Tips for learning fast solos

[sevenstringdjentman]

title

 

[CovertSovietBear]

get gud





Slow, methodical practice w/ metronome or backing track, but I'm neither fast nor good so take that as you will

 

[BenjaminW]

I usually start slightly under tempo and work with that until I feel confident or comfortable enough with playing it at tempo.

YMMV when it comes to how you wanna learn fast solos though. Some guys like to take it really slow to a metronome, some guys are good enough to play at tempo.

 

[ArtDecade]

Metronome.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Good technique
Good transcription
Good finger positions

I don't like slowing down to learn because it makes every increase in speed feel a lot faster than it should but breaking it into bars and getting them up to speed without playing along is a much better approach IMO.

 

[mastapimp]

If you have software like Guitar Pro or an audio program for transcribing like the amazing slow downer or Transcribe!, learn it at 50% speed cleanly, then ramp up to 75, 90, 100. If you don't have the technique to achieve some of the playing at the slower speeds, it'll never happen at full speed, so brush up on certain techniques if that's your stumbling block (sweeping, legato, alternate picking, bending, etc...). Also, do not be afraid to adjust fingerings or adapt to whatever feels right or easier to play. I end up editing tabs or transcribing things on my own to aid in the learning process.

 

[Braden717]

The number one thing to me is learning proper technique in the beginning and how to remove tension in your hands. Tension held me back for so many years on my picking hand and it all came down to how I was holding the pick for me. As soon as I changed that it was a eureka moment for me. I could already play some difficult solos, but I felt like it took too much effort. Then almost immediately I wasn't cramping anymore and my picking stamina significantly increased. I no longer felt like I had to try as hard to play those solos or learn new ones. My playing became more effortless. It's super frustrating to think of all the hours of practice I put in and made little progress. I never truly understood what tension really was until I got rid of it and everything clicked. I wish I had learned that much earlier. I highly recommend checking out some stuff from Bernth and Troy Grady(Cracking the Code) on YouTube. We are in the golden age of guitar where so much information can be had the wasn't there when I first started. Proper picking technique, pick slanting, where to start a run with an upstroke vs downstroke etc. is crucial in actually being able to progress and not be stuck on long plateaus because your technique is inefficient and limits you. If you just randomly play without putting some effort into thinking about why something isn't working and what you are doing, you will get stuck.

Another one of the best tips I was given was to attempt to play whatever you are trying to learn at a faster bpm as crazy as it sounds. It can be sloppy. Then when you bring it back down to speed it's usually easier. That has helped me break through some speed barriers.

Lastly Guitar pro has been a great help for me. Being able to slow stuff down and ramp it up in percentage intervals is great. For me personally I wouldn't really understand the timing/rhythm on some stuff when its played at full speed. Then when I broke it down it made sense.

 

[Fenriswolf]

You could always try what they did in the 80s....cocaine, lots of cocaine.

 

[Thrashman]

Start slow and relax more than you think. You'd be surprised at how light a touch the pro's use when playing. This allows for speed and stamina.

 

[michael_bolton]

step 1 - get fast chops
step 2 - learn fast solos
step 3 - profit

as far as what to do exactly to get the aforementioned chops - it's a mix of slow and steady practice with a metronome combined with occasional speed bursts to see where things break so you can concentrate on the problem areas.

depending on your current level and time you're going to dedicate to practicing and to some extent your genetic predisposition - to be semi-decent at this will take anywhere from months to decades

 

[thebeesknees22]

I never learned to play fast until I learned the alien ant farm version of smooth criminal lol (don't judge me!)

I just practiced playing it as fast as I could and not long into it, everything just clicked and that was that. It's simple enough to learn for a newbie, but it covers a big enough range on the fretboard to make it good for practicing moving up and down the neck.

I also second (or 3rd) the light touch tip. That's key. If you're choking the neck to death with your fretting hand, you'll always be slow. Just glide over the strings.

 

[jaxadam]

Break it into chunks or runs. Learn to play the run fast, then put it all together. You will find different tricks along the way with certain chunks or runs (an unconventional up or downstroke on and alternate picked line, maybe some economy or string skipping thrown in).

