Speed Playing

In this lesson were going to cover all aspects of playing fast guitar, including speed picked runs, legato phrases and economy picking phrases. Hopefully at the end of this lesson you should have some useful warm up excersises, tips on all picking aspects and lots of excersises to practise with.

This lesson will be split into 5 sections :

1. Warm up excersises
2. Alternative picking
3. Economy picking
4. Legato playing
5. Using these tips musically

Warm Up Excersises

These are a list of simple excersises that are useful for quickly warming up both your hands before playing these excersises. I use these almost everyday and they don't take long but they get your hands all warmed up, getting blood into your hands and getting the muscles pumped into your fingers so after a quick few excersises you feel like youve been playing for hours.

First were going to warm up, were going to give all your fingers are work out. The main focus of warming up fast though is to aim to get your index and pinky fingers warmed up as the rest of the hand will follow. Lets get started:

E|----------------------1h2p1------------------------------------------2h3-
B|------------------1h2-------2p1----------------------------------2h3-----
G|--------------1h2---------------2p1--------------------------2h3---------
D|----------1h2-----------------------2p1------------------2h3-------------
A|------1h2-------------------------------2p1----------2h3-----------------
E|--1h2---------------------------------------2p1--2h3---------------------

E|--3p2-----------------------------------------3h4p3-----------------------
B|------3p2---------------------------------3h4-------4p3-------------------
G|----------3p2-------------------------3h4---------------4p3---------------
D|--------------3p2-----------------3h4-----------------------4p3-----------
A|------------------3p2---------3h4-------------------------------4p3-------
E|----------------------3p2-3h4---------------------------------------4p3---

E|----------------------4h5p4-----------------------------------------5h6---
B|------------------4h5-------5p4---------------------------------5h6-------
G|--------------4h5---------------5p4-------------------------5h6-----------
D|----------4h5-----------------------5p4-----------------5h6---------------
A|------4h5-------------------------------5p4---------5h6-------------------
E|--4h5---------------------------------------5p4-5h6-----------------------

E|--6p5-----------------------------------------6h7p6-----------------------
B|------6p5---------------------------------6h7-------7p6-------------------
G|----------6p5-------------------------6h7---------------7p6---------------
D|--------------6p5-----------------6h7-----------------------7p6-----------
A|------------------6p5---------6h7-------------------------------7p6-------
E|----------------------6p5-6h7---------------------------------------7p6---

This is an excersise which can be replayed with any 2 fingers. To also aide your picking hand you can alternate pick descending ( up, down, up) and sweep (up, up, up) ascending, or mix it up, but don't worry the main aim is to warm up your fretting hand fingers. With this excersise use:

1. Index and middle
2. Middle and ring
3. Ring and pinky

Next:

E|----------------------1h3p1-----------------------------------------2h4-
B|------------------1h3------3p1----------------------------------2h4-----
G|--------------1h3--------------3p1--------------------------2h4---------
D|----------1h3----------------------3p1------------------2h4-------------
A|------1h3------------------------------3p1----------2h4-----------------
E|--1h3--------------------------------------3p1--2h4---------------------

E|--4p2-----------------------------------------3h5p3-----------------------
B|------4p2---------------------------------3h5-------5p3-------------------
G|----------4p2-------------------------3h5---------------5p3---------------
D|--------------4p2-----------------3h5-----------------------5p3-----------
A|------------------4p2---------3h5-------------------------------5p3-------
E|----------------------4p2-3h5---------------------------------------5p3---

E|----------------------4h6p4-----------------------------------------5h7---
B|------------------4h6-------6p4---------------------------------5h7-------
G|--------------4h6---------------6p4-------------------------5h7-----------
D|----------4h6-----------------------6p4-----------------5h7---------------
A|------4h6-------------------------------6p4---------5h7-------------------
E|--4h6---------------------------------------6p4-5h7-----------------------

E|--7p5-----------------------------------------6h8p6-----------------------
B|------7p5---------------------------------6h8-------8p6-------------------
G|----------7p5-------------------------6h8---------------8p6---------------
D|--------------7p5-----------------6h8-----------------------8p6-----------
A|------------------7p5---------6h8-------------------------------8p6-------
E|----------------------7p5-6h8---------------------------------------8p6---

