I just wanted to ask about this shred site: http://www.screamingfingers.com/scr...l?hop=bainzy007

Supposedly, if I practice enough using this book with secret techniques in it, I should be able to play 16th notes at 200bpm (look near bottom of page).

I don't believe it. For those of you who don't have a mtronome, go here: http://www.screamingfingers.com/scr...l?hop=bainzy007

16th notes at 200?! That would sound like a steady note! Do you think this is a scam?

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ever hear of a scam?

heres a cheaper way... practice.

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I had to laugh a bit when I read this, because I can actually play a few Slayer solos that clock in at sixteenth notes at 240 beats per minute ( Angel Of Death, etc. ). So yeah, this is a scam. Just grab a metronome, and within six months, if you practice two hours daily, on say, the chromatic scale, you'll most likely hit 200 bpm, and with a relaxed technique. You'll reach this speed only with a steady climb, but how fast this steady climb progresses depends on how hard you work, and how much you practice. I bet you can already play sixteenths at 140-160 beats per minute ( most of us here can ), so now you have just 40-60 bpm to attain, as a goal before you're reaching "shred" speed. Better yet, ( I love talking about this, which is clear now I'm sure ) on your metronome workouts, increase your maximum speed by one beat per minute daily, and when you're nearing the 190 ranges, increase it by one beat per minute every other day, and when you're in the two hundreds ... once every week. And keep a journal : If you don't have a clear plan, you won't have clear results.

Holy shit that sounds like a good idea, JH. I might have to try that.

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And its my idea, don't you forget it

It is a lot of work, but it's worth it once your friends start labelling you "guitar god". Just tell yourself now : Complete this, and you'll have the speed and dexterity to nail most of those solos you've only flailed and hacked at in the past.

Yeah, I mentioned that above. Anyway, I wasn't considering purchasing this book.

I think I'll just practice, as most of you have suggested. Metronomes are great for practice... so I'm going to end this post by saying that I'm going to go practice.

One last thing: Everybody listen to John Holland.

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The world will be a better place for it.

where dya get metronomes?
which ones do you recomend?
electrics or manual ones?
any particular makes or models?

im a bit of a n00b and i dont know how to practice to a metronome
and refering to your technique earlier, what would i play while increasing my speed?

yes, you should be able to do that from just practicing

i dont think you understand me question

i will rewrite them:

Where Do You Get Metronomes From?
Which Particular Metronomes Do You Recomend?
Which Are Better, Electric Or Manual Metronomes?
Are There Any Particular Makes Or Models You Recomend?

I am quite new to playing guitar, and i have never tried playing along to a metronome. Can anyone tell me how to play along to metronome (without be sarcastic) and what i have to do.

refering to that technique john was talking about, what would i play when trying to build up speed with a metronome?

i hope you can answer these questions because if you do i will be able to be on my way with getting better.

thanks in advance
user01

You should be able to get a metronome (electric or mechanical) from pretty much any musicical instrument shop. I prefer the electric ones myself. I think mine cost $40 (AUS) or something around that. Simply take a scale, for example chromatic, which uses every note.

Practice going up and down the neck, alternate picking, fret by fret. But, do it at the speed you've set your metronome to. You should make sure you are hitting the note just as the metronome beeps, if you find you're having trouble with this, slow down the metronome. Start at a slow speed, say 60-100bpm. Gradually work your way up over the weeks and months. But don't bother trying to at faster speeds if you can't keep in precise time with the metronome. This is very important.

Hopefully that answers something.

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Cloaca is on the mark with the Chromatic Scale, but let's further clarify things :

Let's say we set your metronome to 60 beats per minute. beep .... beep ... beep ...


-----------------------------------------------*1-2-3-4----------
--------------------------------------*1-2-3-4-------------------
-----------------------------*1-2-3-4----------------------------
--------------------*1-2-3-4-------------------------------------
-----------*1-2-3-4----------------------------------------------
--*1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------------------

( the excercise continues without any pauses )

--*5-4-3-2------------------------------------------------------
-----------*5-4-3-2---------------------------------------------
--------------------*5-4-3-2------------------------------------
-----------------------------*5-4-3-2----------------------------
--------------------------------------*5-4-3-2------------------------
-----------------------------------------------*5-4-3-2--*2-3-4-5--and so on up the neck.



Every * is a beep on your metronome. The notes marked with *, you are to play exactly on top of that beep, and it would go : BEEP two three four BEEP two three four ( this is what you would be picking )

And this concept can be applied to any lick, riff, scale, etc.

When shredding, is it always important to alternate pick? (Stupid question I know...)

thankx john holland and Cloaca

you've really helped me out


cheeers

yes and no. You're gonna want to alt pick most things, but economy picking and sweeping will also come into play. When starting out though, it is very important to do strict alternate picking (some people will disagree with this).

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Iv been playing for like year and few months now, and im like a great rhythm guitarist, but I can also solo a bit, but when I solo I will always use non-alt picking, but when i try these slayer solo's or any other fast solo's I just cant do it... Do I have to use alt-picking for these? I'v tried it but aint fast enough!

That screaming fingers product sounds like it would help, just because it teaches you speed practices. But i dont like the way they go on about you becomming famous, it does make it sound a bit like a sham.

yeah, get a metronome, work on your alternate picking. I promise you won't regret it.

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I have a metronome yes, and im working on my alternate picking... its pretty bad atthe moment, I can go up and down the chromatic scale at only 100 bpm

Im getting higher though....

I have a metronome yes, and im working on my alternate picking... its working... I am getting fast already

What would you lot suggest as a good speed (in bpm)...

I'd say a good alternate pick speed to try to reach doing chromatic scales would be around 136, for now. On just one string, aim for around 160(I think I've gone slightly higher than that). This is what I can do right now, I'm not all that fast at the moment, but I used to only be able to hit 144 on a single string, so I know I'm improving.

