I feel as though I suck at guitar

[Ethan]

So lately I am practicing way more lately, trying to build up speed and technique. I've been playing for a while but haven't tried to sit down and do this properly since I was in high school. I'm working with a metronome a lot and doing stuff the way I *think* is the right way, but I still just can't get that really fast alternate picking stuff down. Is this how it is? Do you just work with a metronome for forever until you can finally do it? I'm not getting discouraged really but I just don't really know anyone who plays the way I am aiming towards so I don't have anyone to ask really. Thanks for any responses in advance.

[tommy p]

Story 1: I played in a band with a guy who was VERY fast but played E and A licks interchangeably. It almost works but those couple of weird notes and the tonal center of his licks made it sound "off".

Story 2: I had a friend who got a guitar around 15-16. Within a couple of years, he enrolled in GIT. How he got in, I'll never know because at that point he really could barely play. When he came back he could play blindingly fast, but had no idea how to play in key. We tried to form a band and if you heard him before the band started playing, or just playing by himself without a CD, he sounded amazing! He had learned tons of wicked runs by endless repetition, but couldn't figure out that he needed to start them in different places on the neck to have them "work".

He then went to Berklee so I figured things would get better for sure, but nope. He had realized speed wasn't everything and learned some cool bluesy bits and some Zappa-esque weirdness but still couldn't fit it into a song. Not even a blues!!! I kid you not - if he knew a killer lick in A and you played in B, and TOLD him to just move his lick up 2 frets, he wouldn't do it. It just goes to show that if are not a musical person (in this case I'd have to assume he was tone-deaf) all the speed in the world is not going to help.

There were times I would have loved to have either of these guys' speed, but at this point I've given up. I can't play fast so I work on my ear, vibrato, and tone and I've done just fine.

[Ethan]

I guess I didn't mean working on speed exclusively-just trying to figure out my way around the fretboard better and having speed as a byproduct. I really think theory is the answer to this so I want to study it more in depth, lately though I have just had so many gigs that I've had to learn songs and practice for, plus having two jobs, that I haven't really had time to work on anything else. After this week though, that should be over with, so I plan on ordering JackButler's book and working through that and a jazz theory book I have to practice, plus all the issues of Guitar Techniques I've stockpiled! Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[HamerHokie]

I haven't practiced speed since high school but when I did I followed Al DiMeola's advice - pick a repetitive left-hand pattern of 3-4 notes and practice it using alternative up-down picking. Start slowly, increase speed when you've got good accuracy.

I found that relying on this too much makes your technique sound like finger exercises, so the next step is to extend it to longer strings of notes.

Now I eschew too much speed in favor of expressiveness.