Welcome to the "Building Speed and Stamina" Tutorial! Throughout this tutorial, we are going to be strengthening our ability to control speed changes while playing. It's critical that we are able to transition smoothly from one speed to another with ease. Whether it's a quick burst of fast notes, or a sudden change to slower notes, our transitions should be effortless. Mastering this control with our speed will also help our stamina.
As I mentioned in the video, anyone can play fast. But not everyone can play fast while also maintaining control. Never sacrifice control for speed. Learning how to have proper control and timing is a true art form with the guitar, and speed will be a natural byproduct as you master that art form.
Before moving on to the first main exercise in the next lesson, let's examine 2 short examples where we'll be transitioning between different speeds. Also, be sure to use alternate picking.
1. In the first exercise, you'll be using the chromatic scale starting on the 3rd fret of the Low E string. You're going to play eighth notes on the E and A strings, then a quick burst of sixteenth notes on the D and G strings. be sure to play at a speed where you can maintain full control. Remember, accuracy and control is what we're after here.
2. In the 2nd exercise, you'll be playing a two-note-per-string pattern starting on the 3rd fret D string. You'll again be switching back and forth between 8th notes and 16th notes.
Try coming up with your own patterns that mix slower notes with faster notes. Then when you're ready, head on over to the next lesson for Exercise 1.