Electric Guitar Tips&Tricks #2 - Speed Picking Part 2

What's up, Steemians! Time for my second Electric Guitar Tips&Tricks. I'm really happy with your support of my previous post and I hope you will find this one just as good and as informative!

First things first, here's a little sample of my performance of the speed picking riff from my previous post:

I will try to break it down for you in the next post with more practical exercices and today I would still like to focus on more theoretical guitar tips connected to speed picking. Let's get down to business then, here is some more advice on how to improve your speed picking:

Listen to what you're playing

Last time I talked a lot about more physical aspects connected to speed picking technique but let's not forget the important point here: you have to listen to what you're playing. You want your speed picking riffs to sound musical. You want to have dynamics, of course to a certain degree cause this is metal guitar we are talking about here. Listen to what is coming out of your amp or your speakers and let your ears be your judge.

Practise with a metronome

As you can hear in my video, I do practise with a metronome. Good rhythm guitar is tight rhythm guitar. Metronome will also give you a reference of where you stopped at during your last guitar practice and will help you to keep track of what you are aiming for.

The core of your sound comes from your right hand, not from your gain knob

Of course you do want your riffs to sound big and crushing but, at the same time, you want to have control over your sound. A lot of distortion can often cover your imperfections but it won't compensate for your tone. The heart of your sound is within you and the way you deliver. When we talk about speed picking, it is your right hand that makes your sound unique and either good or bad.

Learn to play your rhythm guitar patterns on drums

Actually, a table will do. Bang the rhythm you want to play with your hands before you start learning it on guitar. Make sure you know the exact number of notes and feel the pulse of a riff or exercise you practise. You have to hear the pattern in your mind first before you can execute it on guitar.

Go beyond the pain barrier

When speed picking at high tempos, say above 210 BPM, you will feel pain in your arm, regardless of how good or bad your technique is. To take the next step when practising - go beyond the pain barrier. Accept the feeling of discomfort as long as your technique is intact and try to go a little longer to cross the physical and psychological barrier. Be very mindful though and don't push too far, you don't want to get inured and take a break from playing.

Choose the right guitar pick

Choosing the right guitar pick does influence your tone but there are no right or wrong answers here, in my opinion. A good pick is a pick that suits your technique, your tuning, your guitar set-up and the gauge of strings you're using. I personally like 0.73mm Dunlop Tortex picks but it doesn't mean that this will work for you. Buy a few different picks, listen to how they sound and check out how they feel. I normally need to play for an hour or so before the pick gets a bit worn to get my optimal sound.

7/30/365

Work on your technique 7 days a week with days off only few and far between. It is better to practise half an hour a day every day than 4 hours every 3 days. Manage your time right and try to find time to practise as often as possible.

Listen to other musicians' feedback

Last but not least, let other people tell you what they think about your sound and your techique. Listen to those who are better and worse than you, you can learn something from every musician. I personally got my speed picking technique right because of a comment of a fellow musician who was way less experienced and proficient at guitar than I was at that time. I am very thankful to him for giving me his feedback that made me change my technique. Be humble as a musician, always.

That's it for today, guys. I hope you have found my advice useful. I will get back to you as soon as possible with some practical exercices that will help you to develop your speed picking. Thank you for your feedback, resteems and upvotes. Stay tuned for more guitar content.

Earworm