Speed Picking Techniques For Heavy Metal Guitar That Are Easy To Learn & Make You Sound Like A Badass Shredder

Want to learn how to master speed picking technique for metal guitar? You’re in the right place. Read the 4 points below to learn how to master picking technique for metal using creative and fun practice approaches that quickly improve your playing:

Speed Picking Technique For Heavy Metal Guitar #1: General Picking Versatility

Being able to use different pick attacks gives you the versatility to play all kinds of heavy metal guitar licks with no problems. It’s easy to get used to picking only with alternate picking, but becoming a better metal guitarists requires pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Watch this video to see how using a different picking attack creates massively different (and better) results for your playing:

Here some additional ways to improve your overall metal guitar picking technique using variety in your picking attack:

·         Think of 5 different ways to pick any given guitar lick. For example, picking with 3 upstrokes followed by a downstroke, 2 upstrokes followed by 2 downstrokes, etc. Then practice this way for 1 minute per approach (5 minutes total).

·         Practice any exercise using only upstrokes for 1 minute, downstrokes for another minute and picking as normal for another minute.

·         Accent specific notes in a lick using a heavier pick attack for several minutes. Then choose a new note to focus on for another few minutes.

Speed Picking Technique For Heavy Metal Guitar #2: Tremolo Picking

Striking the strings more in less time is the key to having tremolo picking that shreds through notes at a blazing pace. This is done by having a smaller distance between your pick and the strings while playing. Getting started with this is easy to do and only takes a few quick adjustments until you’re speed picking like the pros.

This video shows you how to cut your picking distance in half to massively increase tremolo picking speed:

Here are a few quick tips to strengthen your tremolo picking more:

·         Practice tremolo picking on the lowest strings. If you have a bass, practice tremolo picking on it too.

·         Practice using tremolo picking on high frets.

·         See how long you can tremolo pick a single note without losing consistency. Then try to go longer the next day.

Read this article to get more help developing killer guitar tremolo technique.

Speed Picking Technique For Heavy Metal Guitar #3: Sweep Picking

Sweep picking is commonly thought to be a difficult metal guitar technique to learn. This is because sweep arpeggios sound fast and impressive. Fortunately, it’s not as hard as many think.

Sweep picking essentially uses one big pick stroke in the picking hand and very simple/minimal movement in the fretting hand. This is easy compared to other techniques like string skipping or playing scales.

Guitarists commonly struggle with sweep picking because:

They do not know how to mute properly with both hands to have each note sound independently without unwanted string noise.

Learn how to effectively mute the strings while sweep picking by watching this sweep picking video:

They attempt to play large patterns too soon before getting used to the timing needed to play the notes.

Solve this by beginning with 2-3 note arpeggio patterns at first. Later, break down larger patterns into smaller 2-3 note patterns in order to isolate and fix any problem areas.

They play arpeggio patterns over and over without any break in between notes.

You don’t have to play all sweep picking patterns with the same constant note rhythms. This actually makes sweep picking harder than it needs to be. Sweep picking patterns become MUCH easier when you add a brief moment of rest after playing the highest note in an arpeggio.

This video shows you a cool way to make sweep picking easier while becoming a more creative metal guitarist in the process:

Learn more ways to improve your sweeping skills by studying these free sweep picking technique resources.

Speed Picking Technique For Heavy Metal Guitar #4: Power Picking

Playing heavy metal guitar is about playing with power! Don’t pick with a weak picking attack. Use a heavy pick attack to add clarity and intensity to every note.

Make every note a powerful one by doing the following:

·         Use a heavy pick (around 1.5 – 2.0 mm)

·         Practice picking harder for 5-10 minutes each day until it becomes natural. Imagine you are playing unplugged in a big room and you want everyone in that room to hear you.

Play guitar by putting the pick deeper into the strings. This puts more of the pick area in contact with the string, giving you more power and volume with no additional effort.

This video demonstrates what it sounds like to get more power by placing the pick deeper into the strings:

Note: While picking with extra power, make sure to separate what your picking hand is doing from what your fretting hand is doing. Notes should be fretted using just enough pressure to get the note to sound and no more.

Want to learn many more ways to become a better metal guitarist fast? Take lessons with an experienced metal guitar teacher and make faster progress in your playing than you ever thought possible.