Ok this time use:

1. Index and ring fingers
2. Middle and pinky fingers

Next:

E|--------------------------------1h2h3p2p1---------------------------------
B|--------------------------1h2h3-----------3p2p1---------------------------
G|--------------------1h2h3-----------------------3p2p1---------------------
D|--------------1h2h3-----------------------------------3p2p1---------------
A|--------1h2h3-----------------------------------------------3p2p1---------
E|--1h2h3----------------------------------------------------------3p2p1----

E|--------------------------------2h3h4p3p2---------------------------------
B|--------------------------2h3h5-----------4p3p2---------------------------
G|--------------------2h3h4-----------------------4p3p2---------------------
D|--------------2h3h4-----------------------------------4p3p2---------------
A|--------2h3h4----------------------------------------------4p3p2----------
E|--2h3h4----------------------------------------------------------4p3p2----

E|--------------------------------3h4h5p4p3---------------------------------
B|--------------------------3h4h5-----------5p4p3---------------------------
G|--------------------3h4h5-----------------------5p4p3---------------------
D|--------------3h4h5-----------------------------------5p4p3---------------
A|--------2h4h5----------------------------------------------5p4p3----------
E|--3h4h5----------------------------------------------------------5p4p3----

E|--------------------------------4h5h6p5p4---------------------------------
B|--------------------------4h5h6-----------6p5p4---------------------------
G|--------------------4h5h6-----------------------6p5p4---------------------
D|--------------4h5h6-----------------------------------6p5p4---------------
A|--------4h5h6----------------------------------------------6p5p4----------
E|--4h5h6----------------------------------------------------------6p5p4----

E|--------------------------------5h6h7p6p5---------------------------------
B|--------------------------5h6h7-----------7p6p5---------------------------
G|--------------------5h6h7-----------------------7p6p5---------------------
D|--------------5h6h7-----------------------------------7p6p5---------------
A|--------5h6h7----------------------------------------------7p6p5----------
E|--5h6h7----------------------------------------------------------7p6p5----

This time use:

1. Index ,middle and ring fingers
2. Middle ,ring and pinky fingers

Next:

E|--------------------------------1h2h4p2p1---------------------------------
B|--------------------------1h2h4-----------4p2p1---------------------------
G|--------------------1h2h4-----------------------4p2p1---------------------
D|--------------1h2h4-----------------------------------4p2p1---------------
A|--------1h2h4----------------------------------------------4p2p1----------
E|--1h2h4----------------------------------------------------------4p2p1----

E|--------------------------------2h3h5p3p2---------------------------------
B|--------------------------2h3h5-----------5p3p2---------------------------
G|--------------------2h3h5-----------------------5p3p2---------------------
D|--------------2h3h5-----------------------------------5p3p2---------------
A|--------2h3h5----------------------------------------------5p3p2----------
E|--2h3h5----------------------------------------------------------5p3p2----

E|--------------------------------3h4h6p4p3---------------------------------
B|--------------------------3h4h6-----------6p4p3---------------------------
G|--------------------3h4h6-----------------------6p4p3---------------------
D|--------------3h4h6-----------------------------------6p4p3---------------
A|--------3h4h6----------------------------------------------6p4p3----------
E|--3h4h6----------------------------------------------------------6p4p3----

E|--------------------------------4h5h7p5p4---------------------------------
B|--------------------------4h5h7-----------7p5p4---------------------------
G|--------------------4h5h7-----------------------7p5p4---------------------
D|--------------4h5h7-----------------------------------7p5p4---------------
A|--------4h5h7----------------------------------------------7p5p4----------
E|--4h5h7----------------------------------------------------------7p5p4----

This one uses:

1. Index ,middle and pinky

Next:

E|--------------------------------1h3h4p3p1---------------------------------
B|--------------------------1h3h4-----------4p3p1---------------------------
G|--------------------1h3h4-----------------------4p3p1---------------------
D|--------------1h3h4-----------------------------------4p3p1---------------
A|--------1h3h4----------------------------------------------4p3p1----------
E|--1h3h4----------------------------------------------------------4p3p1----

