The Complete Guitarist is THE place for Rock/Metal/Shred Guitarists to improve their skills and make continuous improvement! Includes Daily Practice Plan! bit.ly/3Jq8jmf

"Our bodies are incredibly capable machines: You create the demand and it finds what it needs to do to meet it." Worth it just for that sentence.

16 minutes of video, 16 minutes of practical content. That's a rare sight on youtube. Usually we get 40 minutes of monologue with a couple minutes of useful stuff buried in the middle. Thank you!

"Our bodies are incredibly capable machines. You create the demand, it figures out what it needs to do to get there." GOD, that was absolutely BRILLIANT! K, I'm inspired now lol.

"Let go of the way you think it should be" applies to just about everything in life.

The student Ben refers to at 10:18 is me, and it is true what he says. I had been struggling with upping my picking speed for a long time, and the path Ben set me on has been very fruitful from the get go. I practiced with a metronome daily for over a year, trying to increase my speed by using "the right technique", which I thought was moving just the wrist. Turns out my body does not want to move that way. Ben had me experiment with different positions, and, within the first lesson, it suddenly "clicked" when I pronated my wrist, such that my thumb touch the string, and picked from the elbow. My speed and stamina have increased tremendously in the short time I have taken lessons, and I feel they will keep rising for a while. The leap of faith was really what I needed, not textbook guitar technique. I really enjoy Ben's lessons and am improving like never before. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Actual practical advice? NO WAY!!! I implemented the first piece of advice that you gave, and i could feel the improvements immediately. This vid was a godsend and it gave me more motivation to play guitar than I've ever had. Thank you so much.

THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST TUTORIAL ON PICK SPEED!! My ability to play fast and clean improved in an hour, after 2 hrs I couldn't believe I was playing like I have wanted to play for 5 years. Thank you so much for the amazing video.

My picking improved absolutely loads just in the time it took to watch the video. I will put it into my practice routine now for sure. Thanks Ben.

“Let go of the way you think it should be and go out and find what is” is some of the best advice I’ve ever heard.

Good advice. Like Rusty Cooley says, "Your only limitations are the ones you place on yourself" (after you buy his signature model guitar).

“Let go of the way you think it should be and just go and find what ‘is’.” - This is true wisdom and can be applied to everything in life. Sage advice for sure! Thank you, Ben!

Just wanted to say that I discovered this video a while ago. I had been struggling with getting my right hand faster for years, without any success. This video was worth more than all of those hours trying to get faster, the wrong way. Just a few months after watching this video, I have gone from struggling to play 16ths at 110BPM, to being able to confidently play songs with 16ths at 190, 200, and even 220 BPM. I can even play complex right-hand patterns at 210BPM now. Not comfortably, still need some practice for that, but the fact that I can even physically do it is a testament to the brilliance of the advice in this video. Thank you so much Ben Higgins!! I owe you big, please take this measly tip as a small token of my gratitude.

I literally got an ad telling me not to use KZfaq to learn guitar 🤣🤣

"Of course it doesn't sound very musical or interesting". RIP black metal

This is it. What I learned 30 years ago and forgot 15 years ago had come back through You! Thanks for posting this. I watched a few dozen speed picking videos before I found this definitive one. Sixteenth notes at 150bpm here I come...

Ah alternate picking, the first technique we learn but the last we master, good shit ben.

"Always have a contact with the string - THAT maybe is the essential one. Thanks Ben.

I have played the guitar for 45 odd years and can play an awful lot of music and I can play lead, but only slow progressions. I've never been able to work out why I'm unable to play fast riffs. After watching this I went and played a few lead riffs and guess what? You've shown me why I can't play leads with speed. I will apply what you've shown and get back to you. THANKYOU.

This man just dropped more than guitar knowledge, he dropped life knowledge

Great Lesson. I've searched You Tube for ages for a solution to my picking troubles and this is not only the best video I've seen, but you also talk about stuff that no one has ever talked about. That's what grabbed my attention - you came from a point of difference and offered a simple, but untouched solution. Thx Ben!

Hey ben, I just practiced my tremolo picking for about half an hour after this video. I done exactly what you said and after it I went back to practicing a song I have been trying to play that was too fast for me to pick. During the tremolo picking practice I didn't really feel a difference but when playing that song it was much easier and I really felt faster. Thanks so much for this because I have really been struggling with speed picking.

