Here is a conundrum for you all...

[Hjorvard]

Hello, my name is Darryl. I am primarily a metal guitarist of about two years straight. Now my preference for metal usually tends to be extreme, and as we all know extreme metal usually requires a fluent tremolo technique and speed. Here my friends is the conundrum. I was born with an incurable nueromscular disorder which causes extreme muscle tension all over my body, more pronounced in the lower extremities. Though the tension in my hands is so minute it's hardly hindering, it does hinder me just enough to where I am not able to play a clean and fluent single note tremolo riff as is expected of extreme (more precisely death) metal. Humility is not something that comes easily to me, so it has been a hard task indeed humbling myself enough to realize I may never play as fast as I desire. I am a fairly good player with a willingness and tenacity to learn and improve so my overall question is this: Are there any excercises, or scales, or chord shapes, techniques ect ect that will help me improve my overall skill and help me to attain some what of an interesting and technical playing style as I cannot play fast? Noone said death metal has to be fast, but I shall try my best to make it as interesting and technical as possible with the aid of you folks. Thanks for the advice/consideration!

[Fret spider]

i think speed is due to three main fasctors.

speed of picking hand
speed of fretting hand
co-ordination betweent he two hands.

practice just picking one note and just doin legato to isolate each hand then cmbine them.

now u can improve all the above with better technique. to play more notes per second there are generally 2 things you can do. move more quickly, or make the movements required to pick the string smaller.

im not familiar with your condition so i dont know how much this applies. normally to move quikly one has to be as relaxed as possible. if you are tense then some of your muscles are acting against others. i would suggest playing as fast as you can without tensing up. as soon as there is tension relax. another trick for this is unplug ypur guitar and take it with u all over the place. if u watch tv sit there picking one note over and over again. the fact that your mind is not on your fingers should help you relax a bit more.

so the other way of increasing picking speed is to reduce the movement required to pick the note. try to pick with wrist movement rather than elbow movement. there are other benefits for picking from the wrist (they allow you to place a part of your hand on the strings above the one you are playing, muting them so you can play cleaner) but as speed is your concern i wont go into them.
also they way you grip a pick, and what pick you have may have something to do with it. some people hold the pick in the fingertips. firstly the pick. if you have a soft pick, it will bend more as you push it over a string. this means that you have to move your hand futher. solution use a thicker pick. also try to use the smallest amount of pick when playin. eg dont dig it a centermeter under the string. also some people hold the pick between the thunb and first finger finger tip. i would suggest you hold it between the 'pad' of the thunmb and the side of the ast digit of the first finger. as the pick is now closer to your wrist, less movement is required as any twisting in the wrist will not result in reduced motion of the pick.
other than the above try to make the movements as small as possible.
(also as a note pick witht he wrist, but change strings using the forarm muscle)

on the fretting hand side. the same thing applies to tension, play as fast as you can without tension. again try and make movements as small as possble.

co-ordination is about practice, start slow and work your way up.

as to scales etc any will do. i always like goin 1234 on each string then moving up to 2345 etc.

hope thuis helps

[hunter1801]

I have no medical conditions....and I still know I will never be able to play like some of the people I look up to. It irritates me, but at the same time I know that I will still enjoy playing the guitar as much as ever, even if I'm not the next Vai or Malmsteen.

[Hjorvard]

i think speed is due to three main fasctors.

speed of picking hand
speed of fretting hand
co-ordination betweent he two hands.

practice just picking one note and just doin legato to isolate each hand then cmbine them.

now u can improve all the above with better technique. to play more notes per second there are generally 2 things you can do. move more quickly, or make the movements required to pick the string smaller.

im not familiar with your condition so i dont know how much this applies. normally to move quikly one has to be as relaxed as possible. if you are tense then some of your muscles are acting against others. i would suggest playing as fast as you can without tensing up. as soon as there is tension relax. another trick for this is unplug ypur guitar and take it with u all over the place. if u watch tv sit there picking one note over and over again. the fact that your mind is not on your fingers should help you relax a bit more.

