How To Increase Alternate Picking Speed Using 3 Unique Training Approaches

Think your alternate picking speed is as fast as you can get it? Think again!

Tons of guitar players falsely believe they have achieve the very top speed in their playing only later to find out that they were playing much slower than they could’ve been.

The key to increasing your alternate picking speed is finding small, subtle ways to improve upon your technique. These things may seem subtle at first, but soon you find that they make a huge difference and translate to many more notes picked per second.

Here are three ways to increase your alternate picking guitar speed using unique training that many guitarists never think about:

Challenge Your Speed Picking Attack With E String Focused Practice

The thickness of the low E string provides more resistance for your picking attack than any other string.

Practicing speed picking on this string is a great way to not only improve your general picking technique…

…but also makes playing on thinner strings feel much easier by comparison.

Think of practicing speed picking on the low E string like running with an extra 2 pounds tied around your waist.

Try this:

Speed pick the low E string in bursts of 3 notes at a time, with a short moment of rest in between. Do this on the open string, but also with fretted notes.

What is another great way to add resistance to your speed picking to get faster and more consistent?

Answer:

Speed picking the high E string while fretting the 24th (or highest) fret and picking close to the neck.

After picking like this for just a little bit, speed picking on the thinner strings feels much easier.

Pick The Strings With The Power Of A Hammer

Picking the strings without power doesn’t just make the notes sound less articulate; it keeps you from developing incredibly consistent speed.

Picking with power cuts through the strings quickly, assuring that they sound clearly and that the pick is not in contact with the strings any longer than it needs to be.

Result:

Faster, cleaner and more articulate speed picking technique.

Sound good?

Thought so!

Watch this video to see how and why to pick harder:

The more often you do this, the better and more articulate notes sound when you play them.

Start practicing this by simply picking harder on things you would normally practice for just some of the time. Then add it in more and more until your picking technique is much more powerful overall.

Train Yourself To Pick Fast And Consistently With Endurance

Having consistency in your picking attack is critical for having flawless speed that doesn’t become sloppy after you’ve been picking a note for several seconds.

Note: Many guitarists can pick a note fast for a few repetitions, but few can do so at max speed for 5-10 seconds without losing their timing.

Practicing guitar by speed picking for longer and longer periods of time helps you develop better consistency for short bursts and the endurance to keep picking for a long time without making a mistake.

Try this:

1. Watch the following video to learn how to make your speed picking more efficient (faster):

2. Practice speed picking a single note for 10 seconds to see if you can maintain it without making a mistake or losing your timing. As you do this, try to keep your body as relaxed as possible (this is important).

3. Once you can continuously pick for 10 seconds without mistakes, increase the time a little more and keep going until you are able to speed pick with incredibly consistency!

You now understand some excellent ways to improve your alternate picking speed.

Now it’s time to learn how to make playing guitar fast feel easier than ever.

Learn how to do it by checking out this guitar speed article.