Megadeth420247 Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 yeah like in fast downscales/upscales i wanna know how to do it. if i strum the notes fast in up/down motion like alternate picking i can make it sound like it but i wanna know if this is the way they do it or if they really only hit each note 1 time and can just fret that fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryrobinett Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 A lot of guys do alternate picking, every single note. A lot of guys do a lot of hammer ons/offs. In order to sound musically "best" you have to always play what's appropriate, meaning you should practice in a way that encompasses all possibilities. Picking every note all the time sounds stiff and doesn't give enough varied dynamics. Legato, which is smooth connecting phrases, tends to work best with hammering as pick attacks tend to be abrasive. But there are times when playing fast the effect you want is the effect created when picking every note. There are different ways to "shred". So you're asking a question that is very vague and general. What works best for you is what you should do. People play and approach music differently and therefore have various styles. All the best, Henry Robinett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryrobinett Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 I'll just add this re "how to do it". It takes a lot of practice. Practice scales, scales, scales. Practice them picking every note. Practice Arpeggios. Play every note of the arp alternate as well as sweeping if you wish. I never liked sweep picking so I never did it. I just worked on getting my alternate up to almost sweep speed. Practice in various ways of hammer ons/offs. Practice with a metronome. Practice very slowly so you get all the articulations accurately. Practice picking techniques with various picking patterns, not just alternate. Learn solos from other guys and play them slowly until you have them down and only then begin increasing the tempo. Learn solos by EAR rather than by TAB. Improvise trying to play fast and then slow down very slow. Alternate between playing just beyond your ability and then play way slow, in slow motion, so you get all the notes right. All the best, Henry Robinett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Now, I'm not a shredder by any vague leap of faith, but I can tell you that one technique to look into and learn is "sweep picking", where you "sweep" down across the strings, one note per string, then up across the strings, again one note per string. There have been loads of lessons, videos, magazine articles, etc. on this technique over the past couple of decades. Not the easiest rechnique to begin at, but, with practice it can be seriously effective. As long as it's not overused... henryrobinett really gave you some very sound advice there... with practice, and as your "ear" gains experience, incorporate alternate picking, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and sweep-picking to find what works best in every individual situation. Often the best speed-burnig shredders will use ALL of these together in a single solo, perhaps mixing them within a phrase! It just takes a lot of practice. And, don't make the all-too common mistake of forsaking sheer musicality for a speed-intensive shred style. Take care to explore varying pick-attacks and fingering approches to vary the tone and attitude of each note. Look at, and listen for, the "Big Picture". Play for the song, don't make a song merely a vehicle for a shredfest. The best shredders still sound musical and varied, not like typwriters blazing away! Head, heart, and hands are all needed, together. I'll add that you should find a good instructor; most, if not all, of the premium shredders took lessons. Look at the famous example of Joe Satriani and all of the successful, well-known players who studied under him... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Thanks for the general description, Henry. Featured in the October Guitar Player, Rusty Cooley is one of those shredder fellas that has some good tips. The lesson he did for GP was available online from about mid-September until the end of October. If you'd like, I'll try to post the mp3 audio online someplace, along with a scan for the actual lesson featured in the magazine. Check out his site for more stuff, including sample video lessons. In the meantime, check out this nice prog metal number that he did with the group, Outworld. It's called "City of the Dead" . Enjoy! sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadeth420247 Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 thanks for the tips. Ive played bass guitar for almost 5 years and i had a shitty acoustical guitar but I finally got a good one (jackson randy rhoads 3). i can play through a few slower solos like on sanitarium and i can play anesthesia on guitar from learning it on bass. I know a pretty large amount of riffs as well from playing friends guitars so I'm not totally new. Thanks for the tips and ill have to experiment with some of the things you all mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolead Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Everyone already gave you all the advice I could give. Practice is everything. Sometimes I find myself practicing the same thing for a week straight, then I put down the axe and come back a day or so later, and it sounds much better. Faster, smoother, everything. My piece of advice here is don't get too caught up with shred. I wanted to play shred, and I still love it, but then I started listening to Satriani, Petrucci, and Hammett, and realized the songs I liked most were the slower melodic ones. So now I guess I started on shred and have slowly moved over to all kinds of soloing, but I find I keep coming back to what I liked best, slower solos by shred gods. Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 yeah it`s amazing how many players who sound great when they`re blazing away, DON`T sound interesting when they slow down. That`s a big reason why people lose interest so quickly. Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 all excellent advice from above. If you're into a player or style, find out what they do. Zakk Wylde's big thing is picking every single note for example, whereas most players use more legato I imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djinn1973 Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 the key to "The Shred" aside from lots of practice is to buy and religiously use a metronome. So those calluses are supposed to be there; right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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