I'm turning Shred!

[feeble!]

That's right kids, I'm going to become the next shredder to kick you in the face with a whole host of extreme solos, containing lots of pinched harmonics, trills and other such ass-kicking techniques. I'll go so fast they'll give me a speeding ticket!

The only problem is, uhh, how...

Now, I've already enlisted the help of Greigtheshredhead to help me out a bit, but any extra help would be welcomed and appreciated in this thread.

So if anyone has any useful hints or tips, or anything then please post here so I can rip up my fretboard. I'm tired of chords, it's time for a challenge!

[Skanko]

but mark! the blues! ahhh!

just learn your pentatonic minor up and down the fret board as well as you can and go crazy

[feeble!]

I can already do that, I'm wanting to get some proper extreme speed.

I want to shred, I even had shreddies for breakfast this morning.

I want to learn the sorta stuff Greig plays.

[Mac Atom]

"Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar" by Troy Stetina - you really won't find a better reference for shredding. It comes with a CD and it'll take you through absolutely everything you need, just remember that it'll take serious amounts of work and time though.

You can get it here : http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/02063/details.html

Enjoy!!

[bryn]

"Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar" by Troy Stetina -

My god that book bored the shit out of me. I guess it would be pretty good if you have the discipline of a nazi.

I wouldnt consider myself overly fast (can do a major scale at about 138bpm ) but I go through phases of getting a metronome and playing modes up and down two octaves as for as long as possible. But yeah that gets boring.

Learn and understand your modes

Its not all about picking though, check Allan Holdsworth.

[Tav]

From a hard ware point of view...take your guitar and put light strings on, scallop the frets out, strip the paint off of the back of the neck, polish the frets and if it isn't already then make it pointy*

*All of the above are rather extreme measures and I don't acctually recommend doing any of them...well apart from the light strings maybe but then that's more a personal preference.

[feeble!]

Haha, I don't have the discipline of a nazi, but I'll look into getting that book maybe, depends on how much money I have - tav, I liked your suggestion of making my guitar pointy. I'm also considering getting some spandex, and growing a huge mullet, aswell as getting heeled boots so that everyone will know I'm well fast on the guitar.

I think maybe a metronome would be a wise purchase, and also what the fuck are modes?

[bryn]

what the fuck are modes?

Old fashioned scales that arent very widely used these days yet will open up new musical doors if you take them seriously.

Take your standard C major scale. By starting from D but playing this C major pattern and ending on D - you just played the dorian mode!

1. C ionian (major scale)

2. D dorian

3. E phrygian

4. F lydian

5. G mixolydian

6. A Aeolian

7. B locrian

so the ionian is C D E F G A B C

dorian is D E F G A B C D

and so on......they all have unique characteristics

All of them have their own patterns' date=' the above is just the very basic theory

Parts of that might be arguable, but probably someone will explain much more thoroughly.

p.s there are tonnes of resources on speed playing tapping etc all at the click of a mouse!

[url']www.guitartricks.com is one

[Tav]

So you just swap what would be the root note in the major scale for another one and you get a mode?

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

My god that book bored the shit out of me. I guess it would be pretty good if you have the discipline of a nazi.

Mwahahaha...

[bryn]

So you just swap what would be the root note in the major scale for another one and you get a mode?

yeah, if you mean I think you mean that is yeah.

just try it:

the ionian is C D E F G A B C

dorian is D E F G A B C D

Just play these notes, you will notice you are playing in the C major (ionian) shape.

Basically look at this C D E F G A B C and pick any of the notes, then re arrange it i.e I pick 'F' - F G A B C D E lydian mode!! this one is really cool in fact - favoured by vai etc quite often for its 'dreamy etheral' sound. check 'flying in a blue dream' by satriani, Im pretty sure that is lydian.

[Dan G]

So you just swap what would be the root note in the major scale for another one and you get a mode?

Take alll the notes of the C major scale C D E F G A B

Now play those notes but start and finish on D instead of C. That is D Dorian, the second mode of the C major (or Ionian) scale.

If you play all the notes but start and end on A, you would play A aeolian - which is simply A minor.

the common ones to swap between are the major (ionian) and minor (aeolian) scale as they are the most commonly used. I am a big fan of the lydian and phrygian modes though.

[bryn]

Yeah Dan, Lydian is the way forward!!!

[feeble!]

What the fuck is going on?

I still haven't got a clue what these 'modes' are?

What's with the alphabet? I don't know where a C is, I have almost no theory knowledge or anything.

Well, I know that C, when playing blues it's the 8th fret, that about stretches the limits of my theory.

[Dan G]

I think you might wanna learn some theory if you want to "turn shred"...

The 'alphabet' are the mucial notes that you can play. They are C D E F G A B and then it goes back to C again. These notes make up the C major scale, ie if you played all these notes in order then you would be playing the C major scale.

If you played these notes buts started and finished on D rather than C, then you would be playing a MODE of the C major scale. It's very complicated to understand for a theory beginner however...

Here are the notes of C major along the low E string (the notes in between are sharps)

I-E-I-F-I---I-G-I---I-A-I---I-B-I-C-I---I-D-I---I-E-I

I-0-I-1-I---I-3-I---I-5-I---I-7-I-8-I---I-10-I---I-12-I

like you say, C is the 8th fret. It is worth learning all these and then learning the notes in between - eg 6th fret is A# (A sharp)or Bb (B flat)

It is also worth noting that there is NO E# or B# - it just jumps from E to F and from B to C.

[Tav]

I personally think Dan should enlighten us with some theory each week...

[feeble!]

Yeah!

Skanko tried to teach me some theory in English today, but I still don't get it

God damn.

[feeble!]

Yeah, I already knew where all the notes were on the low E - just occured to me to use that to find them everywhere else, I'm such a silly billy

I was just using C as an example - I knew about the sharps and flats too, I just wasn't sure where to apply them? Anyone want to answer that?

[Dan G]

I'd love to But if someone asked me what they wanting to know it's better than me saying some random shite that may be no use to anyone!

[bryn]

I did grade one theory today, it was a drag

[bryn]

Yeah, your right, different modes have different intervals.

By starting from different positions of a major scale, you alter the intervals you play - modes!

does that make sense?

[Dan G]

Bryn is right.

take the C major (ionian) scale - C D E F G A B C

If you play all those notes, but start and finish it in D then the intervals will be different.

D E F G A B C D

When you start on C, you have a semi-tone interval between E and F (the 3rd and 4th) and B and C (the 7th and root note).

However when you start and end in D the semitones intervals are now between the 2nd and 3rd (E and F) and the 6th and 7th (B and C)

[Guest lime ruined my life]

igaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas

p.s a gas - tragic death = love + hate

[bryn]

ah, but I didnt say shift the pattern, I said play the same C pattern yet start from a different point.

so no need to exert your knowledge, you weren't exactly doubted.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

I said play the same C pattern yet start from a different point.

but thats the quote that confused me, it doesnt really mean much if you see what i mean, theres no pattern in that the semi tones and tones have shifted position, and theres no physical pattern on the guitar kneck either. any way it doesnt matter.