Shredding. Part 1 - Fundamentals

In this lesson I am going to teach you guys how to really build your speed and technique, and end up playing like your heroes (Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, whoever you are in to). This is the first in a series of lessons (they are all too long to put as one).

Introduction.
Shredding is a guitar style that most players like to refer to as literally taking the guitar up and playing as fast as you can (with proper guitar playing of course not just random notes and random times), and since I have been playing/listening to it for the last 25 years of my guitar playing life, I have been led to believe the same thing. If you people do not know I am talking about when I talk of a "shredder," take Zakk Wylde for example or Kirk Hammet or Steve Vai. Still lost? Well simply put, they literally pick their instruments up and let them scream!

In this lesson (series of lessons), I am going to teach you all how to become great shredders like the men mentioned above, lets get started.

There are many different styles that can be applied to shred as a musical style (guitar style) itself, but we will just spend these first few lessons building up your speed and technique. There are hundreds, of techniques used in shredding, and to list them all would probably take up a full page on your Microsoft word, so let's just stick with the main ones for now. The main techniques used in shredding include:

1) Legato
2) Tapping
3) Alternate picking
4) Sweep picking
5) Economy picking
6) String skipping

You have all undoubtedly dealt with these techniques before, so here is just a quick recap/revision

1. Legato - Legato is simply a technique where you play notes "smoothly" (Legato means smooth) which means hammering on and pulling off. When playing legato make sure you keep your fretting hand in a boxed position and make sure you can not differentiate between the picked and legato notes. Check Legato Lesson out if you want a better intro. Legato as I mentioned above is to try to emulate smooth notes in your guitar playing, or very fast position shifting. Legato is good with the fact that it is one handed (in some cases) as it means you can tap with your right hand while simultaneously tapping with your left hand, which can produce some cool sounds - we will look into this in future lessons.

2. Tapping - Tapping is a form of legato. Left hand tapping could be described as legato if you don't pick any notes as you tap them. However right hand tapping, means fretting notes with the fingers of your picking hand. When performing tapping licks, tap with the side of your finger and then draw it back into your hand, and if possible use the other fingers of your tapping hand to mute unwanted noise. Check Tapping Lesson out if you want a better intro. Tapping could be described as a technique used to emulate wide intervals or just simply “notes going all over the place” Eddie Van Halen. There are a lot of cool things you can do with tapping, but we will stick with the fundamentals for now.

3. Alternate Picking - This is a technique where you simply (instead of picking towards the floor constantly) you down pick towards the floor, and then when bringing it back up, pick the string again. When alternate picking, make sure you keep your picking hand loose, as if you try too fast, you will be slowed down, and make sure you have good control of the pick - hold it tight, but not too tight. Check Alternate Picking Lesson out if you want a better intro. This technique could be used to emulate a “fiery and aggressive style” Dick Dale - Pulp Fiction theme or to “emulate a long sustained note” Jimi Hendrix.

4. Sweep Picking - This is a technique where you play the notes by "sweeping" across the strings. If you finger a chord and just play the notes contained in it (play each string separately) you are sweep picking. When sweep picking, again keep your wrist loose (use a wrist action when performing sweep and alternate picking), and when sweeping down towards the floor, tilt it slightly to increase your speed. Check Sweep Picking Lesson out if you want a better intro. Sweep picking is again mainly used to emulate wide intervals or just arpeggios themselves.

5. Economy Picking - This is a technique which combines the ideas of sweep and alternate picking (taking the most direct route to each new string). If you alternate pick any standard scale fingering, while playing your next notes on other strings, you are economy picking. When you economy pick you are basically combining the ideas of sweep and alternate picking, so make sure you keep your wrist loose and try not to tense up, and when switching strings make sure the pick is ready to (it is moving in the correct direction). Economy Picking is the method most shredders use to beef up their playing and double their speed.

6. String Skipping - This is simply a technique where you use the ideas of sweep picking and "skip" strings, while sweeping. When string skipping, you are using again the ideas of sweep and alternate picking, except you have to think of it as going over ramps (the strings you have to avoid are the ramps). Check String Skipping Lesson out if you want a better intro. This is also a technique used to emulate wide intervals (or vice versa - depending where you start).

Shred tunes.
Did you think I was only going to leave you with the fundamentals? Oh come on, I am not that evil. When I am teaching my students complex techniques or styles such as this, I try to put it in a fun sort of a matter (must be why I am a genius), so I am going to leave you with a tune to practice the techniques I mentioned above.

Some of you may have heard of this tune, some may have not; it is called "Colorado Bulldog," by Mr. Big. Now this tune will take an awful lot of time effort and practice but it will pay off and prepare you for the hard lessons coming up. Since this is a long tune and would take up a lot of space, I am only going to transcribe licks I feel you do good learning.

