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Ask a guitarist has been designed as a knowledge base for guitarists to ask questions about guitar. It is a great way to learn from other guitarist’s challenges. Simply submit your question, and we at Insane Guitar will answer and post for everyone to see.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 06/9/09 7:47 AM

Q: hi ware can i learn sweep Techniques

A: I would start with the master class on sweeping and then use the search function to look through the archives. There is tons of useful information on this site about sweeping techniques. – Joel

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 08/1/09 11:36 AM

Q: hi how do i get speed?

A: To get faster, you need a lot of repitition to develop your motor coordination. You have a lot of potential speed, you just need to unlock it. When you practice a lick or technique for at least 10 minutes a day straight, your hands and brain will memorize these movements. Make sure you practice with perfect technique! Your brain memorizes everything and does not distinguish from sloppy playing from good playing. Practice perfectly at slow tempos. Once you engrain whatever technical movement you are trying to learn into your head you will be able to play the lick on “autopilot.” When you can do this, you can slowly start playing the lick faster and faster. Never play faster than you can cleanly! Also remember to remove any tension in your body. Tension slows you down! This should help you develop the motor skills and coordination necessary to increase speed. – Joel

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 08/11/09 7:20 AM

Q: Hello. I would like to ask about modes. They are really confusing. Do modes mean I can be on key by being all over the fretboard just as long as I hit the correct notes?

A: The best way to think about modes is a major scale starting on different notes. For example, let us use C major for simplicity as there are no sharps or flats. The notes are: C D E F G A B. If you wanted to play in the aoleon mode (6th mode) start on an A and play the C major scale starting and ending on an A. Example: A B C D E F G. It is the same scale, but the tonality is different. Aoleon is a minor mode and sounds dark as opposed to just playing C major. The notes are exactly the same, BUT the tone of the scale is different. Each mode has its own flavor. Each flavor is defined as follows:

The formula for chords in a major scale is:
1) Major
2) Minor
3) Minor
4) Major
5) Major
6) Minor
7) Minor

I hope this helps you! I would recommend looking at the music theory 101 master class by Mike Philippov. Also, www.musictheory.net is a great site! Good luck.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 08/23/09 6:53 PM

Q: Hey, Ive been playing guitar for about 2 years now and I can play pretty good. I’ve been wanting to get better at solos and playing faster solos. What are your suggestions for me to practice to get better at soloing in general?

A: To get good at soloing you need to first learn some scales (the major, minor, and pentatonic). Learning these scales and how to connect them across the neck is a great place to start. This way you will be able to visualize the fretboard in a given key signature. It is also advised to have basic techniques down like bending, vibrato, picking, tapping, and maybe even sweeping. Start listening to other people’s solos and learn a bunch of licks. You should also learn solos by your favorite guitarists as well. Once you get a good variety of licks down, you should practice soloing either over CDs or jam tracks. By constraining yourself at first to do things like only solo in minor pentatonic, it allows you to get comfortable with limited options. Focus on developing your rhythmic phrasing, your bends, and tastefully placing licks. The more you practicing soloing, the faster that you will get comfortable with it.

After you start developing a basic style, you should go out and learn some new licks or create a collection of your own. Try to incorporate these into your solos. Eventually you will start developing an identifiable, fluent style. As you get more comfortable with soloing, try doing solos over faster tempo songs. Also, try to write your own licks by combining your knowledge of scales and techniques. Again, you can always use how other guitar players placed licks in a solo as a reference. Key real key is to keep practicing your soloing and improvising every day. The more you practice, the better you will get at it. Good luck!

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 09/4/09 5:44 PM

Q: Just wondering if practicing 16 hours a day is a requirement for virtuoso technique…if I practice perfectly for 2-4 hours a day is it still possible to reach insane levels of technique?

A: The short answer to your question is yes! Practicing 16 hours a day is definitely not a requirement to get virtuoso level technique, although, if done correctly that amount of practicing can definitely help. Every guitar player is different and there is no such thing as the perfect amount of time to practice. We each progress at our own rate and some guitarists need more practice time than others. What is really important is that you make your guitar practicing time high quality. By establishing a goal of what things you would like to accomplish in each practice session, you can get yourself on the fast track to insane guitar technique. Make each minute of guitar practice really count! By blocking out distractions and other interruptions, like cell phones, a lot more can be accomplished in a given time.

