Which Common Guitar Exercise Advice For Speed And Accuracy Doesn't Work & What To Do Instead

Want to massively increase your guitar playing speed, but progress seems to be stalling?

Don’t worry, it’s not your lack of talent holding you back.

Few if any guitar players really have the mythical “natural talent” to play with insane speed and technique…

Real problem:

Following conventional guitar exercise advice that is supposed to help you increase your speed.

There is so much ineffective advice out there, that it’s hard not to buy into it at some point.

In most cases, poor advice actually keeps you from getting faster or slows your progress way down.

So, let’s talk about this and what to do to combat common ineffective advice in order to get faster on guitar:

“Start slow and gradually build up to speed using a metronome.”

This is likely the most common guitar speed advice given to people looking to play faster.

Up front, it should be said that practicing things at slow speeds is not something you should always avoid. For example: While first learning the basic movements of a technique, the fingerings for a new lick or pattern or while practicing very specific technical movements.

However:

There is absolutely no reason why you can’t practice at fast speeds in order to get faster.

But how can you do this if you are struggling to play fast and accurate already?

Easy.

Reduce the number of notes you are working with. Break down licks, exercises or solos into smaller groupings of notes to prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed.

You’d be shocked at how much easier it is to play with insane amounts of speed when you do this!

This video shows you how to practice using this method:

Apply this concept of speed bursts into your regular practice routine to both play with faster and more accurate speed at faster tempos.

Then integrate this style of practice with other strategies (that may involve playing at slower speeds) to get the best results possible.

 

“Practice scales over and over until they are perfect at the speed you want.”

In other words, spend hours and hours practicing the same patterns up and down the fretboard.

Sound familiar?

This common practice approach isn’t all bad. Practicing things in isolation like this helps you master fundamental movements to help you play patterns at fast speeds.

However:

It becomes very boring and ineffective when used as your only approach for mastering scales (or arpeggios for instance).

Why?

It doesn’t engage your mind in a creative manner and it doesn’t train you to play actual music with what you learn.

This results in feeling like a beginner when you go to improvise, solo, make your own licks or otherwise use the patterns in any creative manner.

The solution is to not only practice patterns in isolation, but also practice using them to create music by using them to do things like:

·         Improvise

·         Practice guitar phrasing

·         Integrate all your techniques and skills together

·         Write licks or solos

Doing these things transforms lifeless scale patterns into something that sounds musical.

Work on both practicing things in isolation and practicing them in musical ways by integrating your skills together in order to make the most progress in the least amount of time.

How This Helps You With Speed And Accuracy

Understand that being able to think creatively and adjust during improvising or soloing affects your ability to play with clean, accurate guitar speed. The more you practice integrating your skills together in a musical manner, the more smooth and effortless your speed becomes.

“Work on chromatic exercises to improve your overall speed and dexterity.”

Unfortunately, practicing generic chromatic exercises that move in the same way up and down the strings doesn’t do much for you.

It doesn’t really help you get faster and if it does, there is a very short ceiling on the skills you gain from it.

Do this instead:

Center the exercises you practice for speed around specific guitar playing goals. Make sure you always work on things that bring you at least a step closer to becoming the guitarist you want to be.

Note: Working on things that improve multiple skills at once helps you get the most results from the least time spent.

Here is a video that explains how to decide what to practice on guitar and how to make your practice more effective:

Tip: Generic chromatic exercises are a common warmup people use for practice. Instead of doing this, warm up effectively using things you already work on, only broken down into smaller chunks.

“Practice everything for the same amount of time to make sure every skill is covered.”

This mistake can make improving your speed and accuracy feel like a frustratingly slow journey.

Why?

It commonly causes guitarists to spend more time than they need to practicing things they’ve already mastered, and not enough time practicing things they still need to master.

Better approach:

Prioritize your guitar practice time based on what you need to work on most to achieve your specific goals and strengthen your weaknesses.

Now you know why some common practice advice makes it more difficult to play guitar with speed and accuracy.

It’s time to learn a killer practice approach that helps you make insane amounts of progress on guitar very quickly.

Learn it now by reading this article about effective guitar practice routines.