Learn To Play Guitar Faster Using Simple Tricks That Remove Hidden Limitations Keeping Your Speed From Improving
It’s frustrating how often small, overlooked mistakes in
fundamental technique lead to tons of sloppy mistakes and frustration while playing
guitar fast.
Learning how to quickly correct these mistakes removes limitations on your guitar speed very quickly. This helps you overcome plateaus and play guitar faster than you previously thought possible.
Note: Playing guitar faster is a broad goal that improves in different ways over time through consistent and effective practice.
However, there many quick and easy things you can do to push yourself outside of your comfort zone so you: find and fix your weaknesses, remove limitations on your skills and become a faster guitarist in a short amount of time.
Use these simple easy tricks to quickly learn what is
holding your speed back so you play guitar faster in no
time:
Improve Your Bending Technique &
Ability To Adapt Using Heavier Strings
Adding bends and vibrato to the end of a fast guitar lick sounds killer!
…But have you ever played a guitar that wasn’t yours and
had much heavier strings on it than what you normally use? You probably had a
harder time bending and playing guitar at your normal level.
This problem is easily solved by either trying out heavier strings on your guitar or (if you own one) putting heavier strings on another guitar, playing an acoustic/classical guitar or playing a bass guitar.
This helps you quickly get used to the pressure needed to play with heavier strings, and greatly enhances the quality of your bending and vibrato on lighter strings whenever you play with them. This results in better technique to enhance fast guitar runs.
Play With Cleaner Speed By Not Looking At Your Fretting Hand While Playing
We often make mistakes on guitar if we lose sight of the
fretboard. This may seem obvious, but it hides a clue for how to become a
cleaner guitarist and play guitar faster with less effort.
Not being able to play guitar clean without looking at your fretting hand demonstrates that you do not have a strong enough mental map of the fretboard.
Have you ever watched a great guitar player during a live show? Chances are, they don’t spend the whole set looking at their fretting hand. Training yourself to play guitar without needing to look at the fretboard isn’t incredibly difficult either.
Add time to practice without looking at your guitar to
improve your mental map of the fretboard and strengthen your ability to play
patterns/licks without hesitation. Do this using small scale/arpeggio patterns
or licks until you are able to build up to larger ones.
Improve Your Rhythmic Timing And/Or Creativity By Practicing With And Without Metronome
Effective guitar practice doesn’t always depend on using a metronome. However, some people never use one and discover that they are unable to play in time when they finally do. On the other hand, some guitarists always use a metronome and get into the habit of playing with the same exact note rhythms (making their soloing become too predictable).
Whether you fall into one camp or the other, insert a little time into your practice to practice with and without a metronome. Then look for any weaknesses in your timing or note rhythm variation to know what you need to work on to make it sound more creative and rhythmically tight while playing fast guitar solos.
Play Fast Guitar Licks Cleaner By
Keeping Both Hands In Time Practicing Using Clean Settings
Simply changing your amp settings to “clean” every once in a while makes a world of difference for your guitar playing accuracy. When you play without distortion, you are able to hear muffled notes that occur due to not having your hands in perfect sync. This is often overlooked because it’s harder to hear (and feel) while using distortion.
Instantly Speed Up Your Tremolo Picking With A Heavier Pick
Thin picks hold back fast guitar playing because they bend to stay in contact with the string longer. Simply using a heavier pick solves this problem to instantly improve your tremolo picking speed with no effort.
Improve Your Ability To Play Guitar Fast
& Clean Under Pressure By Performing For Others
It’s infinitely easier to play guitar fast and clean when no
one is looking than when everyone is watching you and listening to every note.
This puts an intangible pressure on you to play correctly and makes it harder.
Simply playing guitar for friends or family often shows you where your skill level is at in this area. However, playing for people you don’t know or just met amplifies this pressure to really put your playing skills to the test!
Anytime you meet someone new, ask to play something for them on guitar. Then look to see the notes you messed up and ask yourself what went wrong. Sometimes nervousness is enough to cause mistakes. Other times you notice huge mistakes you never would’ve seen before while playing guitar alone in your room (especially when it comes to improvising!).