E|--------------------------------2h4h5p4p2---------------------------------
B|--------------------------2h4h5-----------5p4p2---------------------------
G|--------------------2h4h5-----------------------5p4p2---------------------
D|--------------2h4h5-----------------------------------5p4p2---------------
A|--------2h4h5----------------------------------------------5p4p2----------
E|--2h4h5----------------------------------------------------------5p4p2----

E|--------------------------------3h5h6p5p3---------------------------------
B|--------------------------3h5h6-----------6p5p3---------------------------
G|--------------------3h5h6-----------------------6p5p3---------------------
D|--------------3h5h6-----------------------------------6p5p3---------------
A|--------3h5h6----------------------------------------------6p5p3----------
E|--3h5h6----------------------------------------------------------6p5p3----

E|--------------------------------4h6h7p6p4---------------------------------
B|--------------------------4h6h7-----------7p6p4---------------------------
G|--------------------4h6h7-----------------------7p6p4---------------------
D|--------------4h6h7-----------------------------------7p6p4---------------
A|--------4h6h7----------------------------------------------7p6p4----------
E|--4h6h7----------------------------------------------------------7p6p4----

This one uses:

1. Index ,ring and pinky fingers.

Last one now:

E|------------------------------------------1h2h3h4p3p2p1----------------
B|----------------------------------1h2h3h4---------------4p3p2p1--------
G|--------------------------1h2h3h4-------------------------------4p3p2p1
D|------------------1h2h3h4----------------------------------------------
A|----------1h2h3h4------------------------------------------------------
E|--1h2h3h4--------------------------------------------------------------

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|--4p3p2p1-------------------------------------------------2h3h4h5------
D|----------4p3p2p1---------------------------------2h3h4h5--------------
A|------------------4p3p2p1-----------------2h3h4h5----------------------
E|--------------------------4p3p2p1 2h3h4h5------------------------------

E|----------2h3h4h5p4p3p2------------------------------------------------
B|--2h3h4h5---------------5p4p3p2----------------------------------------
G|--------------------------------5p4p3p2--------------------------------
D|----------------------------------------5p4p3p2------------------------
A|------------------------------------------------5p4p3p2----------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------5p4p3p2-3h4h5h6

E|----------------------------------3h4h5h6p5p4p3------------------------
B|--------------------------3h4h5h6---------------6p5p4p3----------------
G|------------------3h4h5h6-------------------------------6p5p4p3--------
D|----------3h4h5h6-----------------------------------------------6p5p4p3
A|--3h4h5h6--------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|----------------------------------------------------------4h5h6h7------
B|--------------------------------------------------4h5h6h7--------------
G|------------------------------------------4h5h6h7----------------------
D|----------------------------------4h5h6h7------------------------------
A|--6p5p4p3-----------------4h5h5h7--------------------------------------
E|----------6p5p4p3-4h5h6h7----------------------------------------------

E|--7p6p5p4--------------------------------------------------------------
B|----------7p6p5p4------------------------------------------------------
G|------------------7p6p5p4----------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------7p6p5p4--------------------------------------
A|----------------------------------7p6p5p4------------------------------
E|------------------------------------------7p6p5p4----------------------

You can pretty much guess what fingers are required here. Now you should be very warmed up, as mentioned earlier some of these hammer-ons and pull offs are quite hard and instead just pick the notes if it's easier.

Alternative Picking

Alternative picking is probably the hardest, used by players like Michael Angelo and Buckethead, this picking style involves picking up and then down repeatly. Even if your changing strings you will have to have a constant up, down, up, down pattern. Alternative picking gives an aggressive, attacking sound when played. Below is a small excersise and we will discuss tips on getting your alternative picking accurate:

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-----------12-13-12----------------12-13-12----------------12-13-12----
A|--12-14-15----------15-14-12-14-15----------15-14-12-14-15-------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U

This is a simple repeat lick excersise, you can play this sort of thing almost anywhere to feel comfortable but we will use this one now for starters. Play this lick constantly using the up, down, up, down motion. So the main issue I'm sure you'l find here is the upstroke on the string change down and the downstroke on the string change up. Practise this likc super slow and build up speed then try these:

E|--8-7-------------------7-8-7-------------------7-8-7------------------
B|------8-7-----------7-8-------8-7-----------7-8-------8-7--------------
G|----------8-7-5-7-8---------------8-7-5-7-8---------------8-7-5--------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
   D U D U D U D U D  U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D