This is definitely one of the best videos I've seen on developing alternate picking technique. I like your concept of picking "on" rather than "through" the string. I'm mostly a Bluegrass player, but I dabble in shred every now and then. Even so, when learning some of the most difficult pieces in Bluegrass I've found that the right hand is 9 times out of 10 the likely culprit that's holding you back.

May I say, you are a wonderful teacher, Ben. Truly. I'm 68! Been playing 45 years. People who know me tell me I'm good. I KNOW I suck, and labor over trying to learn new things, and then give up really fucking quickly. Old dog? New tricks? I don't know. Maybe. That aside, you're a terrific teacher. Thanks, man.

I could not have explained it better myself. I've been shredding for over a decade, but he pointed out all the things I once struggled with (and things I STILL struggle with), and he walks you through every step and provides a solution of the way to becoming a faster player. Thank you!

TL;DR - Every beginner and simply everybody who has been struggling with alternate picking for years should watch this video. This is crucial advice, people. I used to struggle a lot myself until a couple months ago maybe. Heck, I couldn't even tremolo pick... In fact, I actually never bothered with it which was such a huge mistake! I eventually looked into it by accident, and finally found the picking motion that feels right to me. I literally went from maxing out at 110/120 bpm 16th notes to 160/170 in a matter of a couple days, doing pretty much what Ben talks about in this video. Ridiculous.

Sometimes the secret for success, lays within the smallest details.

I’ve gone through a few online technique instructors. I never seemed to get anywhere. I thought I was pretty unteachable as I couldn’t glean what was being taught. These were great instructors in their own right, they were just speaking a ‘guitar language’ I didn’t understand. After this under 20min video, my picking has finally began to improve, and I’ve been playing since around 1983! It made more sense than anything I had tried prior and felt a more natural way to understand what was being taught. I’m a disabled veteran on a fixed income and wish I could afford this series. Maybe in the future, I hope.

HO LEE SHIT! iv been playing since I was 16 I'm now 37 iv never been able to reach "The Level" iv been applying this for a week and mate I can pull off the still of the night solo without burning out or feeling I'm outta time, iv gone from 130 where iv been for years to 170 without hardly trying. Thanks so much for this

If you wanna improve your picking speed look no further. This is the best instructional video you're going to find. Everything he says is 100% accurate and very well explained. I wish I had found this video sooner.. would've saved me so much time. Thank you for the advice!

"Keeping your pick always close with the strings" It makes all the difference on may picking speed. Thanks a million!

I started playing guitar when I was about 15. Fast forward 20-30 years old... I still play with the exact same level of skill. Then came these youtube tutorial videos came out. I poured hours into learning theory, particularly via the jazz guitar path... learned about intervals, chord voicings, phrasing and what not. And did daily exercises to sync my right hand to the left, using lovely licks and arpeggio runs. Now finally at 40+ years old I am actually shredding. Many thanks to channels like these. Benhiggins in particular is a very good teacher, and a very good performer as well.

This helped me breakthrough my shred barrier. After 15 years of guitar playing I feel like I can play the way I've always wanted to play. Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's been 1 month since I watched this video and my speed playing has tremendously progressed! You Rock!!!

Wow. Great lesson. Been playing for years (not professionally, more for fun). I'm more of chord guy because I gave up on trying to pick fast. Always mucked it up! This video REALLY helped. You showed me how to unlock untapped potential. Sweet!

This might be the best guitar lesson on youtube, it's just brilliant. This advise also applies for fingerpicking! "first you need to access the raw power of technique..and take a leap of faith, by doing! Not thinking.. This video is 17 min long and there is not one sentence that doesn't need to be there. Brilliant Ben! bless you

this actually helped me, youre the first youtube teacher i’ve seen who actually taught something

This guy is spot on. He's a great teacher and knows what he's talking about. The idea of keeping contact with the string is even better than thinking "keep the motion compact" because it gives the player something concrete to feel with his pick. Also his idea of starting off with chunks, instead of trying to tremelo continuously, is invaluable. In fact it's the only way possible to survive it.

