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4 Tips For Shredding On Your Electric Guitar

By James Hill

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Published: 08Jul2009
Word count: 467
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Learning how to play electric guitar can be difficult for most people. Taking it to the next level and learning to shred on your electric guitar is a goal that many fall short of. It doesn't have to be that way though. There are some simple tips that will help you master the art of shredding.

Tip # 1 - Repetition

The single most important way to increase your speed is to use a drum machine or metronome. Start by playing the lick, solo or lead slowly and clean. Gradually increase the speed using your metronome or drum machine. Be patient. This process could take days or even weeks to master the piece of music you are learning. Remember, this is repetition and it could take hundreds or even thousands of times for you to play it perfectly at full speed.

Tip # 2 - Fingering

When playing guitar, fingering is important at any speed. But, it becomes crucial when shredding. You can actually get by with sloppy or bizarre fingering when playing slowly. If you try to increase the tempo of the song though using that same sloppy fingering, you will inevitably run into problems. You will usually reach your speed limit very quickly.

This is when it becomes time to study your fingering choices and make some changes. To truly shred, you have to be efficient with your fingering choices. You will usually have to relearn the lick or phrase using these new changes, because it changes how your subconscious performs the lick.

Tip # 3 - Picking Technique

To truly shred, the piece of music you are learning needs to be analyzed for the most effecient way to pick the notes. This can include alternate picking, hammers and pulls, sweep arpeggios and many other techniques. The key is effeciency. Minimize the movement of the pick as much as is possible.

Do not flick your pick when trying to shred. Shredding demands a very effecient motion, almost machine like. When shredding, the emotion is conveyed through the choice of notes, not the way the note is played. It is very different from playing the blues or jazz.

Tip # 4 - Teach the Subconscious

This is a vital part of shredding. You must be able to play a lick, lead or phrase without consciously thinking about the choice of notes. One way to achieve this to distract your conscious mind by watching TV or anything else while repeating the lick with a metronome or drum machine. An even better test is if you can read and comprehend what you're reading while playing along with a metronome. This will be difficult until you get the lick firmly established in your subconscious. But, the dividends will be well worth it.

Use all of these techniques and see how quickly your ability to shred will improve.

James Hill is a multi-instramentalist musician. He plays in Praise and Worship bands and develops web sites. To get more helpful guitar tips or see a full line of guitar instructional videos check ==> http://www.howtoplayelectricguitar.org

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