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|--------4-7-9------7-9-12---------9-12-14---------12-14-16---------|
D|-2h5h7-------5h7h9-------7h9h12----------9h12h14----------12h14h17-|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|---------------------------------------10-12-15-----------12-15-17-|
B|-----------------------12-15-17----------------10h12h15------------|
G|-14-16-19----------------12h14h16----------------------------------|
D|---------14h17h19--------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-19p17p15-----------17p15p12------------15p12p10-------------------|
B|------------17-15-12-------------15-12-10-----------------17p15p12-|
G|----------------------------------------------------16-14-12-------|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|------15p12p10-----------------------------------------------------|
G|-14-12-9--------------16p14p12------14p12p9------12p9p7------------|
D|----------------17-14-12--------14-12-9-------12-9-7-----9-7-5-----|
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------s7|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|---------------------------------8-10-12-15p14p12------------------|
B|------------------------8h10h12--------------------15-13-12-15b(17)|
G|------------------5-7-9--------------------------------------------|
D|------------5h7h9--------------------------------------------------|
A|------3-5-7--------------------------------------------------------|
E|3h5h7--------------------------------------------------------------|

E|19-17-15-----------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------19-17-15--------------------------------------------------|
G|------------------16-14-12-----------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------16-14-12--------------------------------|
A|------------------------------------14-12-10-----------------7-9-10|
E|---------------------------------------------14-12-10-7-8-10-------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------17-------19-|
G|-------17---------19p17-19-19p17--17-------17h19---20p17---20p17---|
D|-17-1919p17-19----------------19---17h19--------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------17---------------17-----------------------------|
B|---20p17--17-2020p19-20b(22)--20-19h20p19p17--17-19p17---17-20-19-|
G|-20--------------------------------------------20----------20------|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-h20p19p17-20-20p19p17--17-----------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------20---20-19p17--19-17-----------------14-|
D|------------------------------------------19-----19-19--14-16-17---|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|----------------14----------------14----------------14----------16-|
D|-17-16-14-16-17--17-16-14-16-17-17-16-14-16-17-17-16-17-19---19----|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|----------------16------------------16-------------------16--------|
D|-17-16-17-19----19-17-16-17-19----19-17-16-17-19----19-17-17-19-21-|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|----------------------------------------------17-------------------|
G|---------17----------------17----17h19h20--20-19-17-19-20-17-19-20-|
D|-21-19-17-19-21--21-19-17-19-21------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

  Tremolo picked-----------|
E|----------17--------------17-19-20-22b(24)--12-13-14-15-16-12-16---|
B|17-19-20---20-19-17-19-20-----------------11-13-14-15-16-----------|
G|-----------------------------------------------11-12-13-14-1513-16|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---7h8-t(9)-7h8-t(9)-7h8-t(9)-7h8-t(9)-7h8-t(9)-7h8-t(9)-7h8-t(9)--|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------10-t(14)p10p9--t(14)12-t(14)p12p10p9-t(14)p10p9-------------|
B|9h10h12-------------12----------------------12--------12-t(14)p10p9|
G|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Well that is the end of your first lesson in series on shredding; I hope you enjoyed it, and any feedback/questions would be much appreciated.

Comments

[jimihendrixWee]

yngwie would be proud.. good lesson

[Dozzy896]

great lesson you helped me a lot man!!!!

[Shreddy]

Sweet.

[GuitarN00b]

can't wait for the rest!

[metallic-THC]

email me when part 2 is complete

[OminousX]

Finally! A lesson that focuses on what I want to do! Shred! I am really looking forward to the rest of the lessons!

[Agent_00Funk]

Nice lesson.

[Snoops]

WEEE.. Look what i can do mommy!!!

[shizaman]

those licks are awesome

[trashmaniac]

nice lesson u got there dude.And you not just talking about your lesson, instead giving a reference for the related lesson.THX.Can't wait for the next lesson

[CowboyFromHell3]

this lesson kicked ass man can wait for part 2!!!

[rakistarulz001]

great lesson!!you helped m alot tnx!!

[The Fiddler]

Nice...this is an area that many people sturggle with. But although this lesson helps a lot, speed comes with playing experience.

[madz]

shit this going to take me a long time to get this right.....

[zep123]

wow, awesome

[Spanner]

Quoting from madz: Dont worry this lesson is just the "Fundamentals" (Fun & Mental). We will go into developing speed technique feel accuracy or whateve, in part 2.
See ya then.

[smb]

Nice one Spanner. 5/5! When's the next one up?

[deathbysexy]

i dont really how to economy pick

[deathbysexy]

i meant to say i dont really get how to economy pick

[ObscuredByLight]

Job well done.

[me_myself_and_i]

fun lesson , i liked the tune at the end

[fendrix420]

economy picking seems tricky could you go over it in leson two a little more?

[Spanner]

Yep sure. I know how you feel, when I first started doing my music practical, I got notes on how to economy pick and didnt understand them what so ever, it is a little confusing so dont worry I will go into more detail in part 2
Talk to you then.

[Silvior]

Buckethead is the best shredder around

[Jerry Monkey]

hey i like your way from how u wrote it, very good... gona check this out as soon as i get home.
(why aren't teachers like you around here )

[Dyer's Eve]

nice, that licks gonna take some stretching though.... sorry fingers

Anyway awesome lesson, 5

[The_New_Slash]

sweet lesson man! im gonna show this to my homies

[arsonite]

garr! my hands!