This concentrating on the feel of keeping the pick on the string is great advice. I've never heard it said in such a clear way! Thanks!

Outstanding presentation. The simple 'imagine you are keeping the pick in contact with the string at all times' concept is a really clever psychological trick Ben.

Wow.... I've been playing for forty years and that's the best lesson on speed picking I've ever seen. Upped my speed by the end of the video. No one ever explained it so perfectly to me. Thanks a million..... from the comments below I can see I'm not alone. Once again... Wpw...

This has been my biggest desire lately is to get my picking speed up. I love that you have broken this down, and provided a START HERE FIRST lesson. Can you continue this as a series? So the next thing I guess is working on string skipping, or synchronizing left and right hand? I don't know, your the expert! But I love the idea. Start here, when you get to a certain level move to step 2 and son on. Very awesome! And Thanks!

Excellent! You just managed to put years of experience and search, and hours and hours of lessons in this videos. It's good to see how guitar teaching and practicing is evolving nowadays to a concise set of accurate and usable universal concepts :D

Now that is what I call useful information, I’ve watched other videos on techniques and none match this. You have described it so well that a toddler could understand it clearly. Really gets the message across. 🤘🏻

Ben I really enjoyed your video today I’m an old guitar player started playing back in 1965 when I was 15 . I really liked your lesson today how you handle the mental conditioning of picking. Like you said there’s a million ways to pick and you just have to find your own way your own style that’s basically what I did . But I have not found anyone that breaks down the art of picking like you did in this video great job🎸

this video changed my life overnight! thank you for posting this

Watched a lot of Troy Grady's stuff about pickslanting but this one video here, was my "OHHHh this is why I suck moment" Thank you so much. Will be purchasing your programs soon. Fixed a lot of problems.

Thanks Ben this is so useful has increased my picking speed in two hours just got a Fender Telecaster Ultra and this video has pushed me into the Ultra zone thanks again and I have subscribed

The goat actually, has been struggling with proper picking technique for a while and you made my speed go up by at least one hundred procent during the time of this video

I've been struggling with Sweet Child Of Mine's Solo for weeks now and after a few hours after trying this I'm finally able to play it at the same speed as in the original.

I love this video i used to only anchor my palm on the strings trying to play thrash with crazy elbow pain until I decided to experiment with hand positioning at first I did the position u said to avoid if we could the forward backward one that caused my shoulder tickle and my neck hurt, did some more experimenting and found my new position anchor my palm AND the fat of my thumb on the body above the strings.....although I had doubts after seeing no masters with that technique. Although my speed and capability doubled almost immediately and I felt the sky is the limit. Now after 2 weeks playing slayer riffs like chemical warfare and angel of death accurately and I just keep getting better, so this video saved me tears and frustration I found what works for me and will stick to it.

This really simple thing of "resting the pick on the other side" just made me instantly improve my speed. Just thank you very much for it!!!

Excellent instructional video. Thank you for posting and will definitely look for more of your work regularly.

Wow! I tried this for the first time today. I started off at 80 bpm so that I could find that sweet spot, the path of least resistance. I built up to 160 bpm. What I notices at about 140bpm was that I had trouble stopping after 4 measures and then consistently starting again after one measure with precision and equal picking tone. So I already detected what I need to work on to train my picking hand to be consistent and precise. Great video!

THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE BEST PICKING VIDEOS MADE! It works!! Thank you!!!

Wow Ben, your humble detailed explanation all wrapped up in a caring envelope of confidence control and patience will finally give me the long sought after skill to play at last with a Pick !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I enjoy playing jazz guitar solos and I use an ES 175 Gibson. I've been playing with my thumb nail for over 40 years. Ben, "Your The Man" THANK YOU So Much.

I wish I had this video about 35 years ago when I started to learn guitar. This is one of the best explanations of alternate picking I have seen. Also, you can't play Surf Guitar without having a serious ability to do tremolo picking.

I think the most groundbreaking thing I learned from your videos was learning to let your picking hand "hang" by loosening your wrist instead of fighting gravity and using way too many muscles. I developed carpal tunnel syndrome, no doubt at least partially due to my shitty technique, and had to basically relearn how to pick after playing for 20 years. I thought I was going to have to give up because every position I tried hurt. It's been a couple years of rehab, but it no longer hurts to play, and I can point to that single demonstration as the turning point for me. Thank you for your videos.

