# I need advice on shredding.



## djpharoah (Apr 23, 2007)

K - all my guitar life I have been a riffer. I learn riffs or I make them up.

Now that I have a beautiful guitar I want to learn how to shred. Any advice, tricks, techniques or whatever to help me do so would be awesome.


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## Aghorasilat (Apr 23, 2007)

1) get a metronome
2) Paul Gilbert's Intense rock 1 video
3) Learn to Sweep
4) Learn to pick w/alternate & Economy picking
5) Learn to tap with more than one finger
6) Learn Legato
7) Learn all your modes & scales & Arpeggios & how to use them
8) Learn to Phrase over any musical context & Style
9) Learn to play over changes
10) DO EVERYTHING THAT RELATES TO CHOPS w/ a METRONOME.
11)Check out Chopsfromhell.com

peace

Santiago Dobles
www.myspace.com/aghora
www.aghora.org


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## distressed_romeo (Apr 23, 2007)

Aghorasilat said:


> 1) get a metronome
> 2) Paul Gilbert's Intense rock 1 video
> 3) Learn to Sweep
> 4) Learn to pick w/alternate & Economy picking
> ...



What he said.


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## Gilbucci (Apr 23, 2007)

An awesome DVD to start with is Rusty Cooley's Basic Training. He goes over the fundementals of Legato and Alternate picking. You can download it straight from the site for only $20.


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## Mike_Philippov (Sep 13, 2007)

Another thing (in addition to all the things mentioned) is to find a teacher who can shred and can teach you how to as well... that way you can ensure the fastest progress possible.

Mike Philippov


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## Nick (Sep 13, 2007)

i need to sort my alternate picking out i have a bad habbit of just going with the flow of string changes rather than being stricktly up down up down up down

im by no means a shredder either but im currently working on some necrophagist stuff (fermented offal discharge solo) 

Its taking me ages but im slowly working my way through it. i find that learning things you like is a really good way to keep yourself interested and challanged at the same time.

guitar pro helps a lot for this.

thanks to all you crazy tabbers out there


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## kmanick (Sep 13, 2007)

Aghorasilat said:


> 1) get a metronome
> 2) Paul Gilbert's Intense rock 1 video
> 3) Learn to Sweep
> 4) Learn to pick w/alternate & Economy picking
> ...


 
Ya that sounds about right  , especially # 10.


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## Ken (Sep 13, 2007)

12) Avoid the temptation to circumvent 1-11. It's easy to take short cuts, and the road is MUCH longer because of them.


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## distressed_romeo (Sep 13, 2007)

Ken said:


> 12) Avoid the temptation to circumvent 1-11. It's easy to take short cuts, and the road is MUCH longer because of them.


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## Drew (Sep 13, 2007)

Aghorasilat said:


> *1) get a metronome*
> 2) Paul Gilbert's Intense rock 1 video
> 3) Learn to Sweep
> 4) Learn to pick w/alternate & Economy picking
> ...



Agreed. I'd also recommend picking up Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar, and Petrucci's Rock dicipline. 

Also, forget the term "shred." Learn to play lead rather than learn to shred - it's a simple distinction, but a lot of the mindset is what's wrong with shred in general, and what's right with the true masters of the genre. If I were you, I'd go RIGHT THIS MINUTE and learn the outro solo to "Comfortably Numb," before you even start metronome practice. Ultimately, there's only a handful of players I've ever heard match the artistry of that solo, and learning to phrase like that is just as important as learning to play 16ths at 205bpm.


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## distressed_romeo (Sep 13, 2007)

Drew said:


> Agreed. I'd also recommend picking up Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar, and Petrucci's Rock dicipline.
> 
> Also, forget the term "shred." Learn to play lead rather than learn to shred - it's a simple distinction, but a lot of the mindset is what's wrong with shred in general, and what's right with the true masters of the genre. If I were you, I'd go RIGHT THIS MINUTE and learn the outro solo to "Comfortably Numb," before you even start metronome practice. Ultimately, there's only a handful of players I've ever heard match the artistry of that solo, and learning to phrase like that is just as important as learning to play 16ths at 205bpm.



GREAT advice. Hell, just taking the time to develop a decent vibrato will put you leagues ahead of most wannabe-shredders.


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## ShawnFjellstad (Sep 13, 2007)

i was going to chime in, but it all seems pretty covered!
do everything they said, now!


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## soldierkahn (Sep 13, 2007)

well folks, instead of BUYING a metronome, use a program like "Fruity Loops". You can sit there and make singles, doubles, triplets and quads to help train you on FF-esque style riffing, while still staying in time. 

what i do to make some of my rhythmns is when i hear it in my head, ill actually map it out on the program, then pick up the guitar and learn the rhythm by practicing it with the program. then once i learn it and have it solid, switch it over to a standard 4/4 beat with regular drums, and WOWOWOWOWOW!!!!! 

herhehe, just my two cents


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## shadowgenesis (Sep 13, 2007)

Drew said:


> If I were you, I'd go RIGHT THIS MINUTE and learn the outro solo to "Comfortably Numb," before you even start metronome practice. Ultimately, there's only a handful of players I've ever heard match the artistry of that solo, and learning to phrase like that is just as important as learning to play 16ths at 205bpm.



yeah. learn from the ground up. I think guys who develop chops before they develop phrasing and melody severely hurt their own creative growth.


