Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

[WarEnsemble]

Hey dudes, lately I've been playing a lot more metal than usual but have come to realize that my right hand speed totally sucks. I'm looking to get some tips on how to increase speed but also how to make my picking sound repetitive and very clean, because right now when I play fast songs such as Slayer's "Hallowed Point" or "Necrophobic" my picking technique sound really sloppy. I don't have any problems playing Megadeth/Metallica type stuff, but when it comes to fast tremolo picking I usually lose it. Any help/tips is appreciated.

[Izegrim]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

Yeah, I should say get Speed Mechanics For Lead Guitar (yay another convert). There's a small but very effective section taking care of the right hand. Excellent exercises and fun if you are really pushing yourself through the sound barrier. No need for a fast left hand with the first exercises BTW.

[fuel0707]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

I guess it's an old saying, but pick something difficult to play and work on it at a very slow tempo until you can play it perfectly then start speeding it up. If you are looking for some exercises, just do some web searches. There are decent amount of sites dedicated to shredding that you could some exercises to play through.

I am by no means a speed demon but I started working on it pretty hard and I found that, not surprisingly, it takes a lot of practice and dedication. Also, another thing I found is that I tended to tense up when trying to rip through parts and that ends up being counter-productive - when you tense up you end up playing something slower and sloppier than you were trying for. So try to relax as you practice.

[metallicarocks]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

There's really no way around it, you'll just have to try going slow a building speed as you get better (as mentioned above). Granted, the videos will help, but not nearly as much as practice. Try to perfect the second line of Master of puppets, as this will help your coordination between both hands, and remember, down pick all the way!

A:-----2-----3-----4-----3------2~~~-----2-----3--5-4-2-5-4-2-5-4-2
E:-0-1---0-1---0-1---0-1---0-1-------0-1----0-1----3-2-0-3-2-0-3-2-0

These kind of riffs will help you build your stamina. That whole goddamn song will build your stamina. It took a while before I could finish it!

HTH

[shredmonster]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

Check WholeNote Shred Guitar on the net.
It will help.
They have a speed picking page that is quite good.

[joblo1978]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

I hate to say it too but it's practice practice practice. If your trying to work on single string alternate picking, just sit there and tremolo pick one note as fast as you can for as long as you can. Try it at the end of a playing session. Doing this over and over and over will build up stamina. When you find a weakness in your playing, you need to devise an excercise to exploit that weakness so you can improve on it.

[toejam]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

[ QUOTE ]
Try to perfect the second line of Master of puppets, as this will help your coordination between both hands, and remember, down pick all the way!

A:-----2-----3-----4-----3------2~~~-----2-----3--5-4-2-5-4-2-5-4-2
E:-0-1---0-1---0-1---0-1---0-1-------0-1----0-1----3-2-0-3-2-0-3-2-0

These kind of riffs will help you build your stamina. That whole goddamn song will build your stamina. It took a while before I could finish it!

HTH

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, down pick that like James Hetfield does, definitely a good exercise.
Also, sitting in front of the tv and just down picking on the E string for awhile does wonders, just build up the speed that way, also do alternate picking.

[Wayniac]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

WORST thing you can do is tense the picking arm too much... keep it firm but not stiff...

[Grandturk]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

I've got one book that has an exercise for building picking speed. Basically, as a warm up, you tremolo pick each string for two minutes straight. Start on the high E, do that for 2 minutes, then the B and so on. I must say, it does build up your picking speed... but it is boring as all hell.

[WarEnsemble]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

Thanks for all of the replies gentlemen, I will definitely try to put this info to good use!

[RacerX]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right hand.

[ QUOTE ]
I must say, it does build up your picking speed... but it is boring as all hell.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just turn up the gain! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[VitaminG]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right han

yea, and vary your right hand muting. You can go from a clean tremolo to a high speed chug. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[kokostevens]

Re: Need help getting a machine gun fast right han

When you're practicing, just pick EVERYTING! Don't hammer or pull-off anything, just pick it and progressively pick up speed. That's how I do it. Hope this helps!