E|--------------------12-14-15-14-12----------------------------------12-
B|-----------12-14-15----------------15-14-12----------------12-14-15----
G|--12-14-15----------------------------------15-14-12-14-15-------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
     D  U  D U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D

E|-----------10----------------10----------------10----------------10----
B|--------11----11----------11----11----------11----11----------11-------
G|-----12----------12----12----------12----12----------12----12----------
D|--11----------------11----------------11----------------11-------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U

That last one may seem tricky, as it's so tempting to sweep/economy pick it, but if you can pull it off it's very useful for training your picking hand. Remeber the key to this picking style is the ability to hit a new string below on an upstroke and a string above on a downstroke.

Economy Picking

Economy picking is a bit like alternative picking, up and down, but when you change string you pick in the direction of the change. So if you going to change to a string down you down stroke and a string up you upstroke. Try this example using economy picking:

E|---------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------9-12-10-9-10-12------------9-12-10-9-10-12------------9----
E|--9-10-12-----------------12-9-10-12-----------------12 9-10-12------
    D  U  D  D U  D U  D  U  U D U  D  D  U  D U  D  U  U D U  D  D

Notice how your up and downpicking but on the string change you follow the direction of the strings, it's seems easier than alternative picking and gives are a more smooth, flowing sound, players like Yngwie Malmsteen use this technique a lot and it sounds great with legato playing. Try these out:

E|-----------12-14-15-17-15-14-12-------------12-14-15-17-15-14-12-------
B|--12-14-15----------------------15-12-14-15----------------------15----
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  U  D  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D   D  U  S  U  S  U  D  U

E|--------12-10-------------12-10-------------12-10-------------12-10----
B|-----13-------11-------13-------11-------13-------11-------13------11--
G|--14-------------12-14-------------12-14-------------12-14-----------12
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  D  D  U  U  U  D  D  D  U  U  U  D  D  D  U  U  U  D  D  D  U  U U

E|--------12-15p12---------12-15p12----------12-15p12----------12-15p12--
B|-----13---------13----13----------13----13----------13----13-----------
G|--12---------------12----------------12----------------12--------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  D  D  U   U   D  D  D  U     U   D  D  D  U   U  D   D   D  U

Last one look familiar, it's a sweep picking shape. Economy picking is often refered to as sweep picking. So remeber, alternative pick on one string, pick with the direction of the string change when you change.

Legato Playing

Allthough technically not a picking style, it's is useful in playing fast. Some players don't prefer using legato and accuse it of "cheating". Legato is just as technical and useful in fast playing as any other of the techniques were using. Joe Satriani uses a lot of legato playing in his songs and they're incredibly fast. Legato is latin for "smoothly" and this technique does give an incredible smooth sound when played right. When hammer-ing on, make sure you hammer the string quickly and firmly, a lot of players only really use their middle or ring finger for this, but if you can train your pinky to do it you can reach whole new areas and create interesting licks. For pulling off, one of the main flaws players have is that when they pull off the accidently bend the string that they're pulling off to downwards, this makes the pull off sound out of tune. Make sure the finger your pulling off to holds the string firmly in place and your pulling finger to pluck strick forcefully to get a loud, full pull off.Try these licks out:

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-------9-7h9------9-7h9------9-7h9------9-7h9------9-7h9------9 7h9----
A|--10p7-------10p7-------10p7-------10p7-------10p7-------10p7----------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|--12h13p12h13-------------------------------------12h13p12h13----------
B|--------------12h13p12h13-------------12h13p12h13----------------------
G|--------------------------10h13p10h13----------------------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|----------7p5--------------7p5-------------7p5-------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|------5h7-----7p5------5h7-----7p5-----7p5-----7p5---------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|--5h7--------------5h7-------------5h7-------------5h7-----------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For the first excersise a good technique is to barre the A and D strings with your first finger and then use your pinky and/or ring fingers to handle the hammer-ons and pull offs. As for the last excersise many players have difficulty changing to a lower string for a pull off, remeber to firmly place your first finger on the 5th fret and pluck the 7th fret downwards with your other finger to get an accurate pull off.