[Spanner]

Remember people if the stretch starts to hurt STOP!!
Build up a stretch gradually.

[SJonesy]

cheers! really helped

[adamhimself02]

keep it short and simple

[CoreysMonster]

coll lesson
R.I.P Dimebag

[bob311]

thanks for your great help and get that second lesson out soon

[Peterjs]

Great lesson, easy to learn from

[southern_stylin]

I don't know why I have such trouble with tapping, am I doing something wrong? Whenever I try it sounds like wanking.

[Spanner]

Hmmm (confused), it might be your timing make sure it is perectly accurate.

[kdo]

i think your a spanner short of a toolkit ...spanner...haha..olny jesting..good stuff...

[bankofthenile]

it helped now i can almost play all of execretion text that solo is damn hard

[Nirvana101]

my god you know what your talking about
5 stars

[shadows666]

:headbang:thank you so much for the "shred" lesson. I look forward to your next installment.:headbang:

[Irish Anto]

Good Lesson!!

[mtlhdwylde]

wooo..hooo..
god damn that was hard
good lesson

[The UG Squirrel]

good stuff man

[Glass_Prison]

That's quite a lesson. That tune looks quite formidable though...5 stars.

[Andy T]

ultimately awsome!

[Andy T]

good shit.

[Andy T]

off the mother fukin hook

[Andy T]

^what he said

[jamstation]

Colorado Bulldog??? Isn't that a little hard for a beginner's shred? In any case i think you left out one major element of shredding...

...Playing each note equally hard, keeping the time intervals in tact.
In other words, just Playing Consistently.

You should be able to play your shred piece at whatever speed you wish: cranking up the distortion and just shredding straight out isn't going to help your technique at all. It's important to spell this out really clearly because a beginner's ear cant tell the difference at high speeds.

I'd suggest starting slow and loud, because that's when your weaknesses show. If you can play it perfectly 'slow and loud', i.e. without extra noise, with the correct picking, then when you're able to play the piece up to speed, it's going to sound a lot better.

[Spanner]

Em... can you read mate? do you see where I told people to learn that tune, it is optional you tool, I am not going to hunt you down if you dont.
And the techniques you mentioned are not, major elements of shred, they are techniques that one must learn when playing guitar, not elements of advanced guitar playing!!
And just to let you know, WE DO NOT NEED YOUR ADVICE YOU SHOW OFF!!, I am the tutor here and I will handle how these people learn things, I was going to give that advice in part 2 anyway, so DONT stick your nose in my buisiness mate, this is supposed to be proper feedback, if you have any (stupid) comments pm me, dont waste people who want to learn's time reading your crap.
No hard feelings though, thanks for your input,but dont tell experienced teachers how to teach!!

[MrMcElroy]

one question..whats temolo picking?? and jamstation your a queer

[zippidyduda]

man, jam, you wanna blab about stuff, go get your own lesson!

[Spanner]

Qoute: Whats tremolo picking?

Tremolo picking is the same technique as alternate picking (see above), it is very rapid and continuos up and down (alternate) picking, e.g ERUPTION, BEAT IT, both contain good examples check them out.

[shizaman]

god damn that was long but good keep up the good work!

[DeadlySIN]

great lesson.

[shadows666]

Please hurry with the next lesson!!!! I can't wait any longer!!!! Thank you again for this incredible lesson. Also, if you could go over how to incorporate modes into your playing, that would be much appreciated. Thanks once again.

[jamstation]

to tell you the truth, zippidydude, that did cross my mind.. but something tells me you'd rather hear from spanner..

[gape]

seen the comments, must be awsome, see ya when i'm done without breaking my wrist

[junkie_smith]

Spanner, calm the *** down, its a great lesson and Jam was just trying to add some useful knoledge into it!
I have to say, the song at the end is incredibly hard for a lesson called shredding fundamentals though i suppose after spending enough time getting it up to speed with the technique jam stated (along with a metronome etc) you would know the fundamentals.
It would have been useful teaching the techniques of how to learn the song, ie, metronome, dont tense your hand atall, and possibly a midi file to go with it, im not trying to slate you, just adding my $.02.

Nice lesson dude, keep it up, and jam, go make a lesson, i can see a little rivalry coming on!

[fk100]

Hello
Just read ur lesson, gonna attempt to learn some of the song "Colorado Bulldog". Only one problem though, ive never heard the song and cant find it on kazaa. N e ideas where i could get it ?

[junkie_smith]

i found colorado bulldog on ares, why not search for a power tab or gp4?

[Spanner]

A few people obviously do not understand parts of this lesson, so let me explain

1. Colorado Bulldog is monster of a tune, I only put that there for people who allready have a decent technique, you can play it at a slower speed if you do not, they are great licks fast or not

2. This lesson is just the "fundamentals", we will go into developing speed accuracy and technique in part2 there you will get the practice tips, and general tips. But until then, please wait.

[Spanner]

Also if you are a newbie to the guitar, then this lesson is not for you, this is a lesson on the basics of shred, not guitar. I am guessing that most of you have a decent technique already, if not, well then you are not ready for this level of a lesson yet.

