Struggling to play guitar clean at fast speeds? You're probably making the same mistakes as most guitarists. Here are the 3 reasons why guitar players make mistakes at fast speeds:
Reason #1. They Only Focus On Finding New Exercises To Work On
Finding a lot of new exercises to practice doesn't help you improve your speed and accuracy. Understanding HOW to practice correctly and learning how to develop correct technique does.
Bottom line: Speed is a byproduct of great technique. Focus on developing excellent technique by using an effective practice schedule over searching for as many exercises as you can find.
Reason #2. They Don't Train To Make Their Articulation Powerful Enough
Playing guitar with excellent articulation is critical for keeping your hands in perfect sync. This is because it's impossible to pick the notes with power if your hands are out of sync. Playing with weak articulation sounds worse and makes it easier to play sloppily without knowing it.
Bottom line: Practice picking notes with heavy articulation in order to force yourself to keep both hands in sync. Not only does this make your playing cleaner, but it makes it sound better too. Just listen to the way it sounds when you use weak vs. strong articulation without distortion... there is no comparison!
Reason #3. They Don't Pay Attention To The Release Of The Note
The release of a note comes after you've played it and are moving onto the next note. Most guitar players release the note they play sloppily and don't notice if there is sloppy noise between notes or if the notes bleed together. This makes their playing sound bad without them even being aware of it.
Bottom line: Pay close attention to the release of the notes you play during a lick/exercise to hear any sloppy noises or note bleeding. Figure out what is causing the noise, fix it and enjoy the clean playing that comes as a result! If you are not sure what the cause is, work together with an expert. Find a guitar teacher who has helped many others (and can prove it). He will pinpoint the root problems in your playing and help you fix them as fast as possible.
When you correct these three issues, your playing becomes cleaner and more accurate right away (which makes faster playing feel easier). However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
