If you often watch pro guitarists improvising at lightning speed and think "I wish I could do that", I think you might be setting yourself the wrong target.
You don't need to be able to play everything fast. The players who make it look easy usually aren't doing that either. Here's what they're actually doing, and how to copy it.
Most fast players repeat the same few ideas ▶ 0:31
Here's what I think is a bit of a misconception about playing at higher speeds. If you watch most guitarists improvise for more than two, three or four minutes, you'll notice they start to repeat some ideas. Watch them for up to about 10 minutes and you'll very likely hear the same ideas coming through.
When you see someone play really fast in a 10 to 20 second Instagram clip, it's easy to assume they've just churned it out and can play anything that fast. Very often, though, they've got three, four or five patterns or ideas they can play at speed. And when they're playing fast in other situations, it's often something they've already written and practised.
There are exceptions. Some of the really good players can play a lot of ideas very quickly. But most people you see playing fast tend to repeat the same things. They have a few turbo licks that let them hit the next gear.
Pick two or three things to build speed in ▶ 1:46
So rather than trying to get fast with everything you do, pick two or three patterns to build speed on. Then you play your normal phrases, the licks you've learned and crafted, and when you want a faster moment you've got one ready.
That takes away the really high expectation of playing every lick you know at lightning speed. Ideally choose patterns that also let you move around the fretboard and get between your licks.
Fast scale runs between normal phrases ▶ 2:18
First off, playing the scale in order, quickly, is never going to sound that bad. It's also a good way to build some fretboard knowledge and freedom. So practise playing your scale shapes faster.
I used a three-notes-per-string minor scale and just practised going up and down it. Then it becomes my fast little moment:
- Play something a bit bluesy and naturally phrased in the lower part of the scale.
- Speed through the scale shape, a pattern you know really well.
- When you reach the note you want, slow down again and play a more natural phrase higher up.
Parts one and three aren't particularly fast. Only the middle bit is. But you could easily be fooled into thinking the whole thing was fast. If you need a scale to start with, the A minor scale is a good one.
Pattern-based licks ▶ 3:38
The next thing I'd recommend is finding a pattern-based lick. There are loads of these. A couple of examples:
- The pentatonic scale in groups of five. I really like this one. Eric Johnson does it a lot, and so does Eric Gales. It sounds really cool.
- An idea in one octave, then the same idea in the next octave up.
- A sequence in a three-notes-per-string scale that you repeat on every string. The one I showed starts on the high e string at the 8th fret, comes down to the 5th, then goes 7, 8, 7, 5. You repeat that arrangement on every string in whatever scale position you're in.
That last one isn't a pattern I play a great deal, so I can't play it as fast as the things I play more regularly. Which is really the point.
Repeating licks ▶ 4:52
Lastly, think about a repeating lick. You could call this a pattern-based lick too. You hear these a lot in classic blues rock and classic rock, like that ascending Slash sort of thing.
I can't play that one very fast at all, because I'm not that familiar with it. So I could probably fool a few people into thinking I can play really fast all the time, just by playing the same few things and dropping more melodic phrases in between. But there's an awful lot I can't play that fast.
If you just shred every single thing you do, it sounds a bit boring and a bit repetitive and lacks direction.
Find two or three ideas you really like the sound of, build speed in those, and do your normal playing in between. You'd be surprised how fast you suddenly sound. And it forces you into better phrasing.
Build overall speed with free playing ▶ 5:57
If you do want more overall speed, try a free playing approach. Set a metronome to your target tempo and play your scale in order, or some licks, one note per click, without missing a click. You can bring in techniques as well.
I set mine to 170 BPM and played one note per click. That wasn't too difficult for me, so I'd go a little faster. It won't sound super musical, but it forces you into continuous playing. The idea is to explore quite freely without pausing, which trains your brain to keep working under the stress of higher speed. It's a great warm up as well. And as you keep pushing it, your normal playing gets faster too.
Go and try it
So it's a two-pronged approach. A few basic, repeatable ideas for your fast flurries, and the free playing exercise for your overall speed. This doesn't mean you can skip practice and suddenly play faster. It just means you don't have to overwhelm yourself.
Pick your two or three fast ideas today, put on a backing track, and practise slipping them in between your normal, slower phrases. You'll end up with a lot more range in your playing speed, which is more musical anyway.