[waz416]

cool lesson....this is something Ive been wanting to do for a while....been playin guitar for 4 years now...still I cant solo to save my life....plus I love shredding guitar solos....so It be awomse...if I can do it too....sometimes I wish though...if I jsut woke up one day and started playin liek Petrucci....hahaha.....PEAC EOUT

[waz416]

OMG jsut listend to Colorado Dob.....man.....I know its onlt for ppl who ALREADY haev some spped...but feck....that was some oure shredding picece...wow.....I can never paly that fast...hahaha....still killer lesson.....PEAC EOUT

[Spanner]

It is pretty had isnt it, but remember you dont have to learn it, even to play the licks slowly will sound cool, and even playing them slowly would do your technique good

[ramones417]

awesoem lesson dotn stop teachin

[costa94]

really sick lesson bro nice work

[costa94]

economy picking is ***in mad hard.....i thikn im gonna buy petruccis rock discipline to work on this shit

[Spanner]

Ill give ya some good exercises man
Part 2 should be up soon.

[head_splitter]

is this all you got!!
i played this tab while sitting on the toilet after eating 14 habanero peppers.
with my teeth!!
surely you could come up with something harder.
i have 11 year old students that can play that tab.

[Spanner]

Did you play it to tempo? If so you are ready for part three.

[Spanner]

(Yeah I really believe you mate)

[MonkeyOnDope]

The lesson was wicked awsome i played the song and my friend wanted me to teach her.(she doesn't know how to play to save her life but she think sh e can play well)

[heggazz]

Fukin awesome man I'm sweatin for part 2 and I think people should lay off jam, he was just tryin to help.

[kirkhammett1988]

You spelt hammett wrong

[heggazz]

When is part 2 gonna come out?

[Spanner]

I have it ready, I just have to submit it.

[Keefer]

I can nail the hammer ons fine, but I have a bit of trouble with pulloffs, they just die. The note is there, but it's too quiet.

Any advice?

[Spanner]

It might be the way you are actually performing the pull off.For practically unlimited accuracy, try actually giving the string a sufficient push with your pulling off finger. When you pull off, try digging into the string with your finger, what I mean is with the last knuckle of youre pulling off finger. Try bending it so it stresses the string and straighten it to pull off, on the low E string for example, try bending the string towards the edge of the fret board(not too much as too raise the pitch), your finger is now bent at the last knucle, and bring it back to normal, and the string should sound good and loud.
If this does not make sense or does not work for you, please feel free to pm me.
Spanner.

[zeppelin420]

sweet

[stratman1030]

this lesson dosnt seem free.This seems like somthing a pro would give!!!! anywayz nice lesson!!

[stratman1030]

I FEEL LIKE A VIRTOUSO!!!.. THATS HOW MUCH I IMPROVED!!!

[jboy_16]

its reLLY A big help to me.... thanks....

can u make a lesson a bout fret taping??? i need it...

im just a biginner....

[Spanner]

Check the "tapping lesson" link out, they might have a few good beginner licks in there, if not the lesson should suit your needs, or I could pm you some if you want.

[Spanner]

By "the lesson" I mean part 2

[Dimebag Dani]

great lesson. that's helped me use different techniques to increase my speed. thanks!

[TheGimpMaster01]

very very nice lesson. argh, see I know how to do all that, but I can't do it very well. That makes me mad!!! But thanks for those licks, they are helping me loads!!

[jamshid06]

I never had seen a lesson like this and it rocks, stretches, and wears out everything you got! It's worth it man. It's a great challenge comparing to Paul Gilbert's hands for instance. I'll practice everything technique by technique regularly to catch up especially with the economy picking and string skipping. It's kinda hard cleaning up with my high-action guitar but i'll perfect it someday. A million thanks...

[theone836]

good job man

[bigbear000]

is there any technique for picking u have to use or something? because i play it and i listen to the song dosent sound like it.

[bigbear000]

im thinking i have to alternate pick?

[livestrong]

great lesson man

[mustaine]

i think this is farrrr to fast for a beginner to start on.. any tips?

[Spanner]

Please dont take this the wrong way mustaine, but this is a lesson on advanced guitar playing, and if you are a beginner you are not ready for this lesson yet, however, if you are talking about colorado bulldog, remember you dont have to play it to tempo, it sounds better(in my opinion) slower, and even to play it slowly would do your technique a world of good
And big bear, sorry..... but i dont get ya????

[scarified53]

great lesson, i prefere some of Racer Xs stuff to Mr. Big but either way he is god

[scarified53]

He=paul gilbert

[vaimar republic]

mate - as far as i can see in this and ur other lesson uv nicked most of it from guitar techniques!!! still good but man you should have picked somethin easier than colorado bulldog for an intro to shredding!!!! its one of the toughest songs i know and im one of the people writing shred lessons on this site!! also i have small hands.....bastard stretches!!!

[ClaptonIsKing]

Well simply put, they literally pick their instruments up and let them scream!


Good Lesson but it dives me nuts when people say that. If it really was "literally" the guitar would open its mouth and yell.

im an idiot

[ClaptonIsKing]

Well simply put, they literally pick their instruments up and let them scream!


