Playing guitar with solid 2-hand synchronization is the key to playing cleanly at fast speeds. To strengthen your 2-hand synchronization, practice playing in short speed bursts.
Speed bursts = playing a quick burst of notes close to or above your top playing speed.
Here are 3 ways practicing with speed bursts develops your two-hand synchronization:
It is much easier to hear synchronization flaws at max speed, since you only play a few notes at a time.
Practicing in this manner makes you notice flaws you don’t see at slow tempos. This helps you understand what mistakes to look for when you slow down. This practicing approach is much more efficient than practicing mindlessly because you're bored playing slowly for long periods of time. Playing at faster speeds engages your mind more and helps you get better results.
Here's how to master synchronization between your hands for fast and easy guitar speed:
You train your mind to process notes at high speeds (making notes clear rather than just a blur).
Being able to hear notes clearly at high speeds is critical for actually PLAYING accurately at those speeds. Practicing in short bursts makes it less difficult to focus on each individual note. When you have the ability to hear specific notes in a phrase, you can hear mistakes better (and it’s easier to play that note perfectly). Switch your focus from one note to the next in order to make every note sound perfect.
You gain a new way to challenge yourself (besides simply increasing metronome speed gradually in small increments).
Staying at the same fast tempo challenges you in a different way by adding more and more notes to the phrase you are practicing. For example, you begin by playing 3 notes of a 12 note phrase at 150 bpm. After you can play these notes confidently, then add one more note to the phrase. Then keep going until you are able to play the entire phrase. Once this is done, raise the tempo at start again.
Practicing in this way trains both hands to be locked in sync together before you add new notes.
Learn more about playing guitar faster by checking out this free resource about doubling your guitar speed.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a guitar teacher online, progressive rock guitarist/composer and a touring musician. He teaches guitar players in his rock guitar lessons online. Go to tomhess.net to get more guitar playing resources and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.