The Instructional Thread for Shred!

[Super Pudge]

Please keep this thread focused on Shred! Discuss and post lessons! The following is an old lesson from Paul Gilbert:

 

The terror death lick pages...

Alternate picking and synchronization.

 

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Please note, to see the notations of these licks as I intended them to be seen, your browser's settings must be set up to use a fixed pitch font for the preformatted text. A good font to use might be "fixedsys"

 

 

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In an old advertisment for the Musicians Institute, Paul said..

 

"Alternate picking is one of my favorite things. It works well for playing at an even tempo, gets a good tone out of the string and is efficient enough to allow one to play very fast and clean.

 

Here is an eight note sequence that has allowed me to develop my alternate picking enormously.

 

E----------------------------------- R

B----------------------------------- E

G---9-------9----------------------- P

D------12------12--10---9--10--12--- E

A----------------------------------- A

E----------------------------------- T

 

u d u d u d u d picking

 

Played in the ninth position on the D and G strings. Notice that E is the only note played on the G string and that it is always an upstroke. Make sure to keep your hands synchronised and don't stop practicing the lick until it sounds like a popsicle stick caught in you bicycle spokes.

 

The first Paul Gilbert lick that I ever learned was this one from his Intense Rock instructional video. It's an alternate picking exercise and when you get going it sounds really cool. It has a triplet feel to it. Remember to concentrate on making the lick sound really even speed wise. Accentuate the notes to your hearts content, but keep the speed even..

 

E--------------12---------- R

B--12--13--15------15--13-- E

G-------------------------- P

D-------------------------- E

A-------------------------- A

E-------------------------- T

 

d u d u d u picking

 

 

This lick can be expanded on to give the exercise in Paul's MI ad, but 12th position, E & B strings...

 

E--------------12------12---------- R

B--12--13--15------15------15--13-- E

G---------------------------------- P

D---------------------------------- E

A---------------------------------- A

E---------------------------------- T

 

d u d u d u d u picking

 

But you want to make some beautiful music huh? Well, try mixing them up a bit and see what comes out. I always thought this one sounded cool, especially at a million and a half miles an hour..

 

E--------------12----------------------12------12---------- R

B--12--13--15------15--13--12--13--15------15------15--13-- E

G---------------------------------------------------------- P

D---------------------------------------------------------- E

A---------------------------------------------------------- A

E---------------------------------------------------------- T

 

d u d u d u d u d u d u d u picking

 

..and finally. Try adding the F# and G on the E string...

 

E--------------12--14--15--14--12---------- R

B--12--13--15----------------------15--13-- E

G------------------------------------------ P

D------------------------------------------ E

A------------------------------------------ A

E------------------------------------------ T

 

d u d u d u d u d u picking

[Super Pudge]

This thread would be flooded with responses, if I would have asked about girl problems. Guitar forum my ass!

[WattsUrizen]

I learnt to shred from Troy Stetina's Speed Mechanics book.

[Super Pudge]

Originally posted by Anomandaris I learnt to shred from Troy Stetina's Speed Mechanics book.

 

 

Is it a pretty good book? Where can it be purchased from?

[WattsUrizen]

Originally posted by Super Pudge Is it a pretty good book? Where can it be purchased from?

 

 

I got it from a local store. Did the job for me. Just play through the exercises with the metronome. Seems to cover all the necessary techniques.

[PovertyBMX]

Originally posted by Super Pudge Is it a pretty good book? Where can it be purchased from?

 

 

I haven't actually read the book, but I've heard many good things. I'm asking for it for Christmas this year.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0793509629/qid=1036381210/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-4919718-0967166?v=glance&n=507846

[WattsUrizen]

Although, there are some things which I disregarded in his book, for instance:

----------4---------
-4--5--7-----7--5---

In this exercise, Troy asks this to be played strictly alternately, and no doubt there is great benefit in doing so.

However, this would mean playing the 4th fret on the upper string with an up stroke (assuming you begin with a downstroke) which is more difficult then sweeping to the upper string with the downstroke.

I dunno, I found my way to be faster, but I think if you did it the way Troy said, you would improve your technique.

[Super Pudge]

By the way, the Lesson Loft is a great idea!

[Super Pudge]

This is a pretty cool site that has some lessons on technique, scales, and some tab! Check it out!

www.guitarshred.com

[Super Pudge]

And of course, no shred thread would be complete without lessons from Mr. Vai:

http://www.vai.com/littleblackdots.html

[stevehollx]

Originally posted by Anomandaris Although, there are some things which I disregarded in his book, for instance: ----------4--------- -4--5--7-----7--5--- In this exercise, Troy asks this to be played strictly alternately, and no doubt there is great benefit in doing so. However, this would mean playing the 4th fret on the upper string with an up stroke (assuming you begin with a downstroke) which is more difficult then sweeping to the upper string with the downstroke. I dunno, I found my way to be faster, but I think if you did it the way Troy said, you would improve your technique.

 

 

I find the alt picking faster. I dont feel comfortable sweeping though...but one the sweep, you still have to change your picking direction. ITs just if you prefer before or after the note on the E string, I guess.

[Super Pudge]

I have been playing for 19 years and I highly advise people to take lessons. No matter how good you are, there is always someone who can teach you something new. Teachers will help you to understand music and give you goals to achieve.

It's really important to find a good teacher, lets face it, there are a lot of worthless teachers who thrive on students who lack the knowledge of music. The following is a link to a guide on how to choose the right teacher:

http://www.theshredzone.com/lessons/tom_hess/hess_choosing_a_teacher.htm

[Super Pudge]

Originally posted by stevehollx I find the alt picking faster. I dont feel comfortable sweeping though...but one the sweep, you still have to change your picking direction. ITs just if you prefer before or after the note on the E string, I guess.

