I have taught guitar lessons for almost as long as I have been playing guitar.  One of the biggest complaints that students have is that they feel stuck inside the Pentatonic shape that we all seem to learn first when we start playing lead.  This lesson is designed to break you out of the "box" and allow you to navigate the fretboard at will.  I have used A Dorian for all of the examples.  I use 3 note per string patterns and play examples that will require you to know all seven patterns intimately.

     Speed picking is a staple to the shredder's arsenal.  It is far more difficult to develop than right hand tapping or sweeping, for example.  There are three benchmarks that I have seen that I will talk about here.  I call them the "Great Barriers".  The first benchmark is where most aspiring shredders end up:  16th note triplet phrases at 110 to 120 bpm.  (16th note phrases at 160 to 180 bpm)  Reaching beyond this first benchmark will begin to separate you from the pack.  The second benchmark was set by the shredders of the 80s: 16th note triplet phrases at 120 to 140 bpm.  (16th note phrases at 180 to 220)  Paul Gilbert really solidified triplets at 140 beats per minute, not only were his phrases clean as a whistle, but they were more difficult phrases to play than what other shredders were doing at the time.  The third benchmark is where very few ever make it:  Beyond 140 bpm  in 16th note triplets.  (Beyond 220 bpm in 16th notes)  Players like Michael (Angelo) Batio and Chris Impelletteri have crossed this barrier.  I believe that Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, and John Petrucci have made it past this mark as well.  I have made it my life's work to break this barrier.  After 17 years I have done so with marginal success.  I have got the speed, but I am not as clean and controlled as Paul.  I have sacrificed many other important aspects of playing guitar to chase after this obsession.  I'm basically too stubborn to give up.

     Alrighty, moving on.  Before any of the examples are what I call "mechanics".  I picked this up from Troy Stetina's book "Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar", which I highly recommend by the way.  He listed 5 picking mechanics to help people master crossing the strings while alternate picking.  I found a cool side benefit.  You could make really cool riffs out of these things.  I was so intrigued with the concept that I wrote out all the mechanics I could find for 16th notes and 16th note triplets.  I came across over 40 in all.  The mechanics I have listed here are the ones that I find myself using the most when I play 16th note triplet runs.  The important thing about mechanics is how many times your pick hits a string before crossing to the next, not the notes you play with your left hand.  If you alter this number it will feel different to your right hand.

Examples 1 - 3 are what I call "Horizontal" motion.  This will really help you to get to know your scales.  I take the sequence and run it through all seven patterns and then come back down.  If you are not familiar with 3 note per string scale patterns go to the reference section of the site and you will find all seven patterns there.  Take note of the mechanics I use in the examples.  Example one I start with mechanic 1b, switch to the next pattern and come down mechanic 1a.  I repeat this all the way up the fretboard until I reach an octave above where I started.  I then move one pattern higher and start the journey back down the fretboard.

Click to hear Escaping The Box - Horizontal 1.mp3
Click to hear Escaping The Box - Horizontal 2.mp3
Click to hear Escaping The Box - Horizontal 3.mp3

Examples 1 - 3 on "Vertical" motion use the concept of mechanics moving up and down one scale pattern.


Click to hear Escaping The Box - Vertical 1.mp3
Click to hear Escaping The Box - Vertical 2.mp3
Click to hear Escaping The Box - Vertical 3.mp3

Examples 1 - 3 for "Diagonal" motion is a synthesis of horizontal and vertical motion and requires extremely good knowledge of your scale patterns to pull them off.

Click to hear Escaping The Box - Diagonal 1.mp3
Click to hear Escaping The Box - Diagonal 2.mp3
Click to hear Escaping The Box - Diagonal 3.mp3




Experiment around with stuff and see what you can come with.  I am exposing my every secret.  When I am speed picking, these are concepts I use to get around the fretboard.

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