You're reading this because you want guitar speed. Maybe you want to play more intense music. Maybe you just want the praise from band mates, friends, family, and the chicks.
And by the end of this article, I promise you'll know what you need to do to get blazing fast on your instrument in a short amount of time. Even if you believe you can't get there and you've tried it all.
This isn't another piece of common advice. I'm talking rocking, rip-roaring notes flying from your fingertips like a baseball card hitting the spokes of a bike. This is something little known about being a monster musician. I'm talking about a type of speed you can attain even if you practice less than an hour a day. And it's still impressive.
What I'm talking about is legato. Legato means smooth and connected. It's basically playing all hammer-ons and pull-offs.
Most guitarists know how to play legato style on the pentatonic scales and a little on the 3-note-per-string diatonic scales. The result is more like a bag of tricks than freedom.
The guitar speed you want is free flowing from mode to mode, from fret 1 to fret 22. You want to be an absolute animal on guitar. But you're not really willing to put in the 8 to 12 hours of practicing a day like Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. Or else you'd be there already.
Well, I'm with you! I don't want to practice all that much either. Because I just like to rock and have a life. My playing is influenced by my experiences in my life and if it weren't for those, I'd be playing a bunch of stale music. It wouldn't be worth it.
On the contrary, my man, you want to actually enjoy playing.
Okay, so what you need to learn are different tactics for attacking legato playing on 3 and 4-note-per-string scales (4-note-per-string scales I'm talking about are called tetrachords).
Here are some legato technique tips:
- Hammer-on and pull-off 7 times on the 3 notes of each string.
- Climb with hammer-ons for 6 notes and pull-off back 3 notes, then continue hammering-on with 6 notes, and continue pulling-off back 3 notes, and so on.
- Hammer-on 3 notes, skip a string, hammer-on all three notes, pull-off 5 notes back, and from that point repeat the string skipping process.
Can you visualize what I'm talking about in your mind? If so, you have 3 new ways to play all 7 modes all over your guitar very fast.
Think about how you can apply these techniques to your pentatonic scales when cutting across your fretboard as well. Think of cutting across your fretboard in 5 note octaves and you can use these same guitar speed techniques to tare up that guitar.
Once you master these tactics, you'll be able to attack your guitar in wild new ways. What's crazy is you'll unlock the type of playing that's been amazing you for years. Even crazier, playing it legato you can play like a legend by practicing less than 1 hour a day.
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