*As taught by Dr. Daniel Nistico of the Creative Classical Guitarist*
When it comes to developing speed, the traditional method of gradually building it up isn't always effective - it can work in some cases, but not always. In many cases, guitarists will reach a plateau - they'll get stuck at a certain speed and that'll be the end of it. They may get discouraged that they aren't making any more progress, or perhaps they will think they just can't play any faster, so they'll quit. However, if you force yourself to go faster - that is, if you use speed bursts - you will see incredible progress in a very short time.
A lot of guitarists may think that developing speed is something very far away - that they have to play for years before they can play tremolo. I hope this blog will help you see past that.
I myself can attest that with consistent practice you can develop speed very early on in your playing. I have seen very substantial improvements in my speed (after playing guitar for 7 months) after my classical guitar teacher, Dr. Daniel Nistico, introduced me to this method - improvments like going from a tremolo at 90 bpm to 160 bpm! This method has done wonders for me, and I'm confident that it will help you play your dream pieces as well.
Use a Metronome!
There are two main ways that you can implement bursts in your practice, but before we get to those, there is something I want to discuss - the metronome! This method won't work as well, or possibly won't work at all, if you don't use a metronome! Using a metronome used to be such a chore for me, I just dreaded it - you can't imagine! If my piano teacher (I used to take piano lessons) would ask me to use a metronome for a certain piece, I would, but -- I have to say -- it took me so long to actually play in sync with it! That, I believe, was the reason I disliked it so much - I could not play with it!! And I had never really heard anyone else play in sync with it either. To me, it was just something that all the music teachers said to use, because it would keep your tempo steady, but unless I absolutely had to, I never used it.
Well, I'm very happy (and thankful to my classical guitar teacher!) that that's all in the past now - I love to use the metronome! I play with it almost every day and it couldn't sound better! Why? Well, I think part of it is that I finally - for the first time after probably 7 or 8 years of playing instruments - heard someone play perfectly with a metronome. My teacher was getting ready for a concert and was doing quite a few YouTube livestreams for concert practice - with a metronome! I think his emphasis on using a metronome, and actually seeing what it can sound like when you play perfectly in sync with it, was really what just pulled me into liking it so much. True, sometimes I did force myself to practice some rhythms with a metronome, but I never really enjoyed doing it until after those livestreams.
So! If you have the same past as me - dreading a metronome and thinking of it as something you can never enjoy - I hope this will help you get out of that! It is so enjoyable, so satisfying when you can play in sync with it! It will help you make incredible progress! It is very much your friend, not your enemy!
Interval Training
Now that I've emphasized how important using that good old metronome is, lets get into the first method: interval training.
For this method, you'll set a metronome at your goal speed - let's say, 120 bpm. As the metronome plays at 120 bpm, you'll play half that speed. Then - without stopping - you'll jump to playing at 120 bpm for as long as you can, and then, again, without stopping, you'll go back to playing half speed. You'll gradually be able to play at your goal speed for longer and longer periods of time - until it's time to speed the metronome up a bit!
Most people can actually move their fingers pretty quick, so as long as you can play at a certain speed for even just a couple seconds, you can play at that speed. Now all you have to work on is playing at that speed longer.
You can use this method for scales, tremolo, and even sections of pieces.
In this video, I play tremolo with the metronome set for 160 bpm.
In this video, I play a C major and an A melodic minor scale with the metronome set for 150 bpm.
Burst Rhythms
The other method using bursts is called burst rhythms. This method applies mostly to scales. Burst rhythms are basically playing a long note, followed by a few short notes. Here are some common burst rhythms:
An eighth note, followed by 6 sixteenth notes.
6 sixteenth notes, followed by an eighth note.
6 sixteenth notes followed by a quarter note.
Some Final Tips
SOFT AND LIGHT
When playing fast, playing loud will only slow you down! It is important to play softly as well as lightly - just like you're skimming across the strings.
ACCENT EVERY OTHER NOTE
If you consistently accent every note, you can get a bit lost! It is important to accent every other note, so you get a strong-weak-strong-weak effect.
Also, if you're playing a one-octave C major scale, for example, it can be nice to think of the "C" as your "goal note" - meaning that this will be the note you will accent - and just skim across (remember, soft and light!) all the other notes to get to the "goal note".
REST STROKE OR FREE STROKE?
Well, I think it's important to use both! However, when trying to find your maximum speed, free stroke may be a better option as most guitarists can play much faster using free stroke than rest stroke.
Conclusion
I hope this method will help you develop speed on guitar! With consistent practice, I believe you will see huge improvements in your playing. Just remember, as Dr. Nistico says, "the purpose of practice is progress and enjoyment" - so make sure you enjoy your practice too!
For more information on bursts, make sure to give this video a watch!
CREDITS
Creative Classical Guitarist Online School: creativeclassicalguitarist.com
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