'Let go of the way that you think it should be and go and find what is' - Ben Higgins, on speed picking, and by association, love, truth and the meaning of life...

Dude, you spoke right to me. Everything you mentioned that was a improper technique is exactly what I've been doing for years. And, like you said, the mental aspect is going to be the hardest to get past. Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting this video up. Now, if you don't mind, I got some picking to do.

Man, this is an amazingly well-explained, logically ordered presentation. This guy is a fantastic teacher!

My favorite part is around 10:30 for good advice. I approve this video!

Nice philosophical talk about speed picking. Thanks for approaching it from a realistic viewpoint.

One of the only videos that can legitimately show positive change in skill straight after watching the video. Well cone

Great video. One of the best i’ve seen. Love your no BS approach and emphasis on practice. Thanks for this. Well done.

This is great. Within the first 4 or 5 min I was trem picking very cleanly and what I noticed the most was that my arm was completely relaxed. No cramping or fatigue whatsoever.

found this video on my first day ever playing guitar. trying to learn live wire at actual pace was the most stressful thing i had ever done in my life lmao, this video finally helped me get the main riff!!! never thought one tip could help so much

Yeah that helped a ton, subscribed for sure!! Thank you man, looking forward to your other content

So needed this! Thank you!!!

Wow! Thanks to your lesson I cured my carpal tunnel syndrome, and I can play 123⁴ bpm, I attracted my new wives and all 13 of my children are now lead guitarists in popular metal bands! All thanks to your lesson! ♥️ from Bermuda

Incredibly useful video!!

Great advice Ben, thanks.

Straight talking... No BS... genuine improvement.... thanks Ben

Thanks Ben... I have been trying to learn for years... about to give up. BUT I found this - it is a break thru!!

These are amazing words of wisdom! You've pretty much summed up most of my problems with playing.

I like the pick you're using a lot of people wonder how on earth I use a pick with such a sharp end on it but it's the only way I can get any attack on strings I have never seen any other guitar players use similar picks to the ones I am using. Thank you for the inspiration!

that made so much sense thanks . I'm self taught and I been having problems with my lead playing and this just made so much sense to me . To be honest this is what I been looking for forever thanks great lesson

This was a great video. You really addressed the psychological issues as well as the physical technique. Well done! And thanks... now I need to go practice

Most practical lesson ever...genius teaching!

Amazing. "Pick on the string". That was exactly what I needed to answer a question I couldn't form for so long time. This really hit the spot and I think "got it". The increase in speed is unbeliavable compared to my previous awful attempts =D Great job, thank you!

Bro you literally increased my speed with watching this video 1 time…Because I didn’t look at it as picking on the string. I was picking through them with wider strokes. So simple yet intuitive, simply because I used the wrong method. Approached it with the wrong mindset all this time. Def not there yet. But drastic difference. You are awesome dude

Wow. Followed this advice and literally found a way to pick faster than ever before, which seems effortless in a way. I hold the pick a certain way that just feels right now. I think the best advice was the bit about not focusing on going past the string like when you normally hit a string when playing slower. Tremolo picking has been a thorn in my side for 20 years and now it's been taken out in an instant. Can't thank you enough 🙌

Dude, Honestly, best tip ive ever seen. I´ve been playin for 20 years and cant alternate for shit. Now i can, after just 3 days of praticing with this technique! Awsome vid!

This was so much truth. Excellent. I have been to so many teachers online, and privately, who could not articulate this. I needed this.

Dude fuck yeah! Been scouring KZfaq for god knows how long and this the only video that truly helped! You got a new subscriber ! Rock on brother