so the other way of increasing picking speed is to reduce the movement required to pick the note. try to pick with wrist movement rather than elbow movement. there are other benefits for picking from the wrist (they allow you to place a part of your hand on the strings above the one you are playing, muting them so you can play cleaner) but as speed is your concern i wont go into them.
also they way you grip a pick, and what pick you have may have something to do with it. some people hold the pick in the fingertips. firstly the pick. if you have a soft pick, it will bend more as you push it over a string. this means that you have to move your hand futher. solution use a thicker pick. also try to use the smallest amount of pick when playin. eg dont dig it a centermeter under the string. also some people hold the pick between the thunb and first finger finger tip. i would suggest you hold it between the 'pad' of the thunmb and the side of the ast digit of the first finger. as the pick is now closer to your wrist, less movement is required as any twisting in the wrist will not result in reduced motion of the pick.
other than the above try to make the movements as small as possible.
(also as a note pick witht he wrist, but change strings using the forarm muscle)

on the fretting hand side. the same thing applies to tension, play as fast as you can without tension. again try and make movements as small as possble.

co-ordination is about practice, start slow and work your way up.

as to scales etc any will do. i always like goin 1234 on each string then moving up to 2345 etc.

hope thuis helps

This does indeed help! Thanks for the advice man!

[Hjorvard]

I have no medical conditions....and I still know I will never be able to play like some of the people I look up to. It irritates me, but at the same time I know that I will still enjoy playing the guitar as much as ever, even if I'm not the next Vai or Malmsteen.

Yeah I know what you mean. If speed is not something I can vastly improve upon, I'm sure I can adapt. It is great inspiration knowing that the man who invented sweeping only had two working fingers on his fret hand. Then there is another guitarist (whose name I can't recall) whos hands are stricken with an illness in which his fingers curl up, yet he has adapted, and even further still there is Jason becker who is perhaps the greatest inspiration of all as he hasn't given up hope and he is far worse off than I.

[light487]

I find it easy to go up in pitch really fast because I can use hammer-ons and also because I am able to coordinate my left and right hands easily when I am going up for when I play legato style.. coming back down is where I really suck.. so if you listen to any of my stuff you will see I tend not to come down as fast as I go up. I'm working on it though and when I am in the right mood and relaxed I can actually play just as fast going back down again.. it's just a matter of practise and being in the right frame of mind, and that frame of mind also comes from practise and experience.

[light487]

I am not able to play a clean and fluent single note tremolo riff as is expected of extreme (more precisely death) metal.

Who ever said that metal has to be constrained to what other people expect? The whole point of most progressive metal is to NOT conform to what other people expect. Have you ever thought of may be using your inability to do certain things as a bridge to doing things other people would never think of doing because they can do what is expected??

Think outside the box.. this is music.

[BrokenJera]

i have no real advice only to say this:

when tony iommi cut the tips of his fingers off at work he found newways of doing to same old things.


what i mean by this is find something that works for you, then find the simplest way of doing it. speed is the addiction of the unskilled. you wont need to move faster than any one else if you learn how to play better than any one else. if you dont have them go get 'ride the lightning' and the 'black album 'by metallica. then start looking at and compairing the tabs/ music for both and youll see. jamez plays alot slower on black but it sounds way harder and heavier.

i dont have any major nueromusclar disoders but i have a pinched nerve some where in my left hand that causes pain in my ring and pinky fingers. i cant take pain killers all the time so i have found ways of doing things so i dont have to use those fingers as much.

[Fret spider]

This does indeed help! Thanks for the advice man!


no probs glad i could be of help

[Kevin Taylor]

There's a few of things you can try.
Three note per string scales is one. Another is getting proficient at sweeping.
Another is using economy picking
Lastly, doing tapping leads.
I have a similar sort of problem with my left hand. Whenever I press my first finger down on a fret, my pinky automatically shoots straight out. There's nothing I can do to stop it so there's no way for me to keep my fingers close to the frets at all times so that I can get up to speed.
So I basically I just learned tapping so I could imitate any lead I wanted. Once you get good at it you can't tell the difference and there's a whole bunch of stuff you can do with tapping that's impossible with regular playing.
Plus the exercises are extremely fast and really tone up your left hand in a hurry.

