How To Play Neo-Classical Guitar Using Speed Picking Tips That Transform You Into A Badass Shredder Part 2

In part one of this neo-classical guitar speed series, you learned some cool ideas to give you a unique, undeniably neo-classical sound. Now it’s time to learn more ideas to expand your sound and train yourself to become a more creative neo-classical guitarist.

Use these guitar playing speed tips and licks to train yourself to integrate a neo-classical style into your playing:

Take Your Neo-Classical Guitar Licks To A New Creative Level With Hungarian Minor

You already know how to play the harmonic minor scale, now learn how to use the Hungarian minor scale. This scale has a very interesting sound that spices up your guitar soloing like no other:

Hungarian Minor

One cool guitar phrasing idea for using this scale is to use notes 4 and 6 to embellish note 5. For example, play fret 14 (note 5 in the scale), then trill with it using fret 15 above, before sliding down to fret 13 and back to 14 again. Then play the final note of the scale on fret 14 on the next string.

Integrate this scale into your guitar playing for speed by working on it string by string. Practice the first three notes, then add one note from the next string, and the next, until it becomes effortless to flow through the scale with speed.

This approach helps you learn the scale faster than trying to play everything at once.

Once you are familiar with the pattern, improvise with it and find ways to make it musical.

Sculp Your Own Unique Guitar Soloing Style By Learning From The Masters Themselves

What is one of the easiest ways to learn tons of neo-classical guitar licks? Get them directly from the source. There exist transcriptions (in tab form) of classical composers’ work not only for sale, but freely available through Google/YouTube search.

You give yourself tons of new ideas by working on classical composers’ etudes and works.

Here are just a few great composers to look for:

  • Niccolò Pagannini

  • Johan Sebastian Bach

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

Additionally, there are many modern guitar players who take influence from classical composers. Studying their songs and playing style helps you learn more ways to adapt the neo-classical guitar style as your own. Here are just a few great players to get you started:

  • Yngwie Malmsteen

  • Michael Romeo (mostly before 2000)

  • Alexi Laiho (1997-2000)

While studying these players, use this guitar speed guide to play faster using efficient practice methods.

Make Any Song Sound “Classical: Using Simple Chord Progression Ideas

People often think of music as “neo-classical” based on the way chords are arranged together. This means you do not need to learn how to play with any special techniques… only use the right notes. There are countless ways to achieve this sound, but here are a few examples (combining some of the concepts you’ve already learned in this article series):

You learned about how diminished chords were used to change keys in the previous lesson. Here is an example of what this looks like when used to modulate to a major chord arpeggio:

Neo-Classical Sweep Picking

Practice this for yourself by playing a diminished arpeggio anywhere on the fretboard, then resolving it up a fret to a major or minor arpeggio pattern.

This makes for a killer speed picking guitar lick that turns heads.

To take diminished sweep picking patterns to the next level, try this 5 string pattern:

Diminished Sweep Picking Lick

Integrate this together with the concept just discussed to add a new layer of depth to your lead guitar playing.

Another cool idea is to resolve the diminished arpeggios to a minor chord several times, then on the last time, resolve it to a major chord instead. This utilizes the very neo-classical-sounding idea of the “Picardy Third”.

Finally, here is another awesome speed guitar sweep picking lick that uses a chord progression to give you a neo-classical sound.

If you look closely, you see this idea continually moves up by one fret (the note is marked above):

This gives the lick a similar feeling of moving to a new key as with the diminished chords earlier (and can be used in the exact same way).

Learn more about playing in a neo-classical guitar style while increasing your playing speed by finding an experienced metal guitar teacher to help you.