Good Lesson but it dives me nuts when people say that. If it really was "literally" the guitar would open its mouth and yell.

im an idiot

[tonyguitar]

hey man kool lesson wand my hand hurt's but i stop like ten minutes and then i start again!!

[Spanner]

Quoting from vaimar: What do you mean??? I only inserted a few links to the techniques section, because I did not have space or time to include all of those lessons in this one, and I thought people might like to read more on these techniques, what the hell is wrong with that??!!, i didnt copy anything!!

[punkrocker_336]

it's alright but i would rather teach myself these things

[Spanner]

Very good point indeed man, in my opinion you are your own best tutor, and that no one can teach you advanced stuff, these lessons are just for help and advice really.

[vaimar republic]

sorry man - its a magazine called guitar techniques!! just thought colorado bulldog was a wierd song to tab in a beginners shred lesson and GT tabbed it in the same month!! good lesson man i just thought it were a bit wierd at the time!! top lesson.

[Spanner]

A magazine?? Its news to me, p.s im not pissed at you, just wonderin what ya wer on about

[mastershredder4]

kool, very very good

[bulldawg6748]

ok im new at shredding im only practicing the warm ups to help improve technique and speed, but this, im curius on how this will help? (no effence) and how can i move and switch in the first section of the shredding part of colorado bulldawg?

[Spanner]

It was to introduce you
To give you examples
And to give you ways
Of using them yourself

(Sorry Im after reading about 200 poems)

[she]

hey! how come i could not see the lesson..

[me<-needs help]

thanks for the lesson really helped

[Stula1031]

Hey Spanner I use .09 gauge strings should I move to thicker for shred?
Also I heard that it is easier if you tune down a whole step is this true?

[elf+cheb]

AWESOME!!

[speed41]

great lesson

[9angelslayer]

This was really hard but now I can impress my friends with the parts I have down close to perfect (I don't know all of it yet)

[gnr_revolver]

one word ... SWEET!...

[Spanner]

GROW UP YOU TWO AND STOP SPAMMING!!!!

[deadside666]

i think this is a good lesson and nebody who doesnt is a prick because even if it doesnt help u atlease these guys tried so u mother****ers shoud be more respectful

[ooblah]

damn dude, all i got to say is why cant you live by me?!?

[rockista14]

dude u are 1 heck of a guitarist damn

[alex-aka-tezza]

spanner im a beginner and i wanna get good....can you do a load of lessons that like go in order of the best way to learn guitar from the START...and like build their way up to this????please??? i need some good lessons like this...you must be a good teacher in real life....nice lesson but its way way to advanced for my unworthy guitar...
p.s. do more lessons

[Spanner]

WOW!! Thanks a mil man (blushing)
I was actually thinking of doing a lesson series for beginners and as you say build up to shred standards, maybe in the near future.
Thanks dude best reply yet.

[dimebag62]

hahaha

[dimebag62]

Sorry, but do you honestly believe someone could shred, without even being able to use the common-oh, sorry, "alternative"-picking method? Seriously, that's one of the most basic concepts to grasp, I taught myself how within 2 months of learning to play. Same with sweeps, if someone can't sweep, OR use the common method, this really isn't a place to be. That would be sad...someone trying to shred, only picking in one direction. HAH.
Other than that though, great lesson keep up the good work

[dimebag62]

oh yeah, and don't give me no "we don't need your advice I'm the teacher" crap, cause honestly if I were paying for lessons like this from you, well...hehehe I wouldn't be paying for lessons from you XD

[dimebag62]

^^ damnit *contradicts self* i didn't mean it was a great lesson, it was good though

[dimebag62]

ugh and I left one other thing out, possibly one of the most important part of shredding...well...when it comes to the soloing part, which is most of it, you left out quads :|
how in god's name could someone shred without those? Like...I dunno, they aren't COMPLETELY necessary but playing fast they are pretty important, I would say

[dimebag62]

sorry to beat a dead horse

[Spanner]

OK..... anyone else any questions or comments? (^idiot)

[chrismacker]

wow spammers are annoying
anyway, great lesson from what i have read, i havent tried it yet but i will in a couple mins
.::PRINTING::.

Good Job
:cheers:

[dimebag62]

i'm not an idiot, you are. Way to like...take my feedback and try and use it to make yourself even like...acceptable as a guitar teacher. I would recommend you find another hobby, if these are the "fruits" of your labour

[Josué]

hey, Yngwie Malmsteen says that it´s not all about speed

[ChildOfBodom666]

It's easy to say it's not all about speed when you're argueably the best in the world... Good lesson, but I already knew it all. I'll look for Part II.

[MetallicaNRoses]

Since this is a long tune and would take up a lot of space,

it doesn't already?

[Logz]

ste honey has been warned for spamming

*spam deleted*

[emer]

hey, spanner if you think that colorado bulldog its not a song for practice shredding, could you tell me about some good songs for shredding practice.

[emer]

hey spanner, i would aprecciate that

[Patskey]

Hey dude thanks for all you time and effort on these lessons...i am a rookie guitar player going on 4 weeks now and loving it. thanks to your lessons i am starting to play the misic i love. ROCK thanks dude

[pitbull510]

well done, seriously 5/5

[Becker Ola]

thats the shit man !!! If only you could here what is written !!!

but its still the shit man !!!