Using These Tips Musically

So we have warmed up, learnt pciknig styles and legato playing, now what? Well if you wanna play a fast lick, a lot of players simply use small licks like the excersises together, a combination of a few licks you've used can create a large, fast solo. As long as your playing is in key with the song you can make lots of speedy solo's using these small repeat excersises, like so:

E|--------------------12-14-15-14-12----------------------------------12-
B|-----------12-14-15----------------15-14-12----------------12-14-15----
G|--12-14-15----------------------------------15-14-12-14-15-------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|--14-15-14-12-------------------------------------14h15p14h15----17b(19)
B|--------------15-14-12-----------------12---------------------14-------
G|-----------------------15-14-12--12h14----15b(17)----------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|-----------17-15-14----------------------------------------------------
B|--17-15-14-------------------15-14-12----------------------------------
G|--------------------15-14-12-------------------14-12-10----------------
D|--------------------------------------14-12-10-----------------12-10-9-
A|--------------------------------------------------------12-10-9--------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------15p12-
G|-----------------------------------------------------------15p12-------
D|------------------------------------------------9-10-12-14-------------
A|----------------9-10-12-10-9------------9-10-12------------------------
E|--12-10-9-10-12--------------12-9-10-12--------------------------------

E|--15p12----------------------------------------------------------------
B|--------15b(17)--------------------------------------------------------
G|----------------9h12---------9h12---------9h12---------9h12---------9--
D|---------------------12-9h12------12-9h12------12-9h12------12-9h12----
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|-------9-12p9---------9-12p9---------9-12p9---------9-12p9-------------
B|----10--------10---10--------10---10--------10---10--------10b(12)-10--
G|--9--------------9--------------9--------------9-----------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see all I did was use small licks together to create a large solo, now make your own.

Comments

[manikmunky]

Some great tips, exercises and descriptions in there. Nice one!

[greenwoodfan93]

Great lesson, thank you!!

[xXxOS86xXx]

Oh my goodness thank you!

[insmarine951]

dude.
epic lesson

[Joe310707]

Thank you all for your comments and rating ,glad you found this lesson useful

[bjr4999]

Cheers for the lesson, i never realised how awful my pinky is until i tried some of these

[Sal89]

new to UG.. but nvm that great lesson..keep them coming

[akosiehm]

nice one dude

[kurtdacowboy]

the force is strong in you young padawan

[kurtdacowboy]

the force is strong in you young padawan

[Mr.Gates912]

Great Lesson!
Thanks!

[jeanyves123]

tnx man ur a great teacher

[jeanyves123]

hehehehe, i gave you a ten! u rock

[Joe310707]

Thank you thank you thank you
More lessons will come soon

[you = fail]

dude you rock. this is exactly what i needed

[zx7r]

Rather awesome lesson there, excellently done

[Tomeh Rampage]

oh mi god
ive finaly reaslied how shocking my lil finger is
it cant even like hit the string, it just flys in the general direction and smashes against the guitar, mabie after a bit of work

[dethklok678]

good lesson, i've been playing a great amount of years and this has indeed improved my playing, great job

[Dregen]

Good lesson, great exercises.

I should probably work on those pull-off exercises. My hammer-ons are pretty solid, but every time I see a pull off that isn't on the high e string I run home crying.

[Joe310707]

Yeah i used to struggle with pull offs unless they were on the high E too ,also pull offs high up the neck were quite tricky.
Just takes practice really.

[FlameGame]

hey man just cud u solve one of my doubts man, in legato style do we use like econimical picking or we just give downstrokes?
anyway foound the whole warmups really cool. thnx man!

[Joe310707]

Whatever you find easier ,downstrokes will sound fine but if you can use economy picking it will make your legato runs sound very smooth ,the downstrokes will make it sound slightly aggressive but theres no real need to use a set picking style.
Glad to help

[Nccdaley]

Anyone else notice he makes to jesus fish's at the top of the lesson, for warming up. I thought it was cool, don't know about you all,
GREAT LESSON MAN

[Joe310707]

Ahh i was looking and just realised what you ment.
Must be a sign or something

[riffmerchant]

this was very helpful indeed, thanks mate really has improved my alternate picking, all along ive been economy picking thinking it was alternate lol well now i got to snap out of the bad habit of using economy all the time :P

[masterofkittens]

finaly, a lesson that has some more challenging exersizes

[zovian]

thanks man,
great stuff,

[guitaramp1994]

this rock

[oszmosis]

I've been playing for 4 months and i found this lesson and i have never felt myself progress more as a player than the stage im going through now. This has helped me so much! Thanks!

