Guitar & Musician Forums

hi..i've been playing guitar over a year. now i'm thinking to proceed to new level, solos and speed development. but i faced a lot of difficulties in developing speed and articulation. i have several questions here.
1. Does it really need talent to play well? is it in your blood? i mean, can anybody be a good guitar player, or only talented individual can? well, maybe i should give up if i'm not talented..haha

2. How can i develop speed? my major problem is picking (i think).. how can i improve?

Hope someone reply this.. tq

Hi there

I think anyone who is willing to work at guitar can become as good as they want - some people have it in their blood which means they have to work less hard to achieve the same - though the end result is the same!

You can only get fast by playing a pattern, scale or lick slowly and accurately, then speed it up slowly, keeping it accurate and each day continue to do this.

you will eventually get fast while still playing hte notes correctly though it will take time and practice!

Also I found that you naturally get faster in playing the more you play that sort of music anyhow.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress!

i'm back again..thanks for the replies..
here i want to share my progress..
after a few weeks practices, i think i got improvement.
i play along with a metronome. i'm not very sure what the numbers on the metronome implies, but now i can play at ~300-350..
is my progress good? or is it to slow?

Are you playing one note per beat?

Just keep improving it by one each day - or when you feel comfortable with the previous.

e.g if you can play a pattern perfectly at 300 bpm then go to 302 and keep practicing until this is also perfect then go to 304 etc etc.

yes i'm playing a note per beat.. i can play perfectly at 300, at start making mistakes >300.. 320 is still playable, but must be very careful.. i think 350 is my limit for now. its very tiring

hi..i've been playing guitar over a year. now i'm thinking to proceed to new level, solos and speed development. but i faced a lot of difficulties in developing speed and articulation. i have several questions here.
1. Does it really need talent to play well? is it in your blood? i mean, can anybody be a good guitar player, or only talented individual can? well, maybe i should give up if i'm not talented..haha

2. How can i develop speed? my major problem is picking (i think).. how can i improve?

Hope someone reply this.. tq

Hello there, I'm definitely no expert and I lack a lot of technique and speed and development - no one is perfect, BUT - there is something that you should know and apply if you really want to improve your skills.

Try this.
"If you are doing something and it doesn't work as it should - you are doing it wrong - retry"

This is the attitude and the commitment that you have to have in your life if you want to achieve good results. Never give up, keep on practicing. Talent is just a 0,01% bonus the rest 9,99% is hard work.

Cheers mate!
-Rogger

Roger is right.

Talent is a very small part of it. Now when it comes to creativity, talent definitely has a place, but I think that you can develop your own sense of talent in that area.

I'm happy for your progress, just don't forget to work with the small things as well. Work on your smaller techniques and accents, like vibrato, bends, harmonics, etc

- Develop your own style, formulate your own opinions about how a song should have sounded, or how you would have played it.

This was Randy Rhode's approach to guitar playing, and I think it works beautifully. Best of luck to you my friend - the guitar is such a rewarding, and joyful addiction

http://www.guitarspeedsecret.com

Thanks guys for the advises..
yeah, i will just keep on practice, practice and practice..

ftsitam......the opportunity to learn has never been easier .....as u probably know you tube is a tremendous resource for learning...its all there!....But dont get tricked by always watching videos.....listening is the really whats it all about...use your ears...Rule #1 ....try to learn a song by hearing it and figuring out melodies/solos/chords by ear.....always give your ear a workout and always practice with a steady meter/drum machine/metronome/backingtrack.... a solid groove to practice on is of utmost importance....also practicing SLOW is very important...if u practice fast and sloppy you will most likely play your ideas sloppy...your brain will remember all of that and play it back that way....hope this helps!

Bobby
http://www.bobbysbackingtracks.com/

Good tips there from Bobby

if you want to play by ear Jamorama helps you learn with that, read more http://jamorama-guitarlessons.com