 

 

Agreed!

[Super Pudge]

Originally posted by Super Pudge I have been playing for 19 years and I highly advise people to take lessons. No matter how good you are, there is always someone who can teach you something new. Teachers will help you to understand music and give you goals to achieve. It's really important to find a good teacher, lets face it, there are a lot of worthless teachers who thrive on students who lack the knowledge of music. The following is a link to a guide on how to choose the right teacher: http://www.theshredzone.com/lessons/tom_hess/hess_choosing_a_teacher.htm

 

 

Also, I like to mix it up a bit. I will take lessons from a teacher for a few months, and then search for someone else. It helps to learn from different people... it will open you up to more ideas!

[Super Pudge]

Joy Basu teaches at the Musicians Institute... check out this lick!

http://www.joybasu.com/lsn_2ndSoul.htm

[Super Pudge]

Oh yeah! You guys have to check out Mattias Eklundh! He is awesome. Check out his site... there are some great instructionals. He is Steve Vai's new baby, and his album "Freak Kitchen" is on Vai's label "Favored Nations".

[da_witch]

There is this one little exercise I like to do, it

[Alejandro D]

Originally posted by da_witch There is this one little exercise I like to do, it

[WattsUrizen]

Originally posted by stevehollx I find the alt picking faster. I dont feel comfortable sweeping though...but one the sweep, you still have to change your picking direction. ITs just if you prefer before or after the note on the E string, I guess.

I've been working on doing it with strictly alternate picking, which has helped my technique. I should note that if you start the pattern with an upstroke, then I find strictly alternate picking works fine, since you are picking 'inside' the strings when you change string. If you downpick first, then you move 'outside' which means more distance, which means more time and thus less speed.

However take the following example (a G harmonic minor scale):



-----------------------------3--
-------------------------4-7----
-------------------3-5-7--------
-------------4-5-7--------------
-------3-5-6--------------------
-3-5-6--------------------------

If you pick strictly alternately, then when you begin a string with a downstroke, the third note will be a downstroke, and the first note on the next string will be an upstroke. So you will be picking 'outside'. However, if you downstroke the third note on the string and sweep to the first note on the next string, you will have covered less distance, and only used one motion, so you can do this faster.

Of course, it just depends on what you feel comfortable with.

[TheAceOfSpades]

Originally posted by Super Pudge Oh yeah! You guys have to check out Mattias Eklundh! He is awesome. Check out his site... there are some great instructionals. He is Steve Vai's new baby, and his album "Freak Kitchen" is on Vai's label "Favored Nations".

 

 

Actually, Mattias's solo album is called Freak Guitar. The band he normally plays in is called Freak Kitchen. And yes, he is awesome.

[djmojo]

I was wondering if anyone could help me with actual positions of the picking hand, how to hold the pick properly, and picking exercises to develope proper technique...

these are all important to guitar, and very important to shred since proper technique will help yeild the fastest speeds without being sloppy and causing permanent damage.

Im trying to break out of bad habits like anchoring the pinky finger on the high E string, or using my index finger and thumb for all pick movements instead of it coming from the arm and wrist..

Im not sure exactly what Im supposed to be doing with holding the pick properly, if I have too much of the tip showing, or not enough or what... are there any good sites with some good pictures of this stuff? or anyone just post a couple digital photos maybe? or describe their methods? thanks in advance... long post.

[da_witch]

Originally posted by djmojo I was wondering if anyone could help me with actual positions of the picking hand, how to hold the pick properly, and picking exercises to develope proper technique... these are all important to guitar, and very important to shred since proper technique will help yeild the fastest speeds without being sloppy and causing permanent damage. Im trying to break out of bad habits like anchoring the pinky finger on the high E string, or using my index finger and thumb for all pick movements instead of it coming from the arm and wrist.. Im not sure exactly what Im supposed to be doing with holding the pick properly, if I have too much of the tip showing, or not enough or what... are there any good sites with some good pictures of this stuff? or anyone just post a couple digital photos maybe? or describe their methods? thanks in advance... long post.

 

Well, first of all, what kind of guitar do you play?

When you are using a guitar with a Floyd it is very important you mute the strings well

[djmojo]

Thanks so you are saying that anchoring your pinky is a bad idea? I was playing with my hand in a fist for a while, but its hard to stay int he right positions and you often miss strings, by anchoring my pinky on the bridge pickup I gain so much more control over where my hand is and how it moves... the only problem is I have this habbit of moving my index finger to pick and not my wrist... so Im trying to find a position which restricts movement but lets me anchor somewhere.

Im playing on a les paul studio, no floyd rose for obvious reasons

[da_witch]

Originally posted by djmojo Thanks so you are saying that anchoring your pinky is a bad idea? I was playing with my hand in a fist for a while, but its hard to stay int he right positions and you often miss strings, by anchoring my pinky on the bridge pickup I gain so much more control over where my hand is and how it moves... the only problem is I have this habbit of moving my index finger to pick and not my wrist... so Im trying to find a position which restricts movement but lets me anchor somewhere. Im playing on a les paul studio, no floyd rose for obvious reasons

Sorry for the late response!!!

Well, since you don

[djmojo]

Well I try to keep my hand relaxed anyways, and when I have my pinky anchored, its not too hard to stay relaxed, I just have a bad habit of tensing everything up and playing fast, so when I conciously try to stop doing that, it works fine, so Ill just need to get over the bad habits then

dont worry about the late response, nobody expects anyone else to be on here all the time except for the mods I guess, but as with any message board, when they take their eye off the place for an hour, that seems to be the time when the flaming starts...

what are some good shredding songs to learn that arent too hard and sound good if you just play a sample in a music store like pick up a guitar and just wail for a couple seconds, letting everyone know whos boss