[Joe310707]

No worries ,thanks for all your comments and ratings ,you've been great. If anyone needs any more help and tips ,just ask me.

[Jamizal]

cool meh.. i try.. =_=lll

[mity88]

What an AWESOME lesson man...im a classical playa n jus got an electric...this stuff really rocks!!!

[ebag22]

great lesson, my speed and playing has progressed greatly after fallowing your lesson once a day.

[FenderSlasher96]

i actually became a bit faster and accurate THANKS

[FenderSlasher96]

cool i got faster!!!

[DoubleStopp]

hey joe (haha hendrix),
gr8 lesson, but i have to ask, what is the point of alternate picking when you change strings when you could just economy pick instead?

[Ben2908]

you took this warmup from MAB's Ultimate Warmup so ppl dont think it is Original

[Joe310707]

Yeah the warm ups are from speed kills but ive stripped them down a bit and mixed them up so you can warm up faster ,but all the excersises are original

[UnitedNation939]

Amazing lesson dude. The warm up stuff is the same I have used for a few years and I can guarentee that the warm up alone will increase finger speed. The rest was great too. You even taught me a bit.

[Joe310707]

No worries,glad to help

[neo14085]

Epic xD

[irloser]

must have been annoying to tab out all those warm-ups

[Joe310707]

Yup especially as i got a dodgy laptop where the windows key has run out so i can log in for 1 hour at a time :S

[Shredtohell]

Good Lesson man!!

[lodidumbass4]

nice lesson.this actually really helped me cuz i had a hard time learning this 1 song and now thanks to this its really wasy

[Joe310707]

Sweet glad it helped

[bobbybob]

kickass

[guitartony567]

that was the best lesson out of all on ultimate-guitar i was looking for good warm up and picking warm ups all day and thanks to you i did that kick ass. by far the best
you should be a famous teacher that was coooool

[micko g]

you shoulnt steal other artist work ????? ,micheal angelo batio ?????

[micko g]

the whole lot is stolen from his book shed master

[Jack Bevan]

great and does the first part look like two fish to you lol

[Jimmy_Page_Zep]

I went to a Vinnie Moore demo a few years ago, and asked him about exercises, and he gave me this exact list hahaha

[Joe310707]

As i said ,the first warm-ups are from Michael Angelo's speed kills 2 ,just broken down slightly ,yet the every other excersise is my own ,so if its similar to another its coincidence

[mythology]

that's amazing

[Epiphone'sRock]

good lesson, i have been playing similar excercises on bass for years now, it really does help your'e playing improve

[Bryan92x]

sweet job dude. I just started with leads and im pretty god but i'm a little lacking in the speed department but this helped a little. thx

[Faded hallway]

Great stuff man. freakin' awesome I love it.

[3dw1n]

hey man awesome you're great this is very USEFUL !!! Keep Going !!!

[Abhishektaphard]

Legato licking sounds really cool when accompanied by tapping and string skipping and i love to do that a lot coz tapping sounds more dramatic than economic picking.But i gotta say the warm up exercise is really something whoever made that!!

[jordan99]

Great Lesson, I Give You a 10 because it's helpful and easy to follow

[wafunggoy]

hey man it s a great lesson and usefull .thanks

[SlayingDragons]

Dude, this actually helped with the solo I was composing. Thanks!

[RegentBlack]

I just started to play guitar, this lesson helps me alot! Perfect for the feeling and building up speed! Thanks for your efforts ;=

[fretburn]

many of these exercises are from speed kills and your warm up exercises are from speed kills 2, i dunno if they are copied or these exercises are fairly common but one thing is for sure they are highly effective at least they were for me

[VelvetAcid]

thank you very much! =)

[huevos]

micko g wrote:

you shoulnt steal other artist work ????? ,micheal angelo batio ?????

Wank is not considered "artistic".