I love this channel, I subscribed 10x already

I needed this video a year ago- fortunately I've been picking up speed (pun intended) over the past few months by finally figuring out that endurance is actually a HUGE part of being able to pick quickly, and that I was lacking it. Tremolo picking is the arm/hand muscle equivalent of running in place- you may not be getting anywhere, but you will still gain stamina. I started out with the stiff arm TREMBLE technique- which is awful and I nearly hurt myself irreparably. Ben's video is THE video for this subject. Picking fast for a duration will cause some minor discomfort even when your pick grip is soft and your wrist is loose. The best trick I have found is doing alternating 4ths, 8ths and 16ths while decreasing the first two and lengthening the latter. The slower reps remind your body of proper looseness and solidify the unison of your fast/slow technique. Your muscles will burn a bit- I usually stop in short order after it begins and tension starts to build- the tension is a result of not yet building the proper endurance- you are effectively pushing tension out to an acceptable time where long unbroken rhythm and leads sections are possible tension-free. Also on point is the speed for speed's sake thing. Speed is a valuable tool for dynamics in pretty much any style and not exclusive to shred. John McLaughlin, anyone?

This was a great video. I've been playing for I don't know how long... studied all the greats... never been able to get my speed up. The biggest reason was because the way I was holding my pick didn't "look right". When I let go out the norms of speed picking and went for what was comfortable for me... everything changed! Greast advice!

Like this! Never been a shredder but my ears perked up when I heard that pick rest at or in prox to the opposite side of the string, and the "clear the string by rolling your picking hand enough to just clear it. Waaay cool instruction, Ben.

So very helpful! thank you Ben...

i waste my 1 year try to understand how to speed my picking , i do it wrong! this video change me, and now i can do speed picking !!! thank for your tip and help!

Thank you. A great source of repertoire is Italian restaurant mandolin tunes. You don't have to hunt out recordings or manuscripts, it's just like remembering (sort of) how "Viva Espana" or the Jewish "Hava Nagela" type-things go. "Somewhere my love" etc - after maybe a couple of months of getting your hand together as-per this excellent video. So you can really surprise/annoy your band mates when your solo is "Three coins in a fountain" with squealies all over it.

Thanks so much! Working on it now! Be safe and well!

You are truly an amazing teacher. I kind of intuitively arrived at the same conclusions by being very conscious and cognizant of my body. Indeed it is impossible to feel relaxed when picking fast at first, but all you need to do is just be aware that being relaxed is the goal, keep this thought in your mind, even if you are far from being relaxed, and wait for it to come true. Muscles do need weeks or even months of consistent training, with ups and downs along the way. But then, sometimes suddenly, the tipping point comes and you begin to realize you no longer need to struggle.

I've been playing a while, this is my weakness. By far the most helpful video, thanks

Thanks so much for this tutorial! I always admired people who could speed pick, but figured I wasn’t born with the talent to do it myself. Definitely working on these techniques.

I have been playing for 14 years now but i never was able to pick fast. Now im gonna buckle down and really practice. Thanks for giving me the confidence man!

Incredibly articulate and clear instructions. Great lesson man!

I have played the guitar and mandolin for over 40 years with the guitar being my primary instrument for 27 of those 40. As a guitarist I didn't develop a decent tremolo picking style. I have played a lot of blues based music and have relied on a pretty good legato technique for years. Back in '04 I started playing primarily mandolin with a group that I stayed with for about 11 years. So? Well, for about 11 years I was a mandolin player playing mainly folk/ragtime/old timey music with a shitty tremolo technique. In the group I was in we "gigged" all the time and were learning/writing new music continuously so I had no time to practice technique as my time was taken up learning and rehearsing. About a year and a half ago we stopped playing, and all of a sudden I had time. I watched a handful of videos about tremolo picking on the mandolin and found nothing that really impressed me. I started watching a lot of metal guitarists(yngwie etc) that I loved in the '80s. I noticed that many were using the same basic ideas that you mentioned in this video. I started practicing nearly every day for about a year. Some days I would practice for a couple hours, others just a couple minutes. Now, I tremolo pick with the big boys. I'm babbling. I wish I would have had this video to watch when I started building my technique. Somehow I have stumbled onto your ideas on my own. Your suggestions work, I can attest to that. I now apply these ideas to my guitar playing as well. Today I'm playing stuff that I couldn't even approach before. You sir are an excellent teacher. I'm going to watch again as there were a couple of things I saw that I'm going to try. Thank you for posting this video!

Ahhhhh I was stuck for so long man thank you so much the result was almost instant!!!!! It was small but man you've really expanded my playing ability

Thankyou so much . I have been trying to do this for years and now, a couple of days after watching your video, I can do it. I can't thank you enough.