Originally Posted by: renTotally agree with Chris - especially on being relaxed. Just to add:

- make sure your picking is truly alternate - flipping in to economy picking when moving between strings is common, really ruins the flow and consequently speed.

- It's also psychological - if you think you can't do it, you're already beaten.

Before I could play fast, I pretty much didn't believe it was possible.... they must be cheating or something... even now, I play waaaaaaaay faster when I'm playing the kind of mindless runs I've done for years.

Thinking slows you down. I'm not advocating not thinking, just you need to get to the point where it's second nature and the thought process isn't realtime.