A popular guitar forum that I frequent gets a lot of these types of questions:
1. How do I learn how to shred?
2. What scale is this (random notes that have nothing diatonically to do with one another)?
3. How can I make my sweep picking faster/better/whatever?
4. What chords are these (random, again meaningless triads)?
I have advice for those guys – quit it. Your perspective above is wrong. While technique and theory are really important, they aren’t the most critical part of music. The most critical aspect of music is, of course, being musical. It takes time, practice and self-critique to develop musicality. If you aren’t doing that you are missing the MOST IMPORTANT part of development as a guitarist.
If you want 4% of the male population to geek out while you play 64th note sextuplets at 240 BPM, sweet – keep the practice up. On the other hand if you want to have a chance of taking your career anywhere you need make good music, not technical music, so stop being a guitar player and start being a musician. Stop f***ing shredding!
Two quick questions:
1. How many great shredders are there who have made it big? Like “do it for a living” big?
2. How many mediocre guitar players have made it big because they are incredible musicians/songwriters/performers?
If your answer to #1 is less than your answer to #2, you need to adjust your practice schedule so that it is more in line with a long term goal that looks like #2.
One great way to do this is take lessons on another instrument or from a good instructor who teaches on another instrument. Find a great piano player, tell him what you’re trying to do and get him to work with you on musicality. He can’t give you tips on technique because he doesn’t know any. 