I would also recommend spending some time practicing soloing over actual music each day. You can either play over jam tracks, or try playing along to some of your favorite CDs. This will allow you to take the guitar techniques that you worked on in practice and use them in a real setting. You will become more fluid with your technique, improve your rhythm, and this will help you develop stylistically. Practicing things that cover a lot of ground is a great way to progress fast.

You might also want to check out Tom Hess’s article on getting the most out of a short practice time. You can find it in the archives. He has some fantastic advice! Good luck.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 10/3/09 8:51 AM

Q: I was wondering…

I practice through a routine and was wondering if I need to practice the same things everyday? I mean like say I want to do sweeping this day, and legato the next, Etc, am I going to lose the chops I gain or is this a good way to practice?

Thank you

A: As long as you are practicing guitar, you are probably gaining abilities. It is pretty hard to loose chops. You could put down the guitar for a month and in a day or two get your chops back to normal with a bit of practice. However, I would recommend concentrating your efforts on practicing as efficiently as possible. Practicing only one thing a day doesn’t sound very efficient to me. Here are some ideas that you can put into play that will help you get more out of your practice time and progress faster.

I would recommend getting some sort of diversity in your practice each day. If you spend one day practicing only legato for example, you are only growing in one facet of your guitar playing. There is not a lot of transferability to other parts of your guitar playing learning only legato licks. Thus, you would make no gains in your rhythm abilities, song writing, improvising, ear training, and etc. Try to spend time working on a variety of guitar techniques and skills so that you will grow as a player smoothly, not lopsidedly. For example, by working on improvisation, you are practicing using a variety of techniques, phrasing, timing, and expanding your creativity. If you want to empathize a certain technique in your practice, like for example your picking may not be the best, then dedicate more time to it in your practice routine. It is very important to not neglect areas like vibrato, ear training, phrasing, improvisation, timing, and rhythm guitar work in your everyday practice. If you do not balance yourself in practice, you may find yourself one day become one of those guitarists that can pick and sweep like a maniac, but can’t hit a bend or play a riff to save their life. The result is that you will still be a beginner and not taken seriously. All of that practice will be in vain. So, make sure that you do not neglect some of the less fun techniques like vibrato in your practice everyday. It is essential!

Also, when practicing guitar, try to focus on learning things that challenge you. If you can already play something perfectly with solid consistency, there is no need to spend time practicing it, unless you are maintaining it for live performance (like practicing a song you wrote over and over because you play in a gigging band). If you are practicing to maintain, practice not to make mistakes, as opposed to being able to just play it good enough to get through it. I’m going to quote Tom Hess and say that this is the difference between a professional and an amateur guitarist. When practicing to maintain, make sure that you can play it perfect already. If you are practicing something new, again, try to focus on the challenging spots. If there is a particular lick, or part of a lick that you are still not able to play, it is best to spend your time on that. Practicing the exact parts of licks that give you difficultly will make your guitar practice more efficient and effective.

Hopefully you find this useful! Good luck.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 10/8/09 10:18 AM

Q: I am about a 6-8 month player somewhat progressing along.I currently use a lower level fender strat. it\’s a bit cumbersome only being 1 5/8 nut.being that I have meaty fingers. I was looking at a Davidson it has a 1.75 nut Trying to keep it around 2-3 hundred. is this a piece of crap or is it ok for a first year player. it looks like a knockoff les paul.

A:  Hi! You can find some good answers to your question on our message board here:

Insane Guitar Message Board

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 10/20/09 4:56 PM

Q: I play by ear. I can basically play with music playing. (good I think)

How can I play good without music playing? (bad at the moment)

A: When playing along to anything, the background music is going to cover up any inconsistencies in your technique. For example, if you are playing a riff with a lot of palm muting, your strings may be ringing out and causing a droning noise due to improper hand placement. If you play along to a track, you may not notice this. The key to playing guitar accurately is to practice exercises/songs/riffs slowly with good technique. By focusing your efforts on playing cleanly, you are training the proper muscle memory into your brain. You brain learns everything you do. The trick is to do it correctly so that it is perfect every time you do it. I hope this helps!

