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How to Shred on the Guitar

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Learning to Shred the Guitar!

Do you want to be a shred guitarist who can play guitar like the best of them? Would you love to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen? If so, read on! My name is Ryan Formato and I am a professional guitarist from Long Island, NY who is going to to teach you how to become a professional shred guitarist!

Every week, I will update this page with additional lessons that will be decided by YOU, the reader. Just leave a comment on the guest book with what you want to learn and I will tab out the riff/song, and demonstrate how to correctly play it!

Find yourself a GREAT teacher!

One of the most important aspects in becoming a great guitarist would be finding a great teacher. A teacher should be inspiring, able to play the guitar competently, and have a teaching method that is easy to understand. You can search for a teacher locally, but with the advent of the internet and the ease of video chat, you can even take lessons with famous guitarists online! Whatever you do, do NOT settle for a mediocre guitarist who is not competent at the guitar just because they are five minutes from your house located at the local music shop.

When I was 13 years old, I took guitar lessons at the local music store and after a year, learned very little and wanted to quit. Luckily, I had great parents that helped me find another teacher who inspired me to be the guitarist that I am today. Although the internet, books, and new media outlets are great instructional materials, an inspiring teacher is difficult to find and should be eagerly sought after. Now, on to teaching you how to shred!

Sweep Picking over a Chord Progression (Oldies)

In this example, I am taking a standard oldies progression (C, Am, F, G) and applying a sweep picked arpeggio sequence to it. When you sweep pick, make sure you rake the pick and rest the pick on the next string as you pick from string to string. The picking, hammer-ons, and pull-offs are all notated in the tab. Check out the video below to see/hear a demonstration of this technique!

Ryan Formato Oldies Arpeggio Sequence

This arpeggio sequence has been taken out of one of my guitar clinics that I demonstrated at Jeff Denny's Music Station.
Ryan Formato arpegios
by jeffdennyband | video info

2 ratings | 226 views
curated content from YouTube

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Guitar Lesson Comments & Recommendations!

Please feel free to comment on this lens and let me know what lessons you would like me to focus on. If you want me to teach you advanced sweep picking techniques or the beginning to Sweet Home Alabama, please leave a comment for me!

  • JupiterJustice Jan 19, 2012 @ 11:34 pm | delete
    Jackson axe player here..Great Lens!
  • jimmyworldstar Jan 19, 2012 @ 11:24 am | delete
    Good lens, but I think it'd be more useful to show a video showing the technique as a tutorial.
  • tomazs Jan 17, 2012 @ 1:30 pm | delete
    Nice, especially love the video!
  • ryanformato Jan 17, 2012 @ 10:07 pm | delete
    Thanks. I'm happy you enjoyed it!
  • Chrisf2 Jan 15, 2012 @ 9:01 am | delete
    Great shredding!
  • bloomingrose Jan 14, 2012 @ 12:26 am | delete
    Interesting - but still, what is "shredding?"
  • ryanformato Jan 14, 2012 @ 7:40 am | delete
    Shredding is the ability to play extremely fast on the guitar as well as the ability to be technically proficient in all areas of the guitar
  • mary_lighthouse15 Jan 13, 2012 @ 10:16 pm | delete
    cool lens! i tried learning guitar back in college days but i didn't keep the interest. but i love so much to do it again!
  • ryanformato Jan 13, 2012 @ 11:27 pm | delete
    It is never to late to learn the guitar. I plan on posting beginner, intermediate, and advanced lessons in the upcoming weeks.
  • Chook111 Jan 11, 2012 @ 12:00 am | delete
    Thanks! This is EXACTLY what I am trying to do at the moment so p r e t t y f r e a k y really! In particular, I was looking for something on sweep picking (as I thought this would be the easiest shredding technique so very cool).

    (PS That Yngwie Malmsteen is a little bit odd don't you think?)
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ryanformato

Ryan Formato was born in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Mastic, NY at the age of 5. He picked up the guitar at the age of fourteen and seriously became in... more »

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