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As a long time guitar teacher, I often notice that many of my students do not warm up before they practice their guitar. They simply just pick up the guitar and start blazing on different speed picking techniques or whatever they might be working on at the time. Not only is this limiting your actual progress, but it can actually hurt you if you're not warmed up before you start putting your hands and fingers through strenuous challenges immediately upon picking up the guitar.

Now, I know there are some that might say "I don't need to warm up" that I can play just as fast from the moment I pick the guitar up until the moment I set it down. Maybe that is the case for some, but.. I highly recommend that you DO warm up before your actual practice time. What you might not realize is that you may be holding yourself back from your full potential.

You've probably heard somebody say (after playing a 45 minute set) "I can't believe the set is over I was just getting warmed up". Well it's true, but here's the biggest issue, if you allow yourself just 10 or 15 minutes of warm up time, you'll start off in your sweet spot and then rapidly start to progress.

This holds true for your set with the band, but especially with your own personal practice.

Here's what I recommend for a good solid warm up. Start off slow (this is very important) and be very accurate with your alternate picking. Keep your mental focus locked in on your left and right hand being in sync with each other. Here's what you should practice..

This is a simple chromatic pattern that will warm up all your fingers simultaneously and lock in your synchronicity.

Use your (1) index finger, (2) middle finger, (3) ring finger (4) Pinky. Use Alternate picking for every movement made. Go slow! Only go about 10% of your capable speed. The purpose is not to build speed, the purpose is to loosen up, stretch your fingers and tendons, as well as getting your mind laser focused. Play as loose as possible, try not to tense up at all. Just let the exercise happen as freely as possible with clarity, consistency, and distinction.

Here's the exercise:

6th string - 1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,

5th string - 1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,

4th string - 1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

3rd string - 1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,

2nd string - 1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,

1st string - 1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,

Then reverse it back down.

1st string - 4th fret, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

2nd string - 4th fret, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

3rd string - 4th fret, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

4th string - 4th fret, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

5th string - 4th fret, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

6th string - 4th fret, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

You want to repeat this exercise for each and every fret all the way up to the 12th fret, and then work your way back down. (the next fret series would be 2nd, 3rd, 4th,5th, frets - then 3rd, 4th,5th,6th frets and so on...) I suggest doing this entire warm up 5 full times, all the way up the neck and all the way back down the neck.

If you allow yourself to do this every time before you begin practicing, you'll notice that you'll be like a race horse waiting to bust out of the gate. When it comes time to actually start your practice routine, you'll be so much more accurate and your speed will seem effortless.

The key to this whole thing is going slow, allowing yourself 5 complete times up and down the neck, focusing on the left and right hand being in sync, and distinct alternate picking. This may seem boring, but if you're doing this properly, you won't be thinking about how boring it is because you're not trying to play a piece of music, you're allowing yourself to become prepared for battle, so to speak. This is the golden rule for guitar speed success.

Phrasing and structure is one of the most important elements of Lead Guitar Playing.

In fact it's how you'll create your own style and signature. Even though it's one of the most important, it still requires several other elements of lead guitar playing to be very strong as well, to develop killer phrasing and structure techniques within your playing.

Phrasing and structure is very much like human language, in that it is a musical language.

I really enjoy seeing so many of my guitar students getting their "ah ha" moment when they grasp on to this concept. I hope to do the same for you as well.

What is the importance of musical phrasing and structure?

It's one of the most important elements of music in general, in regards to any instrument being played, including drums and percussion.

1. Speaking the musical Language: This is something that requires you to think your thoughts all the way through. Whether short or long, try to complete the thought as a musical phrase. Create tension, go through a couple peaks and valleys, and then resolve it. This can be done in as little as three notes. In fact, you should practice this technique with only three notes... Then build upon the phrase. Adding several phrases together will create a structure. The structure is the big picture built with clever phrasing.

2. Question and Answer Method: Within the simplest form of a "question and answer" method, it requires a quick tension build up, then a quick release of the tension. Example: In the key of (A) - Play a three or four note lick, and end on any note other than the (A) note... Then immediately play another three or four note lick and do end on the (A) note. This is the question and answer method in its simplest form.

3. Create a Story: Your goal is to create a beginning, middle and an end. This can sometimes be easier said than done, but if you just simply try to picture creating a longer beginning, longer middle, and a longer end, you'll start to see that it builds much slower in terms of tension. This where you'll use a series of phrases to create a bigger picture.

4. Expand Your Story into a Musical Conversation: To reach this level with success, you'll need to be comfortable enough with the previous elements, as not to be restricted from your abilities to create everything you hear in your head. This is very much like having an interesting conversation with a person. In that, if what you are saying is interesting, or being told in a captivating way, it holds your attention and you listen. Same with the musical language, you want to use multiple quality phrases, and mini structures, as tools for free flow creativity.

I honestly feel that when a guitarist reaches this point in his career, it's almost like breathing a whole new life into you as a mature musician... (Seasoned), would be the industry term.

I hope this article sheds some light on a few critical elements of Lead Guitar Playing.

Below is a FREE 7-Day Lead Guitar Video Course I put together for you that reveals many critical elements of Lead Guitar Playing. I'm confident you'll get positive results from this.