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 10/28/09 3:29 PM

Q: Hi. I’ve been playing the guitar for 2 years and I solo pretty well. But, my solos sound the same mostly. I try to compose solos as well and they sound sound as well as I like. How can a add some flare and harmony to my soloing?

A: The good news is it sounds like you are starting to forge an identifiable style. It is those same tenancies toward certain licks and phrases that make your playing identifiable. The bad news is that this is something that every lead guitarist must constantly battle. There are a few things you can do to add some new influence to your playing.

1) Start learning some new licks. By bringing new licks into your arsenal or even new techniques, you can break your habits. Focus on using these new licks and ideas in your solos.

2) Listen to new music. Try listening to some different guitarists for inspiration. If you find a guitarist that you really like, then learn some of their licks. Incorporate these in your solos. See how it sounds. You may borrow some ideas and actually find out that you improve upon them.

3) Take some influence from other instruments. For example, listen to the way a vocalist phrases and uses vibrato. Try incorporating phrasing that is vocal like in your own solos. Personally, I like to listen to pop mega hits and learn the melodies on guitar. You can learn a lot about writing catchy melodies, leads, and motives from this. Singers phrase much different then guitarists.

4) Try practicing what I call “applied technique.” To do this, limit yourself to a constraint when soloing. For example, solo playing straight 8th notes and using only slides without stopping for 3 minutes. Another example could be limit yourself to only using 3 notes in the same position. Try to come up with as many rhythms as possible. There is an endless amount of ideas you can try with this. All of them will improve your soloing.

5) Experiment with harmony. Play a melody over a track. Record it. Then try different types of counter melodies. See what sounds good.

Good luck with your soloing! Hopefully you find this reply helpful.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 11/11/09 7:54 AM

Q: Hello, I have been playing for about 4 years now. I have good chops, except for my picking technique. Just like Joel Wanasek said in his picking masterclass lesson. But this is regarding a specific detail of picking. When I hold the pick with my hand, how do I stay relaxed? Whenever I try to pick fast, My whole arm tenses up. Paul Gilbert is my favorite player, and he picks very hard and fast. Is he always tense? Anyway, I am at my wits end, please help!

A: Don’t you just love alternate picking? I think it was invented just to irritate every guitar player who attempts to learn it! I know I definitely have had my fun with it in the past! I can relate to your frustration.

First off, when you grip the pick, you have to find that happy medium sport where you are holding it so it will not move, but yet keeping your hand tension free. You want to have a decently firm grip between your fingers (don’t let the guitar string push you around, you pick the string), but a loose wrist, arm, and body. It is natural to want to tense up when you try to pick fast. The only way to over come this is to pound into your brain’s muscle memory that you don’t need to be tense to shred. When you practice alternate picking, slow way down and pick with no tension (except the one spot your 2 fingers meet the pick). This means that you should have no tension in your feet, legs, torso, arms, hands, shoulders, neck, and head. Pay attention to each of these areas when you pick. If you notice tension, relax yourself and start again. Make sure you are sitting comfortably too! Bad posture creates tension. Concentrate on playing very slowly with perfect technique and no tension. Get really comfortable at that tempo and then increase it a bit. Find the tempo where you start to tense up. Now scale back the metronome and play as close to that tempo as you can with no tension. Practice at that tempo for a good period of time (like 5 – 10 minutes). Now try increasing the speed back up. See if that helps. If not, repeat. Practice makes perfect. Be sure to only use 1 lick when doing this. Good luck with it!

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 11/16/09 9:36 AM

Q: Why can’t I strum like how others do? I pressed on the strings hard enough, but when i start to strum, the just not good, it\’s filled with external sounds (the sound that you hit the guitar string with ur plucker)? How can i do to reduce that sound?

