How long did it take you to get fast on guitar?

I’ve been playing for years, and I’d say I’m intermediate, but I just can’t seem to get fast. I hit a wall, and no matter what I do, I don’t seem to improve much.So how long did it take you to play fast? How much did you practice daily, and for how long? What kind of exercises helped you the most? Did you have a point where everything just clicked, or was it slow progress the whole way?Right now, I’m working on Masochist and Hypermania by Polaris. I practice both so I don’t get burned out. I can play them at about 70-75% speed, but 80% feels like I’m pushing it.

I watched part of Hypermania, and I think I could play that cleanly with about a year of focused practice. When I started, I was mostly learning thrash metal—Metallica, Megadeth—so fast, technical stuff was my foundation.That being said, I wouldn’t really call this ‘shredding.’ More like fast metal riffing. Shred to me is stuff like Tornado of Souls or Revolution is My Name. Took me over two years to get those even somewhat clean, and even now, 20 years later, I still need to warm up before I can play them well.Honestly, 75-80% speed is solid progress. You’re doing better than you think.

Check out Intense Rock by Paul Gilbert and Rock Discipline by John Petrucci. Both are on YouTube and can help a lot.

Neither of these songs are really ‘shred’—more like standard metalcore riffs. I played similar stuff back in 2007-2012. It’s fun, heavy, and very doable with time and practice.Just keep pushing the speed. Try going a little faster than you’re comfortable with—it’ll help you break through plateaus.

@Will
What’s the best way to practice complicated riffs? Small sections at a time until it’s up to speed?

Lian said:
@Will
What’s the best way to practice complicated riffs? Small sections at a time until it’s up to speed?

Yep, exactly.Also, don’t forget about your picking hand. A lot of players focus too much on the fretting hand and ignore the picking, which is where many struggle. When learning something slow, use the exact picking you’ll use at full speed. That way, you build proper muscle memory.Sometimes, I’ll mute the strings and just practice picking patterns by themselves before adding notes. It helps lock in the rhythm before dealing with the notes themselves.

I’m not trying to shred, but I do need to play faster for some songs. Right now, I’m working on the solo for Crazy Little Thing Called Love.I’ve been doing spider exercises, sweep picking drills, and alternate picking on two strings (not sure what that one’s called). All with a metronome.Anything else I should add?

Do you practice scales? Also, what picking technique do you use?

It took me years, but I never had a strict routine. I just played whatever felt fun at the time.At first, I relied a lot on tapping and legato because my picking wasn’t very clean. It sounded flashy, but deep down, I knew I wasn’t really in control. Eventually, I put in the work—alternate picking, economy picking, sweep picking, the whole deal.Some of my favorite players were shredders—Paul Gilbert, Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Yngwie Malmsteen. Their best albums are still some of the greatest in rock history.

Depends on what you mean by ‘shred.’ If you’re talking about something like Kirk Hammett’s solo in Master of Puppets, I learned that in about a year—but I was playing 8-12 hours a day during summer break.Even now, I’m still working on getting faster. If something like Eugene’s Trick Bag by Steve Vai is the goal, I didn’t get there until last year.Honestly, no matter how good you get, you’ll always feel like you could be cleaner or faster. I’ve talked to monster players, and even they still feel like they aren’t good enough. It never ends!

There’s no real shred in these songs. If learning songs isn’t making you faster, figure out which techniques are holding you back and work on them specifically with a metronome.For me, it took about 6 months to a year to play stuff like this. Real shred took closer to 10 years, and if I don’t practice, those skills drop fast. Some people improve quickly, but others (like me) have to grind for every bit of speed.If you’re just learning songs, you might need to practice 8 hours a day to really improve. If you focus on technique, 30-60 minutes a day could be enough. It’s about practicing smart, not just playing a lot.

Been playing casually for 25 years, and I still can’t play that fast. Some people are just wired differently for speed.

Playing fast doesn’t just ‘happen’—you have to train for it.Three things matter the most:1. Knowing the part – Play slow to learn the motions. If you have to think about it, you won’t be able to play it fast.2. Building speed – Your hands need to physically get faster, just like training in a gym. Push your speed past what’s comfortable sometimes.3. Fixing technique – A lot of players struggle because they don’t refine their technique. Small adjustments can make a big difference.There’s more info out there than ever, but don’t get overwhelmed. Pick one or two good methods and focus on them.