Good Work !

Its the best Jerry !! The Best!!

[les_paul_man]

sweet lesson, bit to complex for me but i almost have after a couple days work. You should put some randy rhodes shit into part 3 or 4. How many parts are there gonna be spanner?

[Preid]

I think this is a bad lesson. Your basicly throwing that down infront of people and saying play. Theres no walk through, im at grade 6 and i found this a joke frankly. 2h5h7? all with the one hand? Thats insane for someone new. To much to soon, this needs to be rethought. Theres no 'what fingers' or no what 'type of picking' to be used.

[Spanner]

Quote: Your basically throwing that down in front of people and saying play

What exactly do you mean? Of course I am moron, thats why it is called a l-e-s-s-o-n.
This lesson (for the last time!) is NOT, I repeat NOT! for beginners, it is tips and advice for advanced guitarists wishing to build their speed and technique, hence the term "SHREDDING"!
If this was a beginners lesson, I would put it in the beginner's category

[BETRAYAL]

This is the best thread ive ever read! ive been looking for this kind of shred material for ages. its ace! cheers loads!
p.s. looking at the tab its obvious that its not for biginers and i dont know why people are mad if they cant play it if they are a biginer to shredding

[MiniMusicMasta]

that was good.

[mogdor]

Is that supposed to be 16th notes or what? I'm used to time signatures with proper notation so I'm a little confused on the timing, any help appreciated.

[Flyingmojo]

i love playing pentatonics but in the middle i get jumbled up because theres only two notes or so and i cant do the hammer ons and stuff as fast as the three note strings, what should i do (besides keep practicing)

[GeorgeSinclaire]

I love eating pie, do you?

[alexalexalex]

do a lesson on how 2 play the fast master of puppets solo cos i can play it i just cnt do it fast enuf cos my fingas wont strech plzzzzz help me
frm alex or my usaname is alexalexalex

[alexalexalex]

that was ment 2 b

[alexalexalex]

[alexalexalex]

[alexalexalex]

help me plzzzzz

[alexalexalex]

oh nd all those peeps hu hav posted guitar tabs how long dus it take cos ive been waitin 4 3 days grrrrr

[Jbetter_thanu]

cool,can't wait 'till les.2 BTW preid and dimebag are DUMFUCKS

[alexalexalex]

wot?

[alexalexalex]

ansa me dam u

[woody99]

so when i "legato" i just do hammer ons and pull offs?

[Spanner]

^ Pretty much its what it means in Latin

[mrhappypants]

Great lesson. 5/5. Period. End of discussion.

[rancidrocker]

Awesome lesson, I knew all of it already, but it put it into perspective. Can't wait for lesson two, because speed is something I have trouble with...

[IndieLee]

It looks alright, just I don't know how anyone can do 2h5h7

[SatanSpawn1108]

great lesson...i gave up on 2h5h7....hahaha

[Adam*The Chaos*]

Well nice lesson Spanner, for real dude. Your a great teacher and guitar player but heres my say so. This is to all the the guitar players around. If you want to find oringality and your own sound I suggest you teach yourself how to do what ever you wanna do. Ive been doin it for 3 years now and I have my own technique and sound ^_^ of course I looked at some few pointers here and there (like this lesson) but still teach yourself and your glory will triple!

Bad ass lesson though dude. It opended my eyes to some ideas of mine *thinking*

[Spanner]

^ Ladies and Gentlemen head this man's words of wisdom (about the teaching yourself not the lesson), you ARE really your own best teacher, these lessons are really just for help and advice for frustrated shredders.

[gpr-moondawgy]

nice lession it helped me alot any ways lol

[fenderholic]

Good job. but i cant find a challenge! ive looked at everytihng else. well that i could find on here and everything.but all the stuff i try to learn is waayy too easy! i guess htats good, but ive had these tecniques down for quite a while now. and i learned eruption over the phone and by ear from my dad. and it was hard, but after that it seems like nothing else is. well jazz is pretty hard. oh well if you have any advice lemme know!
you can e-mail me at [e-mail]
ANYONE!
-Emily.

[les_paul_man]

question spanner, on the beginning riff are the triplets at the beginning supposed to be twice as fast as the picking after it. You know where it goes 2-5-7,
4-7-9?

[Spanner]

^Good q., dont read the above tablature as "standard" timing, those triplets you were talking about should be played at the same speed.

[les_paul_man]

tks

[Guitargod12345]

southern_stylin :
I don't know why I have such trouble with tapping, am I doing something wrong? Whenever I try it sounds like wanking

try tapping slow then add a little speed until you can do it fast as lightning

[Guitargod12345]

this is a cool riff

[hellion132]

freaking awesome lesson keep up the good work

[Lead guitarist]

My guitars neck sucks once i get to 15-17 low e the stretching hurts n my thumb has no where to go, I only have a 22 fret. will this change over time, or wont i be able to reach it properly?

[star250]

Do i need to use right handed tapping for the these hammer-ons?

