Shredding and beginners, two words you don’t usually hear in a single sentence.
That is because shredding is an art which is associated with seasoned pro players and is often intimidating to beginners. But worry not, with thoughtful process and execution even a beginner can learn to shred on guitar.
In this blog we will discuss shredding for beginners, guitar shredding techniques, tips to improve technical guitar skills, musical dexterity and more.

What is shredding?

When you think of guitar shredding, what image does it create in your mind?
Lightning fast speed, rapid finger movements, advanced guitar techniques and tone which will melt your face.
All of this and the flashy vibe of it is really attractive, which a lot of new guitarists gravitate towards and it could be really intimidating and overwhelming at first but when you break down shredding, like any other technique can be learnt with the right mindset and proper tools.
Shredding for beginners can be made easy with a step by step guide.
Let’s dive deep into it and train your fingers to gradually and effectively adapt the techniques and speed so that you can shred that guitar like a Metal God.

While shredding is all about speed but without precision it can sound real bad, the clarity of the notes played with speed is what makes shredding sound so fascinating to our ears, if the notes are properly audible and sound messy then that might not be considered as shredding.
That is why focusing on accuracy and expressiveness is really important when we talk about shredding for beginners.

Getting Started

Let’s talk about the most important part even before we talk about the metronome and picking techniques, the hand positioning.

Both left and right hands are equally important when it comes to shredding. Before you even start practicing the exercises, make sure your left hand is positioned correctly, your thumb is placed correctly on the fretboard and your thumb is right behind your middle finger.
The second most important thing to keep in mind is keeping your right hand or your picking hand relaxed, even when you are playing fast, keeping your picking hand relaxed is the key.

The picking hand gets stiff very quickly especially at the high speed, that is what you need to work upon, keeping it relaxed and not letting it get stiff and tense.

After fixing your hand position, the next most important point is to practice with the metronome.

Playing slowly is the key to playing fast.
We know, you might think that it is a trick, but it is NOT!
Before we learn sprinting we need to learn how to walk and shredding guitar is similar to that.

While practising any exercise, any lick or a phrase, start slowly and focus on accuracy and precision and gradually increase the tempo by 5-10 BPM. Each note must get your equal attention, this is what sets the great guitar players apart from mediocre guitarists.

Techniques:

Let’s talk about the techniques which are commonly used in guitar shredding.

Some videos to get you inspired-

Alternate picking:

The most common guitar shredding technique and the most important too when we are talking about guitar shredding for beginners.

Alternate picking technique is something where you pick notes in Down-Up, Down-Up order.

For example, when you pick the first note with a downstroke the next note will be picked with an upstroke.

This technique has its ups and downs, Pun intended.

Mostly depending on the guitar licks you’re playing. For example, alternate picking is super important for fast parts because it keeps your picking arm from getting tired. When you’re playing really, really fast, alternate picking is pretty much a must, since other techniques like downpicking just don’t work.

• Motion- Instead of solely striking the string on the downstroke, you engage it with both the downward motion and the subsequent upstroke.
• Increased Speed- Incorporating upstrokes significantly enhances your hand’s efficiency, paving the way for faster playing, especially when navigating multiple notes on the same string.
• Improved Technique- As you accelerate your playing, your hand will instinctively adopt a down-up motion, even if your initial intent was only downstrokes. Alternate picking ensures you hit the string on both the down and up motions.

Eruption (2015 Remaster)

Economy picking:

Economy picking is a technique that can be considered relatively easier than alternate picking or more difficult to some people who are habitual of alternate picking.

There is a mis-conception that it is like cheating, but that’s not entirely true.

Economy picking is basically using alternate picking, sweep picking and strings skipping for the same lick.

To elaborate for example if you are playing DOWN-UP-DOWN-UP motion on multiple strings sometimes you will play DOWN-UP-UP-DOWN, basically using the same picking motion when changing the strings.
This enables the player to play the same lick faster, that millisecond of time saved is a big deal when it comes to shredding.
This technique involves a continuous downstroke, moving from a lower string to the next. It’s especially effective for playing odd-numbered note groupings per string and saves energy by reducing pick direction changes.

This technique is particularly effective for:

• Three-note-per-string scales: Ideal for patterns with three notes per string.
• Arpeggios: Especially useful when crossing strings.
• Fast passages: Excellent for playing very fast passages that involve frequent string changes.

Sweep picking:

How is it even possible that we talk about guitar shredding and not talk about sweep picking?
When we are discussing shredding for Beginners, sweep picking is perhaps the most fascinating technique and it can be learnt fairly easily.
The concept is pretty simple but it requires cooperation from your left and right hand equally.
When sweep picking, you play one note on consecutive strings in a single up or down motion or a sweep motion. It produces a smooth gliding sound, which sounds like something out of this world.

Sweep picking is often used while playing arpeggios at high speed, you can combine major or minor scale arpeggios with sweep picking motion to make your guitar solos spicier.
Sweep picking offers guitarists extensive versatility, allowing for the creation of numerous note patterns. It can be applied to any musical idea, including arpeggios, extending beyond basic note combinations to encompass patterns for as many chords as desired.

Check out this song by Jason Becker to hear what Sweep picking sounds like

How to practise shredding:

Shredding for beginners is not very easy but with the right practice routine and proper guidance, it can be made easier.
Let’s look into some important things that you need to keep in mind while you practice shredding.

Speed: Let’s start with the most important part, the speed.
You don’t wanna go full throttle as soon as you pick up the guitar.
It is important to warm up your hands before you jump into your solos.

Start with stretching your fingers, then move on to chromatic exercises, go up and down the fretboard with slow speed and focusing on each note.
After you are done with chromatic exercises, move on to playing scales, major scales, minor scales or any other modes that you are familiar with, 3 notes per string scales are also a very good warm up for shredders.

Sync: It is important that your left and right hand are in sync with each other. You should make sure that your picking hand is not going faster than the fretting hand and vice versa.

Pay attention to each and every note, it should be precise and clean.


Metronome: Find out a comfortable speed for you, let’s say 90 BPM.
Turn your metronome even slower than that, in this case let’s say 70 BPM. The better you practice at slow speeds, the better you will play at fast speeds.
Gradually increase the tempo to the desired speed.
And remember, REPETITION is the key when it comes to shredding for beginners.

Check out the table below for guidance with the speed and practice duration that you can include in your sessions.

Other techniques: Once you have mastered the above mentioned techniques, it is time to spice up your playing by adding Hammer Ons, Pull Offs, Slides, Bending and more.

Once you start adding these techniques, you will notice your solos are automatically sounding much better.

Things to avoid: The most common challenge that beginners face is fatigue and tensing up the hands. Not only will it hamper your speed, it will also lead you to make other mistakes and there is even a chance of injury.
That is why posture and keeping your hands relaxed all the time is the key to long term success in guitar playing.
Take frequent breaks to avoid stiffness.

Another mistake would be, not focusing on accuracy.
You can play hundreds of notes in a minute BUT if they are not audible clearly, and if they sound like a big muffled pile of notes, then what even is the point of shredding?
A lot of beginners and even intermediate guitarists focus more on speed than accuracy which is counterproductive. Avoid this mistake at all cost if you genuinely want to get good at your instrument.

Final Thoughts

Remember, it is the attitude and feel of the guitar player which makes the solos sound better. Once you have mastered the solo and practiced it enough, it’s time to add your own flavour and feel to the licks.

It could just be the way you bend the strings aggressively or your slide sounds like water gliding through or your tapping sounds like Hammer on the Anvil. It is you who will make the solo sound the way it does.