[Superhuman]

The other thing you could AND should try anyway is to create a unique style that does not depend on speed but replies on other less frequently used techniques. Tapping is a good one, you can actually tap heavy rhythms - they will sound legatto but will also sound cool, sweep picking is another and us of the whammy bar is another, advanced pinch harmonics is another great one. Another unused one in death metal that lots of high brow players use is finger picking with medium to low gain using a good sound suppressor. It gives a totally different sound but played with a blast beat or fast double bass it all of a sudden sounds very technical.
Most death metal guitarists are very poor musicians and have nothing beyond fast alternate picking - that's why they get very boring very quickly. Take away the production from a lot of these bands and they all start to sound the same so you could focus on exploiting your limitations to open a broader canvas of techniques - I guarantee you would open a lot more eyes and ears with that approach. If you focus on becoming an expert in using other techniques then your whole style will shape into something original, this is a far better way to look at playing in the long run.

[Hjorvard]

I find it easy to go up in pitch really fast because I can use hammer-ons and also because I am able to coordinate my left and right hands easily when I am going up for when I play legato style.. coming back down is where I really suck.. so if you listen to any of my stuff you will see I tend not to come down as fast as I go up. I'm working on it though and when I am in the right mood and relaxed I can actually play just as fast going back down again.. it's just a matter of practise and being in the right frame of mind, and that frame of mind also comes from practise and experience.

Hmm I shall have to try that myself, and you definitely are right man. I've been practicing like crazy lately.

[Hjorvard]

Who ever said that metal has to be constrained to what other people expect? The whole point of most progressive metal is to NOT conform to what other people expect. Have you ever thought of may be using your inability to do certain things as a bridge to doing things other people would never think of doing because they can do what is expected??

Think outside the box.. this is music.

This statement is actually very inspiring to me and you're right again. I've actually been looking into different techniques and styles to find ways to do this.

[Hjorvard]

There's a few of things you can try.
Three note per string scales is one. Another is getting proficient at sweeping.
Another is using economy picking
Lastly, doing tapping leads.
I have a similar sort of problem with my left hand. Whenever I press my first finger down on a fret, my pinky automatically shoots straight out. There's nothing I can do to stop it so there's no way for me to keep my fingers close to the frets at all times so that I can get up to speed.
So I basically I just learned tapping so I could imitate any lead I wanted. Once you get good at it you can't tell the difference and there's a whole bunch of stuff you can do with tapping that's impossible with regular playing.
Plus the exercises are extremely fast and really tone up your left hand in a hurry.

I've worked with basic three string sweep patterns so far, and I've recently been applying six string sweep patterns to my practice regimen. Now I've heard of economy picking but I don't know exactly what that entails. Could you please clarify?

[Hjorvard]

The other thing you could AND should try anyway is to create a unique style that does not depend on speed but replies on other less frequently used techniques. Tapping is a good one, you can actually tap heavy rhythms - they will sound legatto but will also sound cool, sweep picking is another and us of the whammy bar is another, advanced pinch harmonics is another great one. Another unused one in death metal that lots of high brow players use is finger picking with medium to low gain using a good sound suppressor. It gives a totally different sound but played with a blast beat or fast double bass it all of a sudden sounds very technical.
Most death metal guitarists are very poor musicians and have nothing beyond fast alternate picking - that's why they get very boring very quickly. Take away the production from a lot of these bands and they all start to sound the same so you could focus on exploiting your limitations to open a broader canvas of techniques - I guarantee you would open a lot more eyes and ears with that approach. If you focus on becoming an expert in using other techniques then your whole style will shape into something original, this is a far better way to look at playing in the long run.

This is some great advice and you're definitely right about the whole death metal thing. There are alot of great bands (Death, Asphyx, Pestilence, Cynic and Atheist) that play outside of the box if you will and these are some of my favorite bands. This is realy great advice. Thanks!

[Fret spider]

econimy picking is basically putting together alternate picking, and sweep picking together. you always pick towards the string you want to play. this means that you willl not nessasarily play strict UDUDUD but might play UDUDDDUDUU. or somtheing like that

for example you would play the following riff

...D U D U .U U U D U. D U U D U .D .U
--9-7-5-7------------------------------
-----------6-----------------------------
-------------5--------9-----8-------------
---------------7-8-10---------7-10-8-----
------------------------7------------------
--------------------------8-----------------

made that up on spot without lookin at guitar so probably sounds horible but hey, its an example. it means that you have to move the pick less as you always take the quikest path to the next string. the only thing to be carefull with is it is harder to keep a good rythm (in my opinion) with econimy picking, people tend to rush the swept bits. but yeh a very good thing to master, which will also open up sweeping muchh more to you as i wont feel like switchin between seperate techniques.