2h5h7 5h7h9 7h9h12 9h12h14 12h14h17

[yorkmann]

no youuse your left hand for a hammer on and you right hand for fret tappin dude.....awsome lesson man.....im a serious shredder!!!!

[jimmy hendrix 2]

theres a hell of a lot of beginners reading this lesson. why???

[ihaveatail]

I can't believe how good this is. You should try to publish all this because I think it would sell like crazy. sure wish i had a teacher like you. Killer lesson.can't wait for part two and maybe your lessons to building up to shred.10/10

[ihaveatail]

oh and i did read all 177 comments.good stuff

[Dookie92]

Thank you so much.

[theusedrocks]

wow...shredding sounds like fun...but i better brush up on the other fundementals first...great lesson by the way...pretty detailed! XD

[and1balla15]

yess.. i can shred now.. THANK YOU!! you are the best.. thanks for pointing out the main TECHNIQUES.. you rock!!

[leon92]

i dont understand it

[Azzy666]

ATTENTION!

Do you think you could make a power tab or guitar pro sound example of the excercises, it would be good to practice along to, and also give us a better idea!
(not that i don't get it, but yeh)
Azzy666 (can't believe some dofus stole the azzy tag b4 me! arg)

[Vincentcrow]

Everything in this lesson seems fine enough, except for one little thingy... "LEGATO" doesnt mean "smooth" dude... Legato is the italian word for "linking", and as the word meaning says, Legato is nothing else but linking notes within themselves. This actually makes the notes sound "smooth" as you say, so you´re not quite THAT lost, but it´s not exactly the purpose. One can learn a lot of little things like this by actually studying in a music conservatory... But as I just said, everything else, I´m fine with! Rock on =)

[i'm a noob]

vincentcrow is right, the effect is smooth, but you hold the note you were previously playing down while you play the note after it to create a smooth transition.

[i'm a noob]

great article, by the way, it helped a lot

[fake_fender]

Nice lessons man
ill print it out and start practising

[d_lord1]

this lessons alright but it doesnt really teach anything, just refers to other lessons and then tabs a very hard song

[JL_Shredder]

I've shredded for a while now, but that gave me more insight, thanks!

[brush200400]

good definitions but didnt give any advice on playing better

[rexreeper99]

i think ill wait a year or 7 before i atempt this... 2 months of guitar just aint enough... lol. great lesson by he way!!!

[Demonikk]

jimmy hendrix 2 wrote:

theres a hell of a lot of beginners reading this lesson. why???

I guess they think that a 'How to shred' lesson's gonna actually make them shred as soon as they pick up an axe for the first time

[ToneVonD]

wait so i do like one pick for every two notes? or three?????

[ToneVonD]

they need to seriously put some damn videos on this thing. like just demonstrate or something

[bleach hazzard]

sweet lesson man. ive been playing for ages now and i think its time for me to learn to shred and this lesson helped me heaps. remember kids: START OFF SLOW. anyone would rather hear slow, fluid and clear notes than fast dead notes.
great lesson man

[sTx]

I have really, really small hands. Can I shred?

LOL. I can't even get this right:

2h5h7

[dio_dude]

it doesnt matter how small your hands are. take angus young for example. Not the best guitarist but still pretty quick.

[Metalhead3333]

Meh.... You've just copied a song and bits from other lessons... This lesson aint hard to do at all.

[me504]

very very good lesson

lots of comments,I killed 30 min reading them all

[KORG101]

i wanna ask..how does pro guitarists remember all of the chords? ca u tell me ur way of remembering chords easily?

[krung]

HAHAHA STUPID PATHETIC KORG101 YOU SUCK!!!

[Matt.hat.]

Dude. this is sweet.10 stars all the way

[bornrockstar]

Really good lesson man, keep it up

[ibanezfreak121]

when you learn chords its just like your fingers move into position you get it down

[jackiebrown]

great lesson!
questions
a)lesson above as example: I start hammering on all the notes with no attacks from my picking on an unplugged electric. then i try attacks with ham ons, alternates etc. If I can hear every note clearly Im feelin good. im worried once i plug in and crank the volume the axe wont behave the same way. what setup is best to practice on?

b)If I am strumming away and then go to shred a line I end up fumbling to start the line. both my hands have to shift to get into shred mode. Worse with tapping. Is this just practice?

c) If you had 800 bucks to blow on a guitar for ease of playability/tone for shreddin- what would you grab.

[corrda00]

Great. Now how do i shred on bass.

[JBEADAM]

is it possible to play this on acoustic?
I am having asome tough beans with thehammer-ons with the left hand.
Thanks very much.
Good lesson.

[ManoDelDiablo]

It's possible on an acoustic. Just listen to 'Spanish Fly' from Van Halen II. It's even possible to "Shred" on a nylon-string classical.

Killer lesson man. Totally off the hook.

