Just about every guitar player wishes they could play faster.  Here is one of the secrets that I have found to obtaining speed and control in your playing--Slow Down. I know it sounds like reverse logic but it’s true.

True speed begins with control and the only way to get control is to SLOW DOWN. Building speed also takes a bit of time to train the fingers and the motor skill muscle memory.

Here’s a simple process for building your speed...

Buy a metronome and get used to playing with it. A metronome is going to be your way of measuring speed.  An Olympic sprinter works with a stopwatch to gauge progress. Musicians work with metronomes.

Start slow on a favorite exercise. Take a favorite scale exercise - let’s say pentatonic scales. Set your metronome at a nice and slow tempo of 60 bpm (beats per minute) and play through the scale in sixteenth notes. Start slow and build up to faster speeds just like a sprinter warms up before a race. Resist the urge to skip this step.

When you can play it perfectly, then put the metronome up just slightly. When you can play it controlled a couple of times then increase the metronome to the next level, let’s say to 64 bpm.

Repeat the second step until you are at your top tempo. You need to work your way gradually up to your top tempo. The last tempo that you can play the exercise at before you start losing control is your top tempo. When you find your top tempo write it down.

Continue increasing the metronome incrementally until it gets so fast that you can’t even play through the exercise. When you find this tempo, write it down.

This whole process should take about 20-30 minutes. Repeat all of these steps for several days straight. You won’t notice any change for the first 3 days but by the end of the first week, you will notice your top tempo going up slightly.

Building speed takes some time. Be patient with it and the results will come with increased speed and control. Keep Learning and Growing!

Steve Krenz, Author - Learn and Master Guitar