Crayon Sky Music

If you are at the point where you have almost given up on mastering shred guitar, or if you are just beginning the journey, this information is for you. Just a few simple choices can be the difference between success and failure.

1) Choose the correct pick. Never try to shred guitar with a thin pick, it will never happen. You must use a really thick pick like 2.0m. Also, you want to make sure that the pick has a glossy finish. A lot of the thick picks have a rough finish; this causes friction, and slows you down substantially. I use the Big Stubby 2.0mm, its nice and thick, and very glossy finish.

Also shredding guitar utilizes lots of alternate picking; the way to master alternate picking is to use a training pick that was developed by a Berkeley shred guitar teacher. It is specially designed to keep you from dipping your pick to deep into the strings. I bought a set of these picks, and practiced with them religiously for a month, and after it helped me break some bad habits that I had, I now just use one occasionally to keep my alternate picking in line, and in good form.

I could never have gotten my alternate picking as fast as I have it now without practicing with this pick. In fact, if you aren’t careful, practicing bad habits initially can really set you back a long time.

2) Choose the correct amp / distortion. Really, many of the shred guitarists you hear are very dependent on an outstanding quality of distortion that is very clean and sustained. I use a Line 6 amp. There is a shred guitarists dream distortion setting on the amp called “Insane” stop by a music store that sales line 6 amps, plug a Ibanez guitar into it, set the setting for “Insane”, and you will instantly see what I am talking about. Once you get this feel for the right distortion to use for shred guitar, there are several other distortion options that will work, but you need to try the line 6 first just so you know the feel you are shopping for.

3) Choose the right guitar. Gibson Les Paul style guitars don’t work well with shredding. The back of the neck is too thick and rounded. The most popular shred guitars are any Ibanez, or Fender Strats, yes even the Fender Squire. The main thing is you want the thin, flat, unpainted neck, believe me, that neck makes a huge difference.

4) Choose the right systematic training system. Mastering shred guitar requires a very systematic approach. You need a daily system or coach that will take you through various speed levels, and measure your increases. You have to understand concepts such as:

a) how guitar speed picking really works.

b) The four picking strategies.

c) The three types of motion.

d) How to measure your speed.

e) The five worst training mistakes, and how to avoid them.

f) How to do the right exercise at the right time.

g) The “LRB” of super-coordination at high speed.

You also have to understand that there is a difference between a fast Guitarist, and being able to Shred, it is like the difference between a Fast walker, and a runner or a sprinter. Fast walking and running or sprinting are two completely different actions and or motions. This is the same with shred guitar. You can practice the same flow and approach you have been doing for years, starting out slow, and trying to get faster and faster, but you can’t break the point where you go from just playing fast (or walking fast) to being a shred guitarist (or a runner / sprinter) You have to be pushed into a full run, or pushed into full shred over and over again.

To master shred guitar is a huge personal gift to give to yourself, It does not take near as long as some would have you believe, and the reason so many see it as a almost impossible goal, is because they spent years with spotty practices at best, they practiced without the proper tools, and developed bad habits in the beginning they found almost impossible to break, and finally just gave up.

I have taken students that tried to shred for years, and were never successful, and had them shredding within usually a month once I set them up on the right path utilizing the right tools. It’s really not that difficult to master concepts such as really fast sweep and alternate picking if you practice it with a consistent, measurable, systematic approach.

Fender versus Gibson.