[PetrucciAcolyte]

okay seriously people that whole 2h5h7 thing is a little bit stupid now...Paul Gilbert is 7 feet tall and his hands are huge so of course he can write stuff with insane stretches, I'm 6 foot something and I can do 1h7 so before everyone keeps on bitching about the big stretch remember that some people do have it easy and other's just have to practice it...

as for the lesson itself, pretty good keep it up and I can't wait to get down to the really advanced stuff thanks man

[PetrucciAcolyte]

and remember alot of stretch related difficulty comes from bad positioning of the thumb of your left hand on the back of your guitar's neck so if something seems difficult at first try repositioning your hands to accomodate it better and after a while it become's second nature.

[DustyBannister]

Nice lesson, though I can already shred, it's nice to over old lessons to keep up good habits, plus I was looking for the licks you put in from that Mr Big song, thank you for that so much!

[DC5039]

I have put his tabs into Guitar Pro for the people that prefer that way of reading tabs. If this is a problem I can delete the file.

Link:
http://filebeam.com/5687338dacd0300453e51bb4e0c27ba8

[grim_reaper-94]

finally a shred lesson to the point!!thx man!!

[clau]

awesome lesson i realy liked thanx

[pantera456]

oh god, that 2-4-7 hammeron hurts like hell

[pantera456]

edit^ 2-5-7 hammeron, sorry

[Arnthor]

Urrr shit, i never knew i could hammer on 2h5h7 then do 5h7h9h before.

I know i have long fingers but i never knew they stretched that way.

Thanks

[ShredZeppelin74]

sweeeeet.

[TheNewThunder]

Why does it not say witch techniques we are suppose to use, where in the song? :P

Nice lesson.. Gonna nail that ! xD

[ImmortalSoul]

Yay! I am gonna learn to shred!... Thanks a lot for the lesson!.. AWESOMEeeeee LESSON (with that much Es)

[metalroo]

great lesson... only one correction: legato means "tied" not "smooth" (I'm italian ).
sorry for busting your balls and thanx for the lesson

[2Assualt]

Awesome Lesson. 10*s

[ImmortalSoul]

Well... 2h5h7 is a litte bittle too much for me.. :-(
It's the max I can stretch my fingers though!
But still nice lesson

[LARC43]

Dude 2 to 7 fret stretchs aren't hard

[LARC43]

Oh yeah and im not bein a jerk or anything but they've never been hard to me

[icekavu]

this lesson is awsome lol. i just made my profile just so i could say that. kinda hard for me tho but i still try

[BaBaBoeGaH]

Easy to say:
Kick ass lesson!
Those practices help a lot if you wanna play some really insane riffs by way cool artists (e.g. Pantera).
Thanks a lot Spanner.
Also, courtesy to your second lesson which is really awesome!

P.S. And Immortal, just practice.
It might seem hard at first but after some practice you'd master it =)

Cheerio!

[matt_rs]

Yeah I've been playing nearly 10 years and I can't play 2h5h7 cleanly unless I slide. Pretty intense stretch for people with small hands like me, not to mention kids playing on full size guitars.

[Stikit2duhman]

random fact:
paul gilbert hates using economy picking. he said so in a guitar lesson video.

[Hydraulics]

do i have to nail this like the original before i can move on? if so i will be here a while but im sure it will be worth it

[Wolfinator-x]

Stikit2duhman wrote:

random fact:
paul gilbert hates using economy picking. he said so in a guitar lesson video.

True, I find it to be extremely overused, that's one of the reasons why Paul is one of my favorite metal virtuoso guitarists (Nuno Bettencourt as well, for the same reason).

[Wolfinator-x]

Oops, I was talking about sweep picking, forget what I said because I'm an idiot XD

[lillyadams790]

There are millions of paper shredding companies however there are none like http://www.opsus.com They pick up the documents the same day and the entire staff is excellent. I trust them completely with all of my paper shredding needs. I have never been more satisfied with a paper shredding company

[technical death]

YOU ARE ALL WELCOME kk this guide is pretty pro i know

[technical death]

helpful for almost every topic you can ever need help with if you wanna play fast. lol that comment made it sound like i was the author

[PsiGuy60]

The song "Colorado Bulldog" includes some insane stretches... I'll be here a while.

[mkrulez]

lillyadams790 wrote:

There are millions of paper shredding companies however there are none like http://www.opsus.com They pick up the documents the same day and the entire staff is excellent. I trust them completely with all of my paper shredding needs. I have never been more satisfied with a paper shredding company

wait what?? paper shredding???

[KIRK44HAMMETT]

thanks!!!

[omerfayyaz2001]

a word of advice ppl , for speed use strict alternate picking on a metronome, if u started economy picking before u have 145 tempo clear notes speed on alternate picking then ur in for a mistake that takes time to get undone(2 years in my case), remember for shredding 1st master alternate picking, after that go to patterns/picking patterns which can or cannot be alternate , after that ul notice difference in speed. rest of the stuff everyone figures out, remember alternate picking is a must at start so u can get equally timed notes when using metronome. after the alternate picking u can learn the famous down down up picking on 2 strings that many metal guitarists use. BUT ALTERNATE PICKING IS A MUST FOR SHREDDING. when ur picking is fluent then start working on ur left right hand coordination.

[Herman_Li_Clone]

Im stuck at doing the tapping thing... but one day will get it

[technical death]

Just keep practicing