You will never play with incredible tremolo picking speed if you think like most guitarists... Most guitar players think that moving their hands faster is the key to picking faster. However, this is not at all the case, and I’ll show you why...
Truth is, the majority of guitar players already have enough speed in their fingers to play at very high levels. The thing that prevents them (and you) from doing so is the length that the pick travels for each note being played on guitar. Most guitar players are oblivious to this and think their lack of speed has to do with not moving their hands quickly enough.
To start playing with lightning fast tremolo picking technique, you must focus on increasing the rate at which your pick strikes the string (this is not the same as simply moving your hand faster – more about this in a moment). When you do this, your pick touches the string many more times and your speed goes through the roof!
You will immediately play with two times the tremolo picking speed by merely splitting your pick attack distance in half. Now that you are familiar with this idea, begin picking faster using the exercise below:
The first rule of building your tremolo picking speed: ALWAYS watch your picking hand during your picking technique practice! If you spend all your time staring at your fretting hand or don't watch your hands at all while practicing, you will never develop incredible picking speed.
To start developing faster picking speed on guitar, select an open string to play on with tremolo picking and do the following:
Step One: Continually pick using sixteenth notes at a slower bpm for around 15 seconds. Angle your pick at about a 40 degree angle while facing it towards the headstock of the guitar. This will keep you from losing dynamics or picking lightly while reducing picking movements.
Note: You will also generate greater power in your picking attack while using less effort by playing with a thicker pick (1.50 mm or more) instead of a thin one.
Step Two: Now, start playing a bit faster and keep picking for ten more seconds or so. Throughout this process, keep your eyes on your picking hand and closely monitor your picking motions to make sure they are just as tight as they were in the last step. This will guarantee that no extra movement is being used that would slow you down.
Step Three: Keep raising the tempo you are playing at while focusing on your picking hand and narrowing the distance between up/down strokes. As you do this, also pay attention to the following:
- Don’t ignore power and articulation whenever you are cutting down the distance in your pick attack. Keep a good amount of articulation in your attack by putting more of the pick in the string. This way you will be able to produce small picking motions while still maintaining a booming, powerful attack (instead of picking with the very tip of the pick like so many guitarists do - reducing their articulation).
- Make sure your upper arm and picking hand shoulder are relaxed while picking at faster speeds. Playing with tension in your muscles will do nothing besides make you more tired and increase the likeliness of injury. Focus on keeping these muscles as relaxed as possible while your speed increases.
Continue incrementally building your speed until you are tremolo picking at the highest possible speed you can play at. Maintain this speed for 10-15 seconds.
Step Four: Give your hands thirty seconds of rest and repeat the first three steps several more times (to make for a total of 15 minutes or so of guitar practice time). To improve your tremolo picking technique even more, try picking open strings and fretted notes one after the other (this change in tension will be more challenging for your picking control). Incorporate this exercise into your guitar practicing schedule and work on it continually to see BIG results in your overall speed picking technique.
IMPORTANT: Don’t limit the application of these concepts to single string tremolo technique only! As you saw in the video above, you must also utilize this concept with licks on multiple strings, scales, etc. This will apply your tremolo picking skills to other aspects of your lead guitar soloing and increase your overall speed.
Now that you know how to develop tons of tremolo picking speed on guitar, understand that this is only ONE part of becoming a fast guitar player. To find out more about the other elements that go into developing killer guitar speed, take shred guitar lessons online.
Overcome any frustrations you face as you are building speed in your guitar playing by reading this article on how to get guitar practice motivation.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a professional recording artist, composer, and expert guitar instructor. He teaches and trains guitarists how to become great musicians in his online rock guitar lessons. Visit tomhess.net to receive additional free guitar speed resources and to read more guitar articles. For additional help with becoming a better musician, check out the Tom Hess Facebook page.
