While playing fast for the sake of it is probably not a worthwhile pursuit on guitar, once you’re over 17, it’s nice to have a little speed on-tap for those moments when the emotion of the piece requires it. Playing chromatic scales with a metronome for hours on end to build speed never really did it for me, and if it doesn’t float your boat either, you’ll be pleased to know that there are plenty of other ways to tweak your playing for a quick injection of speed, or simply to get a better tone and more consistent attack.

1. Finger Pressure

Have you ever checked how much pressure you’re applying to each fret when you play single notes? No, neither had I, but it’s very revealing and will also improve your tone. Pick any note on the fretboard and rest your first on it as lightly as you can. Start picking the note while gradually applying pressure until you reach the point where the note is sounding cleanly. This is the ideal pressure point and if it feels strange, you might have just found out that you’re applying a little too much pressure when you play, which will inevitable slow you up. Repeat the process with each finger on different strings and you should notice a difference in your playing; this is also something you can do when you pick up the guitar as part of your practice routine.

2. Picking Volume

This is a great little exercise to develop a consistent string attack. Plug your guitar into anything with a volume meter – most effects pedals or rigs have one – and watch how much your pick attack varies in volume. First try to get all your picked notes to the same volume to have a baseline to work from. Next, try accenting different notes while maintaining the others at the baseline volume you established (you might want to mark this on the volume meter).