Here’s just a few beginner tips on how to enhance your left-hand/left-hand techniques and eventually becoming a more fluid player.

This may sound strange but i’ve actually found that this works: You may have already tried practicing on an acoustic or bass guitar before going back to your electric, but try this out. Get atleast 1 rubber band (you shouldn’t need anymore) and wrap it however you’d like around your left-hand (except for thumb) and try playing some scales/arpeggios, even chords. The restriction will get your fingers tougher for some ultra-shredding madness. Just to get a little more advanced, try playing your diatonic scales with all 4 fingers, this will also help you expand your fretboard knowledge and find new shapes to use your phrases in, other than just regular box pattern ideas.

As for your right-hand: a lot of guitarists tend to fall into the trap of playing the ‘three-note-per-string’ method up and down the fretboard. try mixing it up and use odd-meter patterns like 5′s or 7′s. The most important thing is that you don’t get bogged down in a particular picking pattern that’ll limit your right-hand versatility. for example try this B blues scale(alternate-picking):
e 10 12 13 14 10 13 12 10
b 10 12 12 10 12 10
g 7 11 10 9 7 97 7 9 10 11 11109 7
d 79 97 9 9~
a 5 789
e 5 7

then try this Ab lydian excercise with some passing tones thrown in:

e 8910 11108
b 8911 111098
g 5678 78910 1087 875
d 568 6810 10987 8765
a 5678 865
e468 8765/

another good trick to make sure you stay fluid is to practice your scales (whatever it is you’re playing) starting on a down-pick and also starting on an up-stroke. Do it both ways with a metronome preferably.

That’s all i’ve got for the moment, more advanced stuff will be on the way-keep checking it out!
-Carl R.

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