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## Drew (Sep 13, 2007)

soldierkahn said:


> well folks, instead of BUYING a metronome, use a program like "Fruity Loops". You can sit there and make singles, doubles, triplets and quads to help train you on FF-esque style riffing, while still staying in time.
> 
> what i do to make some of my rhythmns is when i hear it in my head, ill actually map it out on the program, then pick up the guitar and learn the rhythm by practicing it with the program. then once i learn it and have it solid, switch it over to a standard 4/4 beat with regular drums, and WOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!
> 
> herhehe, just my two cents



Yeah, I use Fruity Loops too. It's nice to have a metronome lying around - a lot of the time I'll do scale lines and drills on my acoustic in the living room - but I'd rather practice against a 16th-note hi-hat groove with a simple kick/snare thing going on to accent down beats than a simple click.


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## Groff (Sep 13, 2007)

Drew said:


> Agreed. I'd also recommend picking up Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar



I recommend this book too!

It has great exercises over a broad range of techniques.

 this book. It's given me some great ideas, and has improved my comfort on the fretboard.



Drew said:


> Yeah, I use Fruity Loops too. It's nice to have a metronome lying around - a lot of the time I'll do scale lines and drills on my acoustic in the living room - but I'd rather practice against a 16th-note hi-hat groove with a simple kick/snare thing going on to accent down beats than a simple click.



Or guitar pro.

It may be midi... But it's cheap and easy.


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## Drew (Sep 13, 2007)

...whereas Fruity Loops is free and easier.  

But yeah, learning how to play 32nd sweep arpeggios is cool and all, but it's also kind of important to learn the vocabulary of rock lead guitar before jumping straight into Rusty Cooley land. My suggestion would be to start doing chromatic drills and excersizes and whatnot, but also learn some Floyd and some Jimi - "Time," "Comfortably Numb," "Hey Joe," whatever. Just get the basic lead guitar vocabulary down, because 90% of "shred" players are drawing at least in part on the groundwork these guys laid down.


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## Groff (Sep 13, 2007)

Drew said:


> ...whereas Fruity Loops is free and easier.



I've seen the demo floating around... but i've never seen a full version that was free... And legal.


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## Drew (Sep 13, 2007)

Oh, I just use the demo.  It's fully functional, you just can't save. You can still export looks (win) and it takes all of 30 seconds to program a click (win). Clearly, it's a win-win situation.


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## Metal Ken (Sep 13, 2007)

rather than paying for fruity loops, just go to metronomeonline.com ;D


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## JPET (Sep 14, 2007)

I am also going to recommend a book -
BUT NOT because it's going to teach you how to shred...but more because it's going to teach you how to use what you learn in other books and make total musical sense out of it.

If you already know your "six note patterns" that petrucci teaches in his rock discipline; or if you already know all 5 modes of the pentatonic scale, then this will help you make sense of it all - and connect on the fretboard across, forward, backward AND Diagonally!

IT was written by John Petrucci's teacher, and mine, From Berklee - the imcomprable Mr. Jon Finn.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0786668660/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-2441523-0700646#reader-link

it's inexpensive and it's kind of like the bible for figuring out the fretboard...
Or if you can afford the real thing, go take lessons from Jon himself - he's a great teacher.

OH - and one more thing. Shredding is just playing fast - but first you need to know what you're playing. Shawn Lane played so fast and shredded SO HARD, that you can barely make out what he's playing, but if you slow it down (amazing slower downer, or similar) it's actually REALLY beautiful melodic lines. (most of the time)


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## shredlord (Sep 16, 2007)

yeah, everything said so far is great advice. Also, im certainly no shredder, yet(im trying) but one thing i can say is LEARN THE BASICS! i.e. bending in tune, vibrato. simple lead techniques like that are WAY more important than learning how to alternate pick 16ths at 2000000bpm.

oh, and rock dicipline =


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## Blackrg (Oct 16, 2007)

+100 for Rock Discipline  

You can get it in Guitarpro format

Never knew what the fuss was about Jon Petrucci..now i do

Also Michael Angelo Speed kills is good for picking drill


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 16, 2007)

This reminds me...there's an excellent Guthrie Govan article on fast playing in the last issue of Guitar Techniques. This one wasn't just a collection of Pablo/Yngwie licks; there were some cool 'burst' exercises and 313 legato lines in it.


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## evilscribbler (Oct 16, 2007)

Aghorasilat said:


> 1) get a metronome
> 2) Paul Gilbert's Intense rock 1 video
> 3) Learn to Sweep
> 4) Learn to pick w/alternate & Economy picking
> ...