NOTE: (I'm tallking in quarter notes)

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On all strings I can do about 120, alternate pick.

On one string I can do about 200-230 bpm

I think its important not only starting to play at "X" bpms. Its important playing at this bpm about 2-3 minutes continuously.
That menas you can play it "easily", and you can go now for the next "level"

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Ignore everything I said.

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Just for our information: This is NOT a chromatic scale. I already do this exercise though and I also do it chromatically as well.

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Whoops ... that is true, this is not a real scale. But I call it the chromatic scale in my head, as incorrect as that is

Hi Everybody,

Just a note from us folks here at http://screamingfingers.com What John Holland said in a nutshell is all true. But we at http://screamingfingers.com, have laid out a systematic approach with a plan to achieve those goals, plus we show you how to do it so that you do not practice your mistakes.

Those who practice their mistakes, never achieve real speed. They become ingrained habits, a stumbling block leading only to mediocrity. We teach you how to train your fingers systematically, with trackable results. Progress reports are included too!

Name one Music Method Publisher, which stands behind their product the way we do. WE GIVE YOU 1 FULL YEAR TO USE OUR MATERIAL; IF IT DOESN’T DO WHAT WE SAY IT WILL DO WE GIVE YOU ALL YOUR MONEY BACK. 1 FULL YEAR. Name one company that does that!

This book is celebrating its tenth year in publication. (2005) It has out lived 98% of the music books released.

No scam here at http://screamingfingers.com

Gloria

John Holland is my hero


lol, sorry to go all homo-erotic on you guys, but hes helped me out loads, im gonna get down to shreddin in no time thanks to him!

for the love of god!!! 200?

so what are you saying? is that hard or easy, i dont mean to sound confontational

its distracting and a waste of time. or thats what i think. speed is good but too much is a bad thing. as one moron with a wierd wig said speed kills.the reason i say its distracting, cuz if all u can do is play fast than u cant do any dynamics..ect... and it distracts u of other techniques. that doesnt require a pick.i say about a good speed is 170. 200 is a little too much dont u think? but if thats what u want to play mindless shred then go ahead. cuz i dont control u. so knock urself out

SHUT UP N000BZORZZ!!!!!

But seriously, I've said what I've said about your program, after I bought it. I do own a copy of Screaming Fingers. And while I won't relay any inset information in the program to other MetalTabbers, as risking copyright infringement, I will tell you that it is basically the same thing that Zakk Wylde, John Petrucci, Steve Morse, Rusty Cooley and Michael Angelo have been telling us for years. There a few new helpful tricks and tips, and it does show you how to organize your practice time, but any 5$ MEAD notebook will serve the same purpose. If you want to "learn to shred", Screaming Fingers for 15$ is not too bad. But like I said, what's in the book is common knowledge to serious practitioners of the instrument.

You can download a free metronome - if you do not want to spend moeny on one (they sure are good investment though)

After having a metronome on my computer, I rarely use my real one

Here's one for download. It should be OK and it's free.

http://www.download.com/Weird-Metro...tml?tag=lst-0-1

my cousin bought one of those learn to play bass in 10 minutes of whatever they are called. He still sucks ass

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lol someones been visiting my site! in that first post, the link to screaming fingers had my link in:

http://hop.clickbank.net/?bainzy007/screaming

if anyones wanting to buy it, click that and the company will pay me a bit of cash, which helps pay for my sites running costs so we can keep bringing free lessons and other shred content

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Patent that John! I know I will be trying it.

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who ever said that they didnt teach you techniques?
and speed isnt a bad thing at all, its just how you use it... look at Cryptopsy or Slayer... fast yet melodic... most of the time...

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When you run into them thar cities cuttin' heads wit yer pickin', tell em' John Holland sent ya

Right now I'm working on a very long notepad file which will contain every possible fingering, forwards and backwards, in linear string-to-string playing ... the sweep picking and string skipping are going to be far more complex subjects ...

save urself the money and practice the hell out of ur guitar if u want to be fast.
i practice way too much.

i allways practice with this

string 1|-------1-3-4--------2-4-5|
string 2|-1-2-4-------2-3-5-------|

and so on until my fourth finger reaches fret 12, and then go back.
then go up to strings 2 3, then 3 4 and so on.when i finish all the strings i add 10 bpm.

also

string1|--------1-3-5---------2-4-6-|
string2|--1-3-5--------2-4-6--------|

Bravo!

Well said.

last week i fucked up my electric guitar (dont ask) so i had to practice with the acoustic, and when my guitar was fixed i realized i was faster, I gess is because is harder to play acustic, anyway try practicing speed with your acustic and then try it with the electric and tell me if it worked for u too

yea the strings are harder to push down if it was steel string. if it was nylon then it would feal good and go down nice and clean, the only bad thing is u cant do vibratos or bends on the e,b,g strings because its pretty slick

try string skiped cromatics like: the closer together gets alittle complicated. what u wanna do is, do this exercise this going up ur neck to fret 9 then back down to one. i know its a bitch but later on u'll be thankful.
and like gar said, it would be best if u wanted speed to do so on an accoustic. so if u have one, try this exercise
---------1h2h3h4---------------------------------------
--------------------------1-2-3-4-----------------------
--------------------------------------------1h2/3h4-----
-----------------------------------1h2/3h4--------------
------------------1-2-3-4-------------------------------
-1h2h3h4-----------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------4p3p2p1-------------
------------------4-3-2-1------------------------------
-4p3/2p1-----------------------------------------------
----------4p3/2p1--------------------------------------
--------------------------4-3-2-1----------------------
--------------------------------------------4p3p2p1----