Shred Guitar Exercises for the Metal Guitarist

Greetings shred enthusiast! If you’re looking to take your shred skills to the next level, I’ve put together a list of Shred Guitar exercises that are just what you need.

After studying Shred for the last 12 or so years, I’ve taken the courses, I’ve watched the videos, I’ve put the time in and, most importantly, I’ve gotten the results. But you still might be surprised to discover just what I know about how to improve one’s skills on the ol’ electric six string.

While a lot of what it takes to master shred is easier than it looks, it still takes hard work, dedication, and most importantly, the right set of exercises to help you reach your desired Shred status.

Enough preamble already.  Here are my top 9 (that’s right, 9) shred guitar exercises to take your skills to the next level:

Alternate Picking Licks:

• Begin by positioning your hands in the standard alternate picking position, with your fretting hand on the neck of the guitar and your picking hand hovering over the strings.
• Start by playing a simple scale or lick using alternate picking, with your picking hand moving back and forth between up and down strokes.
• Pay attention to the motion of your picking hand and strive for a steady, even motion.
• Gradually increase the speed of your alternate picking as you become more comfortable with the technique.
• Practice with a metronome to help improve your timing and speed.
• As you become more proficient with alternate picking, try incorporating it into more complex licks and patterns.

Here’s a video of some alternate picking licks to get you started –

String Skipping:

• Begin by positioning your hands in the standard playing position, with your fretting hand on the neck of the guitar and your picking hand hovering over the strings.
• Start by practicing string skipping with simple patterns, such as alternating between the open 1st and 3rd strings with a metronome.
• As you become more comfortable with string skipping, try adding in your fretting hand to play more complex patterns and licks.
• Pay close attention to the accuracy and precision of your finger movements as you skip over strings.
• Practice with a metronome to help improve your timing and speed.
• As you become more proficient with string skipping, try incorporating it into your solos and compositions.

Here are some string skipping exercises to try, when you’re ready –

Sweep Picking Arpeggios:

• Start by practicing simple sweep picking patterns, such as 2 string sweeps.
• Pay attention to the motion of your picking hand and strive for a smooth, fluid motion as you sweep across the strings.
• Gradually increase the complexity of your sweep picking patterns by adding in more strings.
• Practice with a metronome to help improve your timing and speed.
• As you become more proficient with sweep picking, try incorporating it into your solos and compositions.

Here’s a video of some sweep picking exercises –

Two-Handed Tapping Licks:

• Start by playing a simple scale or lick using only your fretting hand to tap the notes.
• Once you feel comfortable with this, try adding in your picking hand to alternate between tapping and picking.
• As you become more proficient with this technique, try increasing the speed and complexity of the licks you play.
• It can also be helpful to practice with a metronome to improve your timing and control.

More video exercises for you, now for 2 hand tapping –

Legato Licks:

• Start by playing a simple scale or lick using only your fretting hand to pluck the strings.
• Once you feel comfortable with this, try using your picking hand to smoothly transition between notes, rather than plucking each note individually.
• Practice using both your fretting hand and picking hand to create legato lines.
• As you become more proficient with this technique, try increasing the speed and complexity of the licks you play.
• It can also be helpful to use a metronome to improve your timing and control.

Bend and Vibrato:

• Begin by practicing simple bends with your fretting hand. Start with a single string and gradually work your way up to bending multiple strings at once.
• Pay attention to the pitch of the bent notes and strive for a smooth, controlled bend.
• Once you feel comfortable with bends, try incorporating vibrato into your playing. This can be achieved by rapidly rocking your finger back and forth on the bent string.
• As you become more proficient with these techniques, try combining them in your playing.
• It can also be helpful to use a metronome to improve your timing and control.

Scales and Modes:

• Begin by selecting a scale or mode to practice. It can be helpful to start with a simple scale such as the major or minor pentatonic scale.
• Practice playing the scale in a variety of positions on the neck of the guitar.
• As you become more comfortable with the scale, try improvising with it over a backing track or chord progression.
• Experiment with playing the scale in different rhythms and try incorporating it into your own solos and compositions.
• It can also be helpful to practice with a metronome to improve your timing and control.

Improvisation:

• Start by familiarizing yourself with the chords and structure of a song or backing track that you want to improvise over.
• Practice playing scales and licks over the backing track, paying attention to how they fit with the chord progression.
• Experiment with different approaches to improvisation, such as playing melodically or using a more rhythmic approach.
• As you become more comfortable with improvising, try adding in elements such as bends, vibrato, and other techniques to add expression to your playing.
• It can also be helpful to practice with a metronome to improve your timing and control.

Speed and Accuracy:

• Begin by selecting a simple lick or scale to practice.
• Slowly work on building up your speed and accuracy by gradually increasing the tempo of the metronome or backing track you are practicing with.
• Pay close attention to the accuracy of each note and strive for clean, precise playing.
• As you become more comfortable with the lick or scale, try incorporating it into your own solos and compositions.

So there you have it, folks – my top NINE shred guitar exercises to take your skills to the next level. Remember, practice makes perfect, so don’t be afraid to put in the work and dedication. 

Shred on!

-Anton