Faster than 16th notes

yes

damn O_O, so what do you do, normal alternate picking ? or do you use sweep picking ?

I use sweep picking at times, but usually alternate or economy picking.

Economy picking ? never heard that one before.

If I pick a note with a downstroke, and the next note I want is in the same direction, I also play it with a downstroke (like a sweep). But if the next note is on the same string, or in the opposite direction, it gets an upstroke.

I learned it as "economy" picking because it gives you economy of motion in your picking hand. Some people call it "directional" picking, because the direction you're currently moving affects the choice of stroke for the next note.

It's basically a combination of sweeping and alternate picking.

Interesting, I am going to practice that!

Thanks.

Fraid so. There's a lot of stuff I can't do (that I'll bet noteboat can) but I was into Iron Maiden as a teen...

I wouldn't worry so much about fast though- if you're playing slower riffs cleanly, just keep playing them- a little faster at a time. But as long as it's clean...they will get faster.

Any particular riffs you're interested in?

Best,
Ande

Yep, accuracy is far more important. And honestly, you don't need that much speed - if you can do 8th notes at 200bpm you can handle 99% of all tunes. Only bebop, speed metal, and some bluegrass really require you to go faster... don't forget that you'll actually be able to do little bursts faster than your 'maximum' speed, and decorations like hammer-ons and pull-offs let you exceed your picking maximum too. Oh, and any distortion can make it seem like you're playing faster than you are.

If you practice diligently and pay attention to what you're doing, you can get decent speed in just a few months, even if you're starting from scratch.

IMO it's a lot more important to play well than to play fast. There are already too many fast guitarists with no sense of timing, dynamics, or melodic line. The world doesn't need any more of them :)

Nah, I never pay much attention to speed, hammer-ons and pull-offs make me sound faster xD, yeah, timing is soooo important.

Speed comes with time Ive been told, well sure if I practice speed then speed will come faster but Im not that interested in speed, just curious.

Ive been told my improvisation sounds like a written solo O_O, like if It was a song I played all the time, I guess theory really gets into your head, melodic solo I think is what David called it in one of his lessons, I never really aspired to do melodic solos, but thats what comes out of my fingers, what I think I should do instead of trying to focus on speed is to embrace melodic solos, just go with the flow.

Its just my friend does really awesome slashing solos, and one usually doesnt appreciate what one does, so I wanted to do that! but now that I can kinda do one of those, Im not really feeling it, and when I just let myself relax I tend to use my sustain to my advantage.

Well I just let myself rant on, thanks for the answers anyways :D.

i can get my left hand doing scales at 16ths at 220 bpm, although i can't keep up with my right hand.

i can get my left hand doing scales at 16ths at 220 bpm, although i can't keep up with my right hand.

Another question might be...how often do you need (or want) to play 16th notes at 22O bpm? I mean, that's REALLY fast!

If you really DO want to, though....play whatever you want to play, at 160, or 180, or whatever you can do clean. And play it a LOT. Keeping the rhythm steady, not speeding up. Then after a few days, add 5 or 10 BPM. If you can play it clean, stay there, and repeat. If not, go back and keep practicing.

If you have time and an metronome, speed will come.

(Playing well, on the other hand, I won't offer any advice about. Still getting there.)

But remember, just because it's fast doesn't mean anybody wants to listen to it.

Best,
Ande

i'm not one of those guys that competes with his metronome. i just timed myself one day. i could probably go faster.