[Kevin Taylor]

My understanding of economy picking is, when you play on one string, you use alternate picking.
When you go to the next high adjacent string, you always start with a down stroke.
You never deviate from this pattern until you go backwards from high to low strings.
Going backwards you use alternate picking.
This picking technique minimizes energy in hand movement by using one pick stroke to cross from one string to the next highest string.

[Superhuman]

This is some great advice and you're definitely right about the whole death metal thing. There are alot of great bands (Death, Asphyx, Pestilence, Cynic and Atheist) that play outside of the box if you will and these are some of my favorite bands. This is realy great advice. Thanks!

Those are some of the best death metal bands right there, particularly Cynic - others to include would be Carcass (the later albums), Nocturnus and Necrophagist. Check them out for some extreme fretwork.

PS I just discovered that Cynic have reformed, they played the Eindhoven fesiteal last year - you can get most of the gig on youtube - bloody excellent stuff! Also, there is a very strong possibility that a new album is in the wings:-) This is the only reform that has gotten me excited - can't wait to hear the new material!

[Hjorvard]

Those are some of the best death metal bands right there, particularly Cynic - others to include would be Carcass (the later albums), Nocturnus and Necrophagist. Check them out for some extreme fretwork.

PS I just discovered that Cynic have reformed, they played the Eindhoven fesiteal last year - you can get most of the gig on youtube - bloody excellent stuff! Also, there is a very strong possibility that a new album is in the wings:-) This is the only reform that has gotten me excited - can't wait to hear the new material!

Hahaha I was raised a metalhead so I am well aware of those bands as well...I do know that cynic has reformed, so has pestilence and Carcass is doing a couple reuinion shows in England! Carcass would definitely be a band I'd want to see live.

[Hjorvard]

econimy picking is basically putting together alternate picking, and sweep picking together. you always pick towards the string you want to play. this means that you willl not nessasarily play strict UDUDUD but might play UDUDDDUDUU. or somtheing like that

for example you would play the following riff

...D U D U .U U U D U. D U U D U .D .U
--9-7-5-7------------------------------
-----------6-----------------------------
-------------5--------9-----8-------------
---------------7-8-10---------7-10-8-----
------------------------7------------------
--------------------------8-----------------

made that up on spot without lookin at guitar so probably sounds horible but hey, its an example. it means that you have to move the pick less as you always take the quikest path to the next string. the only thing to be carefull with is it is harder to keep a good rythm (in my opinion) with econimy picking, people tend to rush the swept bits. but yeh a very good thing to master, which will also open up sweeping muchh more to you as i wont feel like switchin between seperate techniques.

Thanks for the help! Seems kinda tough at first but I'm excited to get to work on this!

[Jose Daniel]

Hi Darryl,

This might not be technical advice but I feel that this can help you improve. The first step in any endeavor is to first "know what truly is your goal." What do you wish to acheive? Yes you want your overall skill to improve, but let's say you now have that skill. Then what? What will that give you that did not give you before? I suggest that you get a pen and paper and really ponder about this. And write your answers down.

After finding out what your goals are, the next step would be to know "Why you want to attain this specific goal." So, first you need to have convincing reasons, then the answers on how to get those reasons. Having a clear idea on these things first will help motivate you in your guitar training.

Note: When you practice, always place these goals and reasons anywhere near you. This will serve as a reminder and fuel to your practice sessions. It is very common for guitarists in particular to just go on autopilot mode when practicing. Because of lack of reasons to do these tasks. But if you have these reasons, you will then be convinced and motivated to not allow yourself to be distracted and do everything that you can to acheive these things.

About the disorder that you have, try this. After reading this, write down what exactly your dreams are. I believe that that can be cured. Any disorder can be cured. How? Simple, By focusing on your dreams. Imagine, if you can, that you now have acheive those dreams. Really try this. Imagine yourself being that person. Truly feel it. Feel that you are NOW that person. Convince yourself that you are that person that you want. Don't mind your disabilities, cause if you do, that'll only attract negative things to your mind. Never allow yourself to be less of who you want just because of that disorder.