I like those warms up. I need to clean my legato on the high strings, especially past the 12 fret. This should definitely help.

And why do certain guitarists consider using legato as "cheating"? If you're not Al Di Meola, then GTFO and STFU.

[anorexorcist15]

the warm up exercise tab makes a fish shape

[guss25]

so is H for Hammer on and P for pull off ?? dont really know about tabs yet

[Joe310707]

Yeah 1h3 means play the 1st fret and hammer on the 3rd. 5p3 means play the 5th fret and pull off the 3rd fret.

[xxLunaxx]

That's all what i need, thank you for sharing

[Biohazard90]

ok, I will practice

[Stubaa]

tried that second, it hurt and then I read "use index and ring" I used index and middle :P but looks like my fingers ain't that strong and sctrechy and stuff. I also noticed that my ring finger is kinda weak and inaccurate.

[Joe310707]

Just keep at it ,youl build up the strength and stretchiness for it ,like i said you dont have to be able to do these fast as long as you do them

[bg-payne]

That last one may seem tricky, as it's so tempting to sweep/economy pick it, but if you can pull it off it's very useful for training your picking hand. Remember the key to this picking style is the ability to hit a new string below on an upstroke and a string above on a downstroke.

For pulling off, one of the main flaws players have is that when they pull off they accidently bend the string that they're pulling off to downwards,

Those are just two little errors you made which I felt to stress out ^^

[Joe310707]

Lol sorry ,i cant apologise enough with my spelling its terrible ,weird seen as though i got an A in english :S

[vlada92]

hmm what is this means 1p2 what is P??

[zorbozate]

exellent thanx for takking the time ad effort i think it,s great!!!!!

[Joe310707]

2p1 means 2 pull-off to 1.

[Sibilith]

great lesson, definitely helps!

[KTHXBAI]

awwwsome im going to print it and stick it on my wall next to my amp

[tsubalaengot]

Xit awesome men. THANK YOU!

[TheOzzmanCometh]

nice stuff how old are you this is good

[TheOzzmanCometh]

helps heaps

[Joe310707]

Im 21

[ibanezboy1992]

dude...your a beast!!!

[Rexygirl]

: : : : : : :

[636lover]

OMG Thanks so much for this. I've been searching for exercises to help combat "anchoring" my arm to the guitar, speed, and most importantly getting my hands to work together. This helped with ALL these and after I got through the warm ups alone I was able to go back and play a song that I'm usually a little shaky on a lot smoother.

[church773]

well, pretty good exercises. i didn't know what economy picking but i kinda like it. thanks

[watrtamamma]

Very good lesson

Is it okay to split the practing time?
Like to 10 minutes a couple times a day than 30 minutes straight?

[digoutyerarse]

great job you get a cookie

[Zomby Woof]

these exercises make DNA.

[DanteNev3rCry]

Very nice lesson dude!!!!

[moscowputin9]

THIS IS A GIFT OF GOD!!!..... THANK I WILL DO THIS EVERY DAY HEHEHEHE!!!

[Joe310707]

Yeah sure ,as long as you do so much each day.
Its ok to take breaks every now and then because sometimes youl pick your guitar up and find you can do something a lot better.
An average practice routine for me would be:
1. Warm ups - 10 mins
2. Play along to a few songs I know well - 15 mins
3. Work on techniques and improvisation over backing tracks - 20 mins
4. Play along to a few songs i find hard or am working on - 15 mins

Thats an average 1 hour long practice

[RuiNaTiioN]

good lesson too bad 99% of it is taken from Speed Kills 1 with Micheal Angelo Batio

[Joe310707]

Well once again for all of you keep saying ,I know its from MABS speed kills. But if anyone actually knew the warms are a stripped down version of speed kills 2 (not 1) and i can only see 1 ressemblance of one of my excersises being from speed kills 1. Anyways ive seen loads of warm ups that copy from Satch and Vai ,Im only putting these on here to help people anyways

[smudgertom]

you shud also try hammers and pulls goin up the ionian (i think) mode on the g major scale. really helped my legato

[Joe310707]

Yeah theyre good excersises ,well in any key really ,starting on different frets ,or stay in key and do hammer on and pull offs all the way down

[Thehungryhen]

is it just me or does the first warm-up look like a fish???