A: Getting clean strumming is all about having solid fret hand muting technique. When you place a chord down on the fret board, look for ways to use your hand to mute the unused strings. For example, if you are playing an open D chord, you can wrap your thumb around the neck and mute the E and A strings from ringing. If you were playing a C barre chord (3rd fret on A root), use the tip of your index finger to mute the low E string by pushing it up against it. If you are playing an octave chord (say 5th fret on the A string and 7th Fret G string) use your index finger to mute the high strings. Use your middle finger to mute the low e (just arch it over and place it on top of the string). These should give you some examples how to clean up your fingering. This is the trick to clean playing. As a side note, it helps to have a closed fist when you strum on your picking hand.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 12/22/09 5:04 PM

Q: Hi. I have been playing guitar for about 6 years now. my instructor is moving me into music theory now. I take lessons once a week and want to find some exercises I can do to increase my speed and coordination and a way to memorize chords. Does anyone know where I can get some detailed info on these subjects? Sites, books, anything?

A: Well, since you are already here , I would recommend going through the archives on this site. There are tons of great exercises and licks to work through.

Memorizing chords comes down to practice and repetition. I would take a major scale and build chords around it (remember the formula: Maj, min, min, Maj, Maj, min, min7b5). Start with simple barre chords and run though every key. Then try doing 7ths, add 9s, etc…. Try doing this in open positions as well. This will help you learn the chords forms and practice quick switching. You can then take chord progressions and practice switching different chords/inversions in them. Once you get that down, take triads and run through the inversions on the same string set. After you’ve mastered that turn these in to bigger chords and run the inversion on that. Once you’ve gone through all this, you should have a pretty good control over playing chords and then you can get into the more advanced chordal stuff.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 12/22/09 5:14 PM

Q: Hi, I’ve been working on metal arpeggios for a while now, but I just can’t seem to get a clean sound! Whenever I turn on the distortion it sounds really messy and disgusting. The problem I’ve found is whenever I lift my finger off the string to go to the next note the open string sounds. How do I stop this?

A: I can definitely understand your frustration, I remember being there myself once! The answer to this question is quite simple in theory, however challenging in practice. Once you master it though, you won’t even have to think about it to execute it.

The trick to playing arpeggios cleanly is to use the tip of your finger for each following note you pick to mute the string as your finger leaves it. What that means in practice is this:

Let us use an A minor 5 string arpeggio starting on the 12th fret of the A string as an example. This is a very basic 5 string form. On a tab it would look like: A 12 D 10 G 9 B 10 E 8 hammer 12. You would finger this 4, 2, 1, 2, 1, 4 etc. When you start the sweep pick with the 1st note (12th fret A string), you will then lift your 4th finger off the string to help mute it. While you are doing that, your middle finger should already be on the 10th fret of the D string and the tip of it touching the side of the A string that you just played (this is the KEY!!!!). This will choke the A string from ringing out. Now, do this with every finger and you have a clean sweep! The key is just to practice the muting technique slowly and pound it into your muscle memory. Once you get this down, you can then work on gaining speed. This is the key to sweeping cleanly.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 01/3/10 9:13 PM

Q: Hey guys. I hear famous guitarists time and time again talk about scales. Some people say that you don’t need to know all the scales, you just have to know a few scales really well; some say the opposite. My question was, what scales do you believe are most important to master across the fretboard in order to improvise play better?

A: I would say that it depends on what your goals as a guitarist are and what sort of music you would like to play. If you want to be a jazz master, than having an extensive knowledge of every possible scale and mode is pretty important. If you want to play in a commercial group and sell tons of records, then you really only need to know a few scales well (all major and the pentatonic). Or, if you are into unorthodox music, then learn a bunch of exotic scales. I would say that it is more important to learn the basic theory behind the scales and modes than to learn the scales themselves. If you know the rules of construction and the notes on the guitar well, then you can just create scales at will to suit your needs when improvising or soloing. This also goes for writing music (chord progressions, melodies).