Maybe you are saying to yourself, "But it seems so impossible..." It that's the case, then I beleive that it is impossible because you THINK that it is impossible. Think big, and you become big. Have you heard of a great poet that goes by a name, Helen Keller? Research that person.

I have met a lot of people who have had great disorders in their lives. A lot of them decided not to pursue their dreams just because of those disorders, but there were some who also chose a different path. They were the ones who did not allow anything to hinder them from being who they wish to become.

A human beings potential is far more greater than we can ever imagine. :)

Happy practicing,
Jose Daniel

[BrokenJera]

thats a great post and great advice for any one jose daniel.

[Fret spider]

i agree with daniel.

when i was young i was told i had quite severe dyslexia. but i didnt let this beat me, and now im studying physics in a good university. and why, because i wouldnt let that beat me.

another thing about dyslexia, i was told that i would never be able to play an instrument that required diferent rythms or different movements with both hands. eg guitar and piano. for years i gave up on my dreams of guitar, playin sax for a bit, although my heart was never in it. then one day i said, screw this, ive never let someone else tell me io cant do something. i can play guitar and i will.

and now i can play guitar to a reasonable level of quality. in fact one of the few regrets of my like is that i waited till i was 17 to face this problem. when i wanted to play guitar since i was like 7. another 10 years would have made a heck of a difference.

but hey u live and learn. dont let the moment go by it might not come again.

[Jose Daniel]

thats a great post and great advice for any one jose daniel.

Thank you man.

i agree with daniel.

when i was young i was told i had quite severe dyslexia. but i didnt let this beat me, and now im studying physics in a good university. and why, because i wouldnt let that beat me.

another thing about dyslexia, i was told that i would never be able to play an instrument that required diferent rythms or different movements with both hands. eg guitar and piano. for years i gave up on my dreams of guitar, playin sax for a bit, although my heart was never in it. then one day i said, screw this, ive never let someone else tell me io cant do something. i can play guitar and i will.

and now i can play guitar to a reasonable level of quality. in fact one of the few regrets of my like is that i waited till i was 17 to face this problem. when i wanted to play guitar since i was like 7. another 10 years would have made a heck of a difference.

but hey u live and learn. dont let the moment go by it might not come again.

Thanks.

Wow! That's very inspiring! It all comes down if you either believe that Life is the master over you, or you are the master over Life.

Carpe Diem,
Jose Daniel

[Chris Ferry]

Hey Darryl. I understand this is no direct answer to your question, but I wanted to state this anyway. Anything is possible. I know that you can definitely achieve the speeds that you are looking to achieve. Stick with it and just have the mindset that you are going to make what you want to happen HAPPEN because it is what you choose, regardless of what the situation may be.

You will get there - Perserverance.


Chris

[Silimtao]

I will join in singing the praises of Jose Daniels's post. I'm a great believer in "creating your own reality". The mind is the most underused muscle.

I can empathize with your "disability" darryl- but found no self-pity in your post. Great attitude man!

I have 3 herniated disks in my low back that has affected me in many ways- to the degree where there's some nerve damage that has somehow managed to work its way to other parts of my body; sometimes my left (fretting hand) goes into involuntary tremors. The docs said I will never do this or that, but, pah! I still play, and teach/practice martial arts (when time permits)- despite the docs saying I can't.

I can't give you any hard advice darryl, other than to repeat what others have already said. Your own attitude will make a great difference, and just like Django, your "disability" just may take you to a place you may never otherwise even thought about.

I particularly liked Jose's idea about writing things down, or "visualizing". I do this all the time. With music and martial arts. I may not actually literally do an exercise or whatever, but when I visualize/meditate on these things, I'm still practicing, and it becomes a part of me, and my muscle memory. If you haven't done so Darryl, try it. It wont happen overnight, but I promise over time you will see results.

Rock on.

[Superhuman]

Exactly, where there is a will there is a way. I damaged my hearing recently and was nearly faced having to give up music for good... thankfuly meds and a forced break from any loud noise including music is starting to reduce the ringing in my ears. I haven't given up playing guitar though, I play and record now looking at the wav file move and metronomoe flash in Cubase while I play with no volume. Hard to do but I can still play and imagine what it sounds like - quiting guitar is not an option!

[Silimtao]

quiting guitar is not an option!
DITTO THAT!