How to Play Guitar Fast: 11 Proven Strategies

According to an October 2021 research by Fender and YouGov, more than 16 million US citizens learned guitar in the last two years.

Guitar is the 2nd most popular instrument in the world, after piano. People think guitar is easier than piano. So, many people, specifically youngsters are more inclined towards learning the guitar as their first instrument.

However, beginner guitarists are always curious to learn how to play guitar fast. As it’s said that, every expert was once a beginner, anyone can learn the guitar skill and develop speed.

Let me spice up your curiosity a little and share some amazing strategies. I’m sure all these strategies will help you analyze all the areas to improve your guitar skill. And eventually, you will learn the art of playing the guitar faster.

How to Play Guitar Fast?: 11 Proven Strategies

1. Practice in a Healthy Environment

This might be obvious but worth mentioning. Your surroundings have a lot of impact on your overall performance and productivity. How? Let’s understand with two very important factors – Light and Noise.

Light

Imagine you are in a good mood and thinking about playing your favorite song on guitar. But there is one thing that can instantly turn off your good vibes, and that is dull light.

Yes. If the space you are sitting in has dull or no light, it can literally change your mood. Due to which, it can affect your playing. So, ensure you sit in an area with a good amount of light. Keep the curtains open. Let the natural light make your guitar playing time healthier so that you can play the guitar fast and smoothly.

Noise

Trying your hands on riffs is such fun. But you cannot concentrate on playing if a loud and unpleasant noise joins you.

Sit in a room where you can feel the silence and focus. This way, you can improve and play the guitar fast.

Maintaining an ideal environment is crucial. So, ensure you are focusing on that as well.

2. Train Your Fingers

For a guitarist, fingers are the core thing. Every guitarist must learn finger exercises and practice them daily. Train your fingers with these exercises.

As a new learner, it takes time to develop flexibility and dexterity to hold the strings properly. I know, the excitement as a new learner to ace the guitar is always at its peak. So, this strategy can help you learn the guitar fast. You can train your fingers in 2 ways.

Stretch Fingers

Stretch your fingers before playing. A good stretching promotes flexibility in the muscles. It develops the ability to play faster and longer.

Improve Picking Ability

This strategy is one of the most effective strategies to play the guitar fast. Go through some picking exercises that will boost the playing speed. You can also go for the famous 1 2 3 4 exercise to train your fingers, to play the guitar fast.

3. Use Fingertips

I know this is a no-brainer. duh?!?! But my dear reader, this element is slightly ignored, especially by beginner guitarists. In a rush to learn that fascinating song, they forget the essential element, their fingertips.

You will get a clear sound, only when you hold the strings with your fingertips. It is crucial to incorporate this as a habit before you continue to play, placing finger pads. With fingertips, you can put optimum pressure on strings. Also, make sure you protect your fingertips.

In such a way, you can play the chords smoothly. Once you understand the correct technique, you can play the guitar fast and ace it.

4. Practice Slowly

“The slower you practice, the faster you can play.”

Does this sound weird? Let me explain. Practicing slowly helps in understanding the guitar techniques better. You won’t have to think about it when you play the guitar later. Right now, focus on absorbing every approach.

First, master the techniques one by one. Ultimately, you will get command and perfection with momentum.

Always remember, a steady start takes you a long way.

5. Fast Practice

Woah! What’s happening?!? Just now I told you to practice slowly, and now I am telling you to practice fast. Let me explain what I mean.

Once you are confident in playing a tune slowly but perfectly, it’s time to take your skill to another level. Now, you get an idea of how fast you can play. You can try playing chords with capo, to make the playing easier and faster.

Here, allow yourself to experiment and explore. Push your limits. Practice the same tune a little faster and gradually increase the speed. This can also be a great finger exercise for you. 

 

6. Finger Twisters Exercise

Say, she sells seashells by the seashore. Was it an easy tongue twister?