In my opinion, and I speak from a commercial point of view, the most important scales are the major (and its modes, especially natural minor) and the pentatonic. Most scales are derived from major anyways. I’ve sold a ton of songs using these simple scales and a whopping zero every time I’ve tried using anything else. This goes for chord progressions, solos, vocal melodies, about everything else derived from them. Other guitarist’s may have different experiences. So, I would say that the most useful scales for you to need to know, inside and out, are these. If you can command the major scale and its modes, you will have a very solid foundation.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 01/23/10 10:00 AM

Q: Hey guys I was just curious about some guitar tubes. I recently decided to start saving up for a 6505+ and never realized there are so many tubes to choose from. I play pretty heavy drop C. I like a good whine for the melodic overlays but a really brutal bite for the break downs. Have any good ideas? I am using an SG Loaded with EMG 81/85 and a maxon 808.

A: Two great places to find information on tubes is: http://tubefreak.com and http://www.eurotubes.com. I would give Bob a call at Eurotubes.com and ask him for his advice. I’m my experience, he has always been extremely helpful and knowledgeable. In my own experience as an audio engineer, I would say that I generally prefer JJ tubes. I like the 6L6s a lot when doing the heavy stuff. I will say that I’ve had luck with about every brand of tubes on the market though. A good head is the most important thing. Tubes are just like adding spices to an already tasty dish to polish it off. A 6505+ is a great head for this style of music and will not let you down no matter what brand of tubes you put in.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 01/27/10 7:25 PM

Q: Hello, I’m writing u guys because I have a question about effective practice sessions..I want to be the ULTIMATE guitar virtuoso, and I was thinking about dividing my technique exercises into 30 minute “Mini-sessions”..For example, I would spend 30mins on a warm-up routine, 30mins on alternate picking, 30mins on sweep picking, 30mins on legato, 30mins on tapping, 30mins on finger picking, and finally, 30mins on string bending, which all adds up to a 3 1/2 hour totally intense technique session..And my question is, do yall think that this is all just a bunch of wasted time and non-sense?? Or do yall think its actually worth it?? Could I get the same results from doing just 15 minutes on each subject so that my technique session would only last an hour and 45 minutes so that I could go on 2 other important things such as ear training and learning songs/chords/scales/arpeggios??

A: As long as you are practicing to get better, you are not wasting your time. How much time to exactly allocate on any particular technique or concept is a matter of preference. There is no correct answer. You must try out a few different methods and find out what is the most efficient for you. However, I think it is extremely important for you to concentrate at least half your time on ear training, theory, vibrato, song writing, transcribing, learning songs, and the like. Having beastly technique is only one part of the package. When I was younger I thought that to achieve this goal, I would just have to get insanely precise technique. As I got older I learned really quickly, the hard way I might add, that no one wants to listen to that technique you’ve worked so hard on unless you can write songs that they are going to enjoy (Unless your only goal is to make Youtube videos to impress people with how crazy you can play!). The point is that it is easy to overlook things like vibrato or writing a decent melody. This is the really important stuff, so it is critical for you to add it to your routine. The key to success with this is to set benchmarks for yourself that are realistic. Work towards them daily and ruthlessly. Practice efficiently and with full concentration. Most important, don’t forget to have FUN! Good luck to you!

p.s. Don’t overlook techniques like strumming, rapid chord changes, and the like either!

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 01/27/10 7:38 PM

Q: Hi, does anyone know any site where one can get tips on how to tweak their guitar multieffects processor to get the exact sounds of one’s favourite artistes through their guitars?

A: Line 6 has a really good database of presets at their website if you have a line 6.

On a side note: Keep in mind that what you hear on a record is not necessarily how the player’s guitar amp sounds in a room. In mixing, guitar tones get radically EQed (more than most people probably imagine) by the engineers to fit into the mix. Sometimes, what a guitar tone sounds like coming through an amp sounds NOTHING like what it does after it is mixed. A lot of a guitar player’s tone is also in the hands. The way you pick the strings for example has a large impact on how your tone sounds.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 02/7/10 1:21 PM

Q: Hi,
I am Soumojit. My question is How Can I play anything with perfectness, clearly & sensibly. I am playing guitar since last 2 yrs. I want to know better techniques of playing.