 

[Wc707]

I am currently learning 3 nps [Trivium's song Gunshot solos] and it's a bitch and a long road.
Ive found you need to "burn" the movement into your muscle memory so it feels effortless and you dont have to think about how you're going to use your fingers to fret it.
So far, this part just takes awhile of playing the section slower so the accuracy and precision are there as well and you become comfortable doing it (watching TV or a movie helps).
Next, you gotta pulse your working bpm/percentage to bust plateaus.
Find a comfortable bpm, then bump it up a percentage or a few bpm until you can only barely keep up. Then bump it up a bigger percentage/bpm where it feels slightly impossible. Try it at the higher bpm focusing on just replicating the right hand speed.
Then back it down and the bpm that was slightly tough will be easier. Practice at this pace for a few days, then try again.
It's as much physical connection and mental connection as it is perseverance of playing the same short section over and over

 

[Ross82]

Subscribe to Bernth.

Also practice.

 

[mogar]

I break them down into sections and combine them as i can play then cleanly

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Puzzle piece method: break it down into little bits that you can practice and improve on. Then put the puzzle together.

Also, if you're intermediate, try playing a lick at speed. Find the part where you get tripped up, then practice the trip up section slow and build it up. No need to spend hours working on bits you can play well already. Once you fix the trip up points in a lick, maybe slow it all down to 80-90% and focus on picking, getting it closer to the album or include your own personality into it if that's your thing. Then get it up to about 110-120%. I find doing this helps to minimize pointless wasted motion.

Make sure you have spots to shake out stress and strain, so you can relax. Watch Yngwie's Young Guitar performance in the purple jacket. You'll see little spots where he'll shake his hand or relax it before he gets into the next lick. This is a good habit as it keeps you from cramping, stressing, etc, which ultimately will keep you from injuring yourself in various ways.

 

[ixlramp]

title

ambiguous

I think you will get a better response from people if you avoid writing first posts in your threads that comprise of only 'title' (and here without a capital letter). It gives an impression of laziness and unwillingness to 'give' anything to others or make an effort, while expecting help in return, therefore it makes me not want to bother helping.
The lazy thread title "Tips for learning fast solos" is not even a question, the meaning is unclear.

 

[blackrobedone]

Lots of great advice here. Metronome, start slow, relax (as much as possible - I've found that fast rhythm playing is going to take some level of unnatural exertion). Also, I think Michael Angelo once said that when he picks super fast its like writing with a pencil and that stuck with me. If I get going pretty fast I can feel that, and it's somehow much easier to scribble fast with a pencil than it is to pick fast at guitar. I think once you hit a ludicrous speed some level of Zen is required. It may not be the pencil thing, but you can probably find your own version. Sometimes I'm thinking 'focus the pick' when I start getting sloppy. I can see the picking hand like a tornado funnel cloud that gets more focused. I practice scale sequences at least an hour a day with a metronome, increasing the bpm about every 10 minutes.

 

[Marked Man]

Too many people overlook:

• STRETCHNG. You need to be very limber to play like a virtuoso.
  
• In the early days, after a good warmup, I would play until my left hand literally seized. Then rest a while, and do it again, sometimes with band-aids on my fingertips.
• Learn new stuff often, something outside of your comfort zone. Outside of the penatonic, in the early days I learned some Penatonic+ licks from Zakk Wylde and Eric Johnson that I still use today, as well as a few scales and licks from Steve Morse, Vai, Michael Schenker, and Rhoads that are part of my core vocabulary and part of my warm up and rambling when I am not playing a song. Keep playing your core scales until you can hit Plaid Speed without thinking about it.
  
• I've never been a metronome guy (other than my internal one, which has improved greatly since I started drumming), although I did play along with the original songs at full speed as soon as I could even attempt them, maybe a little before that to see if I would sink or swim. Forces you to try harder.

I had reduced my playing for months recently until about two weeks ago and have to gain a little big of finger toughness back, although my muscle conditioning has basically been permanently there for many years.

 

[chinnybob]

I'm no speed merchant, but I tend to start by trying to play along at full speed a few times, identifying the bits I find tricky and then breaking them into chunks and slowing them down.

I find it takes a day or so for muscle memory to set in so once I've made some progress I'll need to come back to it later to sort of "confirm" things.

The other thing is that assuming you've physically got the speed and technique required to play a piece, the mental side of it is worth considering. I find a lot of being able to play fast is about being able to look at the fretboard and rather than thinking about the phrase I'm playing, thinking about where my fingers need to go next. To begin with that will be by breaking things down into phrases and knowing where and when the next phrase starts, and later on it's being able to think about each note individually. Once I can do that in my head it feels like I have way more time and I find myself relaxing and playing more smoothly.