Question for guys that do alternate picking really fast

I think I just did it, and gradually got faster. Same with sweep picking. With both I always went for the notes being clean.
 
stratamania; I think I just did it, and gradually got faster. Same with sweep picking. With both I always went for the notes being clean.
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"ditto"... cleanliness is next to godliness... so they say. Playing clean and on the mark is very important. I was one who started running before I could walk. NOT the route to go 'cause you'll just have to backtrack to the beginning to learn the rudiments, theory of what you're doing, where you're going and how to get there. There is more than one way to skin a cat but the basic fundamentals are all the same. Left/right hand co-ordination is so important and so must be gradual with comfort and confidence when dealing with speed. Crawl, walk, run... and then... LIGHT'EM UP! :D
 
Late 80's Paul Gilbert vids, and his column in Guitar Player mag back then is where it started for me. As my tastes constantly change, when I feel the need to "clean up" I always return to Mr. Gilberto!!!!

Like Swass said,..walk WELL before you start running!!...
 
I've probably been alternate picking fast longer than you've been alive. Mastery of my picking hand has always been where a lot of my attention has been, especially a long time ago. I was always pretty good at it, but I worked really hard on it nonetheless. I still spend almost an hour doing picking exercises every day.

Metronome. Practice log are my basic tools. I alternate almost everything, but most triplets, including arpeggios. I never was interested in sweep picking.

It takes consistency, meaning every day. You're trying o instill muscle memory. You've got to remove the THINK from it.
 
Learned a valuable lesson 25+ years ago. Practice correctly and precise or you will learn nothing. I also used a metronome-well usually a drum machine actually. Gradually speeding it up.
But as stated by many here-clean is essential.
 
I didn't notice how long it took...
it's kinda like when you're growing up and getting taller...
you just don't notice..
you just keep working at it.. keep improving..
 
After many years of practicing exercises with a metronome, emphasizing speed, speed, speed. I've come to the conclusion that you are best served by just playing relaxed, If you spend enough time playing the speed just comes naturally without any special effort. It's a lot more fun this way too.
 
I know a lot of people, students who thought they were doing alternate but had some other hodge podge going on. Is it economy where you downstroke whenever you go to a new string? Be careful of that one. Alternate means just that: down up, regardless.

To clean up you technique I'd use a metronome but also go very slow. Go very slow and very accurately. Slowly increase your speed. And take whole notes, half notes, half note triplets, quarter notes, quarter note triplets, 8th, 8th triplets, 16th notes. This will increase your timing accuracy, which is really where 90% of the problems occur with GUiTAR players and their chops.

With the triplets I generally alter my picking to reflect the triplets feel and sound: downstroke on the downbeat of the figure. Down, up, up or down, up, down. What occurs is great rhythmic accuracy and articulation. Everything else; quarter notes, 8ths and 16th notes are alternate strokes.
 
For me it was major-scales, 7 positions, new key every day, and then metronome from the slowest 40bpm (16th notes) and then as far as I could go step wise up with the metronome.

It took me about a year with ca 30-45 minutes a day.

Jens
 
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