Shred Academy – Free Guitar Lesson by Tom Hess

~
How To Practice for Maximum Speed ~
Effective
Practice Strategies
By Tom Hess

The
scope of this subject is too broad to be fully covered in a single
article. After receiving hundreds of requests for advice on this
subject of developing speed, it seems an article is long overdue
on the topic. Training advanced players to become virtuosos is
a very rewarding and fun process for me. (as I’m sure it
is for most teachers who teach highly advanced students).

A Typical
question from a student: What specific strategy should I employ
to approach better speed development?

Although
my answer varies from person to person, depending on what I know
about that person’s current abilities and goals (among other
things), I generally recommend some variation of the following
strategy:

Stage 1:
When first learning a new technique, determine (using a metronome
of course) your maximum speed you can play cleanly. Write this
speed down on paper in a practice log.

Stage 2:
Practice at 20%-35% of your maximum speed. Do this for 5 consecutive
practice sessions. Resist the temptation to go faster during this
stage. Make sure everything is still very clean. There must be
NO excessive tension anywhere in your arms, hands, wrists, shoulders,
neck, head or anywhere else. Watch to make sure you have no excessive
or unnecessary movements in either hand. For some guitarists,
this first step is very boring. You MUST remain patient with yourself,
and the process, during this time. This is absolutely critical!
If you skip this step, you will probably train your hands to play
incorrectly, inefficiently and ineffectively. At this stage you
are developing the proper muscle memory for this technique. If
you are currently studying with a great guitar teacher, your progress
will be much faster, easier and better than if you attempt to
do this on your own. Once you have mastered stage two, you may
move on to stage three, but not before! Above I said you should
practice this stage for 5 consecutive practice sessions. That
is only a general guideline, after the 5th session, reevaluate
your progress. If you have not mastered this step, continue practicing
at 20%-35% before moving on to stage 3.

Stage 3:
Practice at 50% of your maximum speed. Do this for 3 consecutive
practice sessions. Again, make sure everything remains very clean.
Play relaxed without tension anywhere in your arms, hands, wrists,
shoulders, neck, etc. Watch to make sure you have no excessive
or unnecessary movements in either hand. Do not move on until
this step is mastered (it could take longer than 3 sessions, but
do NOT move on to stage 4 before practicing for 3 sessions.

Stage 4:
Practice at 60-65% of your maximum speed. Do this for 3 consecutive
practice sessions. Again, with total relaxation and economy of
motion (no unnecessary movements).

Stage 5:
Practice at 80% of your maximum speed. Do this for 5 consecutive
practice sessions.

Stage 6:
Practice at 85% of your maximum speed for the next (1) practice
session only.

Stage 7:
Practice at 90% of your maximum speed for the next 10 practice
sessions.

Stage 8:
DRILL IT! TOTALLY RIPPIN (translation play at 100%) FOR an entire
week!

Stage 9:
After that week evaluate where your new maximum speed is (it will
be higher than when you first measured it in stage 1).

Stage 10:
In this stage you will rotate every 3 practice sessions like this:
Session 1 = 60%. Session 2 = 85%. Session 3 = 95%. At the end
of each practice session DRILL IT (100%) for a few minutes.

Once a week,
measure your new maximum speed, and adjust your metronome speeds
accordingly.

Warning: NEVER
play/practice your guitar in pain. Serious injuries can occur.
This is not a joke, I know people personally that have had to
have surgeries on their wrists and arms!

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