Slowing down with age.

It's nature's way of finally making you learn good vibrato... ;)

I don't like the "pick every note style" [except early Luke runs], so I find you can get plenty speed from the inbetween style, which I also find the most tasteful.
Always wanted to add on Satriani legato style, but my hands are too frail. Attempting that down on the neck can easily hurt 'em.
OTOH, I'm against techniques where you don't hear the notes you will be playing "in advance". I find that is actually a big factor in being able to play fast. If you know what you want, you'll be able to play faster than doing mechanical stuff that you're not 100% sure of how it will come out.
 
I'm a novice at 51 (6 yrs playing) so still not sure of my limits. Though I don't expect to make speed a priority, I feel that my age is becoming visible in lots of things I do. Given that, the styles I'm migrating toward are less speed based - i.e. Gilmour. As mentioned above, speed has it's down side and there are alternatives which I guess is good for me!
 
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I have to agree with a lot of the comments above.....

I'm 42 and have been playing since 10 and playing out since 18....and still do now. In relation to Satriani not playing the same solo....I dont think its because he cannot pull it off, but rather that he can creatively come of up with improvs on the spot within his own music that keeps him fresh and alive when he plays. He is probably bored having to pull off the same exact solos every night (even though we all wait for it lol).

If anything I would have to say my speed and definition has gotten better over the years. Stretching out and preparing to play is crucial in achieving what you want also. You cannot just pick up the guitar and pull off Malmsteen note for note without warming up and continuing to play in that style and speed....every day.

I to use programs like Audacity (I actually use 'Amazing Slow Downer') to get my chops down and solos correct.

If you look at guys like Petrucci, Malmsteen, Morse, Lynch, Van Halen (to name a few).....speed is not a factor for them as they have built up that speed over years of practice. Now it just comes natural to them to 'play' like that.
 
how do i put the lil soundcloud avatar on the title of a thread?

i just wrote this rock song rushed mixing etc


 
Interesting comments.

I had not given a lot of thought to the fact that when I was 18, all I really practiced was shredding. It was all I wanted to do. Where as now, I rarely practice it.

In fact, I rarely listen to shred music anymore as my tastes have changed to typically more bluesy.
 
sarge said:
Interesting comments.

I had not given a lot of thought to the fact that when I was 18, all I really practiced was shredding. It was all I wanted to do. Where as now, I rarely practice it.

In fact, I rarely listen to shred music anymore as my tastes have changed to typically more bluesy.
Click to expand...

What I relate to in your above comment is..... I am still playing all the stuff I grew up listening to...but I play it live to all the 40+ year olds. Makes me happy ;) and its still fun to boot....

Not to mention I get paid to do it now..... unlike when I was 18 and playing on a wednesday night 50 miles from the studio, stuffed in a van with 3 or 4 other guys, etc etc....LMAO
 
I'm 46 and I have been learning Miraculum from Lincoln brewster. I played it this past weekend and will play it Dec 24. I am not a fast player at all, but you will do what you have to do. We all know that Speed is all about Muscle memory and repetition. So yes as you get older your priorities change just a bit, you are not on the repetitive cycle as much. But when given the time to learn a song for a special event you will get the speed up. It just takes time.

My Life lesson
Observation - Imitation - repetition - internalization.

This is the process for anything from Under water basket weaving to a Descending major run in fourths and 140 beats per minute. If you really want it's there. So where are you in your 10,000 hour journey? I'm about 5 and a half thousand in maybe more.
 
Maybe it's just me, but I never understood how obsessed some people are about speed. Like speed is a ultimate criterion for judging how good a guitarist you are. There's just so much more to this instrument.
 
wow....

I've not slowed down at all
I play just the same as before..
if anything, with time I think my note selection has improved..

and if I don't play for a while [maybe spending a lot of time mixing or writing] I don't find that the speed goes..
it's the accuracy that takes a hit...
but after a few days of good solid playing it returns..
 
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