Everything he said, everything everyone else said and this:

Go slow, If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast. It that simple. 

Set the metronome at a nice sedate speed and don't - DON'T - increase your pace until you have the lick, riff, phrase, solo or whatever, nailed at that speed .... If you try to sprint before you can jog, you just get a nasty, flappy finger, Slayer-sounding noise. And no-one wants that.

then take it up a sensible notch - say another 5-10 beats and so on and so forth until you are at the speed YOU want: and remember, you're trying to play like you. Rusty Cooley already exists, as does Impelliteri etc.

It's fine - necessary - to learn from the masters , study them, even copy their work, but at the end of the day you have to play like you and that includes discovering at what speed the shred-o-meter feels most comfortable at for you at this time ... you will get faster, better, more comfortable with time and correct practice. 

Take your time, enjoy, practice, practice, practice and keep us all up to date with how you're doing ...


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## InTheRavensName (Oct 16, 2007)

joins a band, learns to improvises 

...and what they saids


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## Gilbucci (Oct 16, 2007)

evilscribbler said:


> Everything he said, everything everyone else said and this:
> 
> Go slow, If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast. It that simple.
> 
> ...


Nailed it there. Comparing yourself to other people is really discouraging. Everyone has their own unique strengths. Just take it slow and most important of all..ENJOY what you're doing.


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## Kakaka (Oct 16, 2007)

Everything Paul Gilbert teaches...
There are tons of his videos on YouTube, and specially his string skipping and alternate picking lessons are a must.
Even emulating his picking technique has helped me lots on string-skipping-alternate-picking licks.
 Kind of obvious I think...


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## guitarplayerone (Oct 16, 2007)

everyone has everything covered except for this...

I COMPLETELY DISAGREE with the metronome thing later on- blasphemy? let me explain

its good to learn how to subdivide but you shouldnt 'pressure' your speed using a metronome... you arent fast enough due to faulty technique and/or underdeveloped muscles... only practice will change this...

meaning it doesnt really matter how long you sit with a metronome for the first year or so you learn how to shred... you wont get past a certain threshold of 'fast' by putting more hours in/ you wont get to 300BPM by spending 299 hours practicing with a metronome, increasing by 1 bpm per hour (believe me i tried).

the metronome is important- more accurate yes, more fast no...

what im going for is, if youre slower than you want, sit there, and at 20 BPM learn the most economical picking motions...
then use a metro to speed it up to maybe 120.(16ths).

then forget about all this, go learn some theory, or go jam, but still do some exercises with your newfound method of picking for a few months, paying special attention to economy.

youll rip

when alternate picking, I do something cooley does, but didnt realize it, until i watched some vids.

try to constantly pick up/down on one plane with your WRIST, and use your arm to move your wrist up and down ensuring that each string gets picked the same way.

DO NOT PICK completely WITH YOUR ARM or STAY IN ONE PLACE ON THE BRIDGE AND TILT YOUR WRIST. You will be cleaner than either by doing what i mentioned above.

remember, its all muscle memory

just my 2 cents


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 17, 2007)

^^^^^^Good post. 

I often think there's a grain of truth in the old Paco De Lucia quote; 'if guitarists thought less about their technique they'd probably have better technique'. It's easy to fall into the trap of turning practice into weight-training, but in my experience it's almost invariably counterproductive.

Incidentally, my picking is a similar mix of wrist and arm movement.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Oct 17, 2007)

Tense your arm up real tight, and move your picking hand as fast as you can. Make sure you move your entire arm. Then just go meedly meedly with your fingers.


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 17, 2007)

ZOMG!!!!! SONIC MOTION!!!!!!1!!!!!


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## Jongpil Yun (Oct 18, 2007)

guitarplayerone said:


> meaning it doesnt really matter how long you sit with a metronome for the first year or so you learn how to shred... you wont get past a certain threshold of 'fast' by putting more hours in/ you wont get to 300BPM by spending 299 hours practicing with a metronome, increasing by 1 bpm per hour (believe me i tried).
> 
> the metronome is important- more accurate yes, more fast no...
> 
> ...



This is valid advice, but under one condition.

You can fret at tremolo picking speeds.

If you can't at least do 1234 chromatics while picking as fast as you can, you need to practice coordination. Your raw speed won't go up (ie, how fast you can twitch your picking hand) but the speed that you can actually play at will.


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## guitarplayerone (Oct 22, 2007)

Jongpil Yun said:


> This is valid advice, but under one condition.
> 
> You can fret at tremolo picking speeds.
> 
> If you can't at least do 1234 chromatics while picking as fast as you can, you need to practice coordination. Your raw speed won't go up (ie, how fast you can twitch your picking hand) but the speed that you can actually play at will.



Im talking about picking slow, not fast. Very little music requires raw tremolo picking speed (black metal, maybe some other stuff)

If you pick more economically slow, youll pick better fast. Im 100% against going 'as fast as possible' with both hands and hoping it syncs up. It sounds like garbage when people do that
btw imho zetronome is the best metronome program


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