[RuiNaTiioN]

Moving the exercises around doesn't mean you didn't copy them, and nobody said anything about vai and satch. This is about your plagiarism. If you're gonna take something and claim it as your own at least do a good job and not lie to everyone, you're pathetic

[Joe310707]

Yes and your wrong ,clueless and very scary.

[Killer Bob 912]

wow i can hardly use my pinky..thx for the lesson ill finally be able to use good if i repeat this

[RuiNaTiioN]

Joe310707 wrote:

Yes and your wrong ,clueless and very scary.

Again pathetic

[Joe310707]

Oh god give it a rest ,no-ones paying any attention to you

[Ben2908]

All u did was copy michael angelo batios lessons from speed kills part one and part one on learn shred guitar (Mab teaches)by guitar world...man...if you are going to teach this reccomend these dvds, cause this is an exact copy

[RuiNaTiioN]

Joe310707 wrote:

Oh god give it a rest ,no-ones paying any attention to you

I'm only talking to you.... clueless as usual

[munchkin001]

dude..this is what i have look a long time for ty so much

[fbarajas]

thnx dude ive been tryin away to play faster

[ariamirsh]

c'mon guys! give it a rest... He put this here to help u... if u don't like it it's ur problem... go find another lesson... Anyway... Thnx man... it's a great lesson... I really had problems with playing songs on a high tempo... after ur warm-up I finally played 11th Hour by Lamb Of God... You're a great teacher... keep up man!

[soapwarrior]

Yah it was a great lesson I agree people stop bitching, just trying to teach some of us newer ones some good stuff which he has taken the time to put up.

[iAmxrayy]

Very Good Lesson, keep posting..

[MockingbirdMatt]

Really cool lesson, very practical, straight linear methodology - real good fun!
Awesome. =)

[mattheweight]

thanks very much for the lesson. i am a beginner and i've been practicing this daily and i have a question: is there a reason not to be hammering on and pulling off with the index finger? i've been starting the lesson openH1 instead of 1h2. am i stupid?

[mattheweight]

one more quickie: when i am pulling off i find that i can make the note ring a little louder by pushing the string forward a little as i pull off. is this a bad habit or is that how it is done?

[Joe310707]

So you mean your pulling the string as you pull off ,this can be a bad habit because you may be causing the string to bend slightly out of tune as you pull off.

[maximumrocker]

thanks dude!!!
i love this alot!

[toxicvoid]

Ben2908 wrote:

you took this warmup from MAB's Ultimate Warmup so ppl dont think it is Original

+1

[Joe310707]

Well once again for all of you keep saying ,I know its from MABS speed kills. But if anyone actually knew the warm ups are a stripped down version of speed kills 2 (not 1) and i can only see 1 ressemblance of one of my excersises being from speed kills 1. Anyways ive seen loads of warm ups that copy from Satch and Vai ,Im only putting these on here to help people anyways

+1

[Motosyko21]

Regardless of who actually wrote the lesson, its still a great lesson and has helped my playing (and typing speed too). Thanks for posting.

[ransome8859]

my hands were DEAD after this

[AtreyuVT]

God my pinky is weaksauce.

[Explicit User]

i agree with the last three posts here lol. Are you guys trying to get this taken down or something? big ****ing deal that he used the lesson that a lot of people have apparently not seen and made it into something that helps a lot of struggling players. and he's said about 5 times now that it is indeed inspired by MA-mfin'-B, so there you go. Winrar.

[Explicit User]

ps: Thank you so much!

[Joe310707]

Thanks for sticking up for me ,I wouldnt mind but its not like I said these are mine , I made them and most people dont actually know where the exact warm ups came from and its not like I watched any of the speed kills series and just copied down excersises ,I actually go through them and talk about them.

[ian3fingers]

Joe310707 I came to UGC to improve my guitar playing and thanks to people like you I'm achieving that (although rather slowly)

Who cares if similar material is available elsewhere.

I take it these people who try to knock you down are only learning guitar to play thier own original stuff. Come to think of it why are reading through lessons based on tab?

Play anything Joe, just play it loud

[Joe310707]

Cool thanks man
Got a few blog lessons on my profile if you wanna check them out