 20 bpm faster and try to keep up. Then once I go back to the right tempo, it's easier. I only do this after playing multiple times below the tempo (e.g., 120 bpm, 130 bpm, 140 bpm, etc.). I think I played Tumeni Notes (intro) at 60 or 80 bpm and worked up towards 205 or 210 bpm. That one uses triplets mainly.

 

Sextuplets at 120 bpm is really good!

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Posted

 

One thing that helped me is to set the metronome around 20 bpm faster and try to keep up. Then once I go back to the right tempo, it's easier. I only do this after playing multiple times below the tempo (e.g., 120 bpm, 130 bpm, 140 bpm, etc.).

 

 

I learned that trick from a lesson with Tony MacAlpine in the late 80's. It's funny how that works. Kind of like the thing we used to do as kids where you tense your arm muscles up and hold it for about a minute then relax them and it feels like your arms could float.

 

I too think the OP is already pretty fast. But definitely keep working on it!

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Posted

I've been running since I was 2 years old.

 

How long before I am really, really fast? Like that guy from Jamaica?

 

And don't give me that BS about running really slowly at first and then going a little faster bit by bit.

 

Olympics+Day.jpg

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Posted

The thing is, what can you play in sextuplets at 120 BPM?? most liekly it's stuff you have practiced... Scales, arpeggios and certain licks... It is very difficult to be able to play ANYTHING (or more correctly EVERYTHING) at 120 BPM... if you are playing a line in fourhts, for instance... that is far more difficult to execute cleanly on a guitar as sextuplets @ 120 BPM than an Am arpegio which may be sweep picked... I think that what you should do is get more comfortable with playing a variety of different things at the tempo you're comfortable with, and the speed will come as a byproduct of accuracy and inventiveness.... I could be wrong, but that has worked for me, thus far...

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Posted

ok

 

this is a clip of me just crap noodling around in E minor pentatonics

 

 

http://hc.bloodyvelvet.com/files/270/improvising%20stuff.mp3

 

theres some alternate picking in here hopefully its not too sloppy

 

oh i dont really intend to be like a super fast alternate picker like those supershreddy guys (gilbert, etc)

 

 

i just want to be able to play some alternate picking runs (ala alex lifeson, randy rhoads, uli jon roth, prince,billy corgan) cleanly a bit faster

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Posted

Sounded great. I know many people who have played much longer than 3 years and can't play like that.

Can you play with others?

The reason I ask is that a friend was AMAZING when he played by himself, but could not play in a band context. He eventually started recording his own stuff, but had difficulties playing with others. The last time I saw him he had already been in a few bands and had gotten much better in that sense.

He was demoing some gear at a place where Marty Friedman gave a clinic many years ago, and apparently Marty told him that he should be giving the clinic!

Anyway, I really enjoyed your mp3. I think that Stetina's book can be very helpful when it comes to alternate picking.

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Posted

 

Sounded great. I know many people who have played much longer than 3 years and can't play like that.

Can you play with others?

The reason I ask is that a friend was AMAZING when he played by himself, but could not play in a band context. He eventually started recording his own stuff, but had difficulties playing with others. The last time I saw him he had already been in a few bands and had gotten much better in that sense.

He was demoing some gear at a place where Marty Friedman gave a clinic many years ago, and apparently Marty told him that he should be giving the clinic!

Anyway, I really enjoyed your mp3. I think that Stetina's book can be very helpful when it comes to alternate picking.

 

 

thanks dude

well i jam with friends sometime but like i dont know what "playing a band context means"

like when i jam with friends we just play rhythm usually and one of us tries to a figure a lead riff to go over the rhythm-- none of us tries to do long winded improvsiatory lead solos like phish or something-- we focus mainly on writing parts

 

I mean as long as i can play in time with a drummer+and technically able to play what i hear in my head thats fine for me

lead wankery is for lead wankery alone if you know what im saying

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Posted

 

ok



i just want to be able to play some alternate picking runs (ala alex lifeson, randy rhoads, uli jon roth, prince,billy corgan) cleanly a bit faster

 

 

It sounds like you're already there based on your clip.

What have the guys you mentioned ever recorded that is beyond your technical ability? I've heard most of their work and I cant think anything that would be since you're picking 12 notes per second. Your technique is already damn good and it probably doesnt need to be a major priority/focus for you anymore.

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Posted

This has been said here a lot of times before.

 

If your point is get to play fast like hell, try to sound musical, not just scales or random noodling.

 

Like this (although not really really fast)

 

[YOUTUBE]ES1RypBww_g[/YOUTUBE]

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Posted

?? It has motifs, a theme, and variations... if you pick lots and lots of note from a scale sure there will be bits that sound like a scale... but it's musical in the same way some Bach is :)

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Posted

 

Like this (although not really really fast)

 

 

Hmmm, "although not really, really fast"? Um, . . ok, . . . so, that wasn't fast?

(sneaking away and thinking about selling my instruments . . . )

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