A: The most important element of playing cleanly and accurately is your approach to practicing. When you are practicing a lick or riff, it is extremely important to play it with perfect technique, SLOWLY, every time until you have mastered it. Your brain memorizes everything you do, right or wrong. Many guitar players get impatient when they practice and therefore glaze over difficult parts of riffs. This causes them to play these riffs sloppily at higher speeds as well as not be consistent. Make sure that you concentrate on the more difficult sections when learning something as opposed to the easy parts. You don’t really need to work on the things that are already easy for you to play. It is also important to practice to not make mistakes, as opposed to practicing to be able to play the riff once. Try playing the riff or lick in different settings so that you are more consistent in your performance. For example, try practicing a riff on several different guitars every time you practice. Try practicing the riff sitting down as well as standing up. All off these little details add up to more consistent and cleaner playing. Great guitar playing is a game of being attentive to small details.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 02/7/10 1:27 PM

Q: Hello, I am writing because I was wanting to ask u guys a question about technique….What r ALL THE TECHNIQUES that I must practice to become the ultimate guitar virtuoso?? I know that I must practice Alternate picking, Sweep picking, Legato, Tapping, String bending, and Fingerpicking, But r there some techniques that I’m leaving out of the equation?? Thanks, Brian.

A: Hi Brian, it depends on what sort of guitar virtuoso you would like to become as there are many virtuosos, excelling in many different styles. For example, if your goal is to play metal/rock, you probably want to have all the techniques you mentioned under your belt. You should also really concentrate on vibrato! It is the number one thing that you guitar playing will be judged on. You may also find value in learning all sorts of abstract stuff like slap guitar or crazy 8 finger tapping stuff. It sounds to me like you are on the right path. Just remember, practice that vibrato!!!

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 03/2/10 9:42 PM

Q: Hi, is it necessary to palm mute with the right hand while sweep picking? I find that when I try it, the notes simply get muffled out….

A: No. I personally semi palm mute the low e and anchor my hand on the bridge most of the time when sweeping. Obviously, if you are playing 6 string sweeps you won’t be able to do this. In that case you can just anchor your forearm on the body of the guitar and float your hand. Do what feels the most comfortable for you and sounds the cleanest.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 03/4/10 7:22 AM

Q: Hi,
recently i bought a new guitar with a low profile Floyd rose tremolo. I’m into metal and use whammy bar very much but the guitar tends to go out of tune after a little use.
so is there any solution to this problem that doesn’t involve changing the trem????

A: That is a good question. In general, every Floyd I’ve personally owned has been pretty rock solid. I would try maybe a slightly thicker gauge of strings. Also, break in your new strings a bit with your bar before you start playing on them. Strings that are brand new or too old tend to go out of tune easier. You might want to look at how your bridge is set too. Make sure it is level and there isn’t too much string or spring tension.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 03/4/10 7:28 AM

Q: Hi, I want to know what settings to make on the amp and processor to get a sound suited for goth metal and death metal (I use korg guitar multieffects). Thanks for any help anyone can give.

A: To be honest, about every professional band in this genre uses distortion directly from their amp heads. Amps like Peavey 5150’s are extremely popular in these genres. It is extremely hard to get a multi effects processor to sound as good as a legitimate head. Some amp modelers like the Fractal Axe-FX or the pod can come close if you know how to tweak them. So, start with the amp. Generally if you are playing an extremely low tuning like drop A (common in the genre), then you may have to put some mids in you tone. I would say that on a tube head, having your bass at like 4, mids at 2, treble at 6 would be a good starting point. Tweak to taste. Use the effects processor for effects, not distortion. Try to keep a nice balanced sound that isn’t too bass heavy or has too much treble. You definitely want to back off the presence knob if you have one. Also, don’t crank your gain knob all the way up. Find a nice spot where you’ve got enough distortion to do techniques like pinch harmonics, but it doesn’t sound like sloppy mush. This should get you in the ball park with your rhythm tone. For solos, increase the mids a bit. If you don’t like the tones you are getting, get a different head or speaker cab. Cabs with vintage 30s tend to be very popular for this kind of music. The other thing to keep in mind is that the tones you hear on records are extremely equalized in the studio. Engineers will greatly change the tone of the guitar to get tit to fit in the mix and play nicely with the other instruments.

• Joel Wanasek
•  | 
• 03/4/10 8:00 AM