Well, here we are going to do some finger twisters, which are equally enjoyable as tongue twisters.

The meaning is as the name suggests. Make some twists and turns on the guitar using your fingers. The tunes you create might sound funny, but the finger twisters are an excellent warm-up routine to train your fingers to play the guitar faster. So, make sure you practice them regularly.

7. Practice Using Metronome

When you are trying a fast tune on the guitar, playing it with the metronome is what matters the most. The melody will be out of tune, if you focus more on the speed instead of the bpm.

Initially, it gets a little annoying as you are new to it. But eventually, with practice, the hand synchronization between the beats and playing will be on point.

So, try to play at different tempos. Take a challenge and play a little faster with a metronome. See how easily your fingers can travel on the fret board.

You can download the Metronome apps or simply google to get the tool. Practicing guitar moves with a metronome is a wonderful strategy to play the guitar fast.

8. Practice Legato

Have you heard this term before? Legato is one of the most practiced guitar techniques to play the guitar fast. It simply means, you play two notes by connecting them without any break. The motive here is, to play several notes by picking only one string.

Legato includes some methods like hammer-ons and pull-offs. You use hammer-ons on an ascending scale, and pull-offs while descending scale.

Legato playing builds muscles of your fingers and is a great warm-up to train them. This way, you can build dexterity can play the guitar faster.

9. Practice Regularly

Developing the guitar speed becomes less challenging if you practice regularly. Setting up a disciplined routine is the cherry on the cake!

Regular practice evolves enthusiasm and curiosity to learn effectively. You don’t need to spend an entire day improving your guitar skills. But ensure that you stay consistent with your guitar practice.

10. Don’t be Hard on Your Fingers

Undoubtedly, I want my readers to master their guitar skills. But sometimes, the over-excitement makes you go hard on yourself.

Attaining accuracy and speed takes time. How effortlessly you play is much more important than your speed.

Focus on learning each step properly. Don’t be hard on your fingers to play faster. Give your hands rest. Otherwise, it will only frustrate you and end up screwing the tune.

So, take time to train your fingers so that, you can play the guitar faster without going hard on your fingers.

 

11. Relax and Have Patience

I am sharing this strategy in the end, so that you can remember it perpetually.

While grasping a new skill, you learn, fail, and improve. I know, at times, it is exhausting and annoying. But as a musician, you will learn and experience till the end.

So, keeping your mind calm and relaxed is the primary thing. Then only you can absorb the skills.

Be patient without going hard on yourself and trust the learning process. If you follow this, you are just a step away from playing and singing your favorite song on the guitar!

FAQs

How long does it take to play guitar fast?

The time frame can differ for each person. A person with good grasping power might end up learning early. Whereas, there is a possibility that another person might face a struggle in playing guitar fast. Regular practice can build speed, and you can learn the art of playing guitar fast in less time.

How can I make guitar practice more effective?

To make guitar practice more effective, consider the following factors.

• Get yourself a guitar teacher
• Maintain a proper posture
• Learn to be slow and gradually increase the speed
• Set a disciplined routine
• Practice daily for at least 15-20 minutes
• Use metronome
• Give rest to your fingers
• Try singing and playing guitar at the same time

How do I move fingers faster on guitar?

You can move your fingers faster on guitar only when you know how to play them slowly. It is not important how quickly you play, but how accurately you play.

Follow some finger exercises. Finger twisters are a great exercise to train your fingers.

 

Conclusion

I was also one of the excited kids like you when I started learning guitar. Speed is important to play guitar fast. It helps you to sing and play those songs which have a high tempo. But focusing on applying the proper techniques is necessary to build speed.

Apply the strategies I shared. All these strategies are a great way to play faster, whether you are learning acoustic guitar, electric guitar, or classical guitar. Check how much time it takes to learn and progress. Invest enough time to increase your skill level. Besides that, consistency is the key to improving and playing guitar faster.

So, keep practicing dedicatedly to become the next influential guitarist.