This long scale run, perfect for shred guitar, basically plays 6 notes per beat. You can play 3 notes per beat while learning it to make things easier (aaaaand you definitely should)

A mix of alternate picking and legato is used here. The hardest part of this, for me, is the last line shown in the tabs below.

Always a good idea to break things like this down into smaller pieces when you're learning it to makes things easier on yourself.

This was given to a guitar student to help them work on their alternate picking technique while climbing a full octave in the key of E minor. This is also good for fret hand work.

Here is the Guitar Pro 6 tab for this lesson:

This shred guitar etude has you playing 6 notes per beat, hitting six notes on one string, going up to the next string and hitting six notes, then you go back to the first string you started on and play 3 notes on that string then up to the next string for 3 more notes, then you finish the bar with a single note one string higher.

This pattern repeats through various positions in the key of G/Em.

​You are welcome to play 3 notes per beat to simplify things.

Here are the tab files for this etude:

This shred guitar etude is inspired by Paul Gilbert sixes. Basically, you go up six notes across two strings, then start the next six notes on the same string you ended the first group of six notes. Do this until you reach the top two strings, then go down in the same fashion.

This is played in the key of G/Em, and begins with the 3 notes per string F# Locrian mode/scale shape. It climbs up a full octave and then resolves to a G note.

Here are the tab files for this etude:

Two times Guinness World Records gave me world record certificates for Fastest Guitar Player. Once for playing Flight of the Bumblebee at 600 bpm, and again at 620 bpm. 

I believed Guinness was very strict in how they judge things, and scrutinized every note, every pick stroke, etc. I left it at that. I figured that if my performance was good enough for Guinness then I must have actually pulled off picking 40 notes in a single second.

Well... maybe not.

Troy Grady of Cracking the Code did an interview with me to discuss my speed playing. After doing a single string riff for him to demonstrate speed, and watching it in super slow-mo, it turns out I didn't pick all the notes I intended. So, we went with the same riff at a slower pace.

Then, Troy flew me out to NC to get hooked up to all kinds of sensors to read my muscle movements when I play super fast. Here's the trailer where I'm doing a tremelo warm up on one string (at the end of the video)

Troy picked that particular warm up run for the trailer because it was the cleanest/fastest one I did that day. He counted how many notes per second I did. The fastest part was 21 notes per second. That's a far cry from 40.

This led me to think I was indeed NOT picking every note for my Guinness records. I am a FIRM believer that any guitar speed record that involves speed picking needs to have EVERY SINGLE NOTE PICKED! This goes for me too.

So, I went back to look at my initial performance, slowed it down, and instead of just looking to see if my hands synced up, I counted my pick strokes to each metronome click.

I picked everything at 170 bpm. I picked everything at 280 bpm. I did NOT pick everything at 350 bpm.

This means I never broke a damn thing, and my Guinness records were undeserved.

I apologize to anyone I may have let down, including the companies I am associated with.

The following is my video confession:

Someone asked in a YouTube comment how to shred, how to approach it, and what are common/typical exercises to play in order to shred.

Simple answer: anything can be used to practice shredding, you just need to play it fast! Get out your metronome, and start gradually increasing the speed of ANYTHING.
​
Check out this video for tips on using the metronome:

When learning to shred you will be learning scales, various coil patterns, hammer-ons and pull-offs, legato runs, sweep picking, finger tapping, and so on. If anything is a typical shred exercise it would be scale runs and arpeggios.

​Now, there's already an eBook I have out called "Be the Fastest Guitar Player in the World". It covers just about everything you need to
know in order to start shredding. CLICK HERE to sign up for the newsletter and you'll get a download link to get the eBook FOR FREE.

If you need even more exercises you can purchase a different eBook filled with dozens of exercises that will always give you something new to try. CLICK HERE to check it out.

The following video demonstrates a lot of what you'll find in the eBook "Be the Fastest Guitar Player in the World".