gaining more speed

Hey, im 16 years old and have been playin on and off for 4 years, but seriously playing for about one year, and I've been workin on the first solo from a song by dream theater called "Glass Prison" John Petrucci sweep picks it, but due to my large hands, i have been able to get around that some what. If you want the tabs for it email me at KyleHanky@yahoo.com, but the key is, there are minor arpeggios in it played like so:

the 1st minor ones (this is E minor)

e-15-12------12-15
b------12--12-----
g--------12-------
done a couple times, and the other minors (this being Bm)
e-14-10------10-14
b------12--12-----
g--------11-------
done a couple times
There are also other forms of minor arpeggios i can get at the same speed as on the CD, also the same for the diminished arpaggios. But for these, accuracy is no problem, but the speed. Are there any exercises or tips to help me get the necessary speed. (if you hear it, its really fast and i just cant get my fingers to nail those notes as fast as petrucci) And im not good at finger rollin too. Please help, i can play the whole song, all the other solos just not this one!

Well, speed comes with time. Pratice with a metronome, and increase notch by notch when you can play it cleanly. Write down the BPM you have started at. You'll be surprised if you are dedicated. By the way, overworking can hurt you, so if it hurts/burns, stop immediately, come back a few hours later.
Petrucci has worked a lot this way, so be patient, anyone can play what he comes up with, but only a few can come up with what he comes up with.

Originally posted by lalimacefolle
By the way, overworking can hurt you, so if it hurts/burns, stop immediately, come back a few hours later.
Petrucci has worked a lot this way, so be patient, anyone can play what he comes up with, but only a few can come up with what he comes up with.

So true, i did 7 hours playing yesterday.....i couldnt help it, I'm addicted to me Les Paul! My left arm is killing me this morning.....guess i'll spend a couple of days putting music on paper.