I have been playing guitar for quite a few years and can play some good stuff fairly cleanly. For example Joe Satriani's Always With Me, Always With You, and some stuff by Eric Johnson. But no matter how hard I try I can't get the "shred" down. Certain parts where you have to pick twenty notes in three seconds and I just can't get it. It feels like my pick locks up and I can't play any faster. Help!
Ah yes, the infamous "how do I play fast on guitar?" question. Well "shredding" on the guitar can be many things. The first example is tremolo picking; Tremolo picking is where you go back and forth on the string with your pick really fast. Another style is Sweep Picking; Sweep Picking is when you play scales, or any other form of interval of notes, up and down with your pick on the strings with a fluid motion (this can take years to master). There is something called Alternate Picking, and that is when you pick your strings in all different directions (once again, can take years to master). There is another form of "shredding" and that is called finger tapping, finger tapping can be very easy, but yet very complex. Finger tapping is simply when you don't use a pick at all and play an interval of notes, but just tapping them with your fingers (example: 5-8-10-5-8-10… tempo: 200). All these various "shredding" techniques are very complex, and can take years to master. I personally am still struggling with a few techniques for instance the alternate picking technique, I still cannot do 6 strings, but only 3. I would really suggest getting a teacher to teach you these techniques, but if you want to learn on your own, one of the primary things about "shredding" is the hammer-on, and pull-off. As you get more in-depth about these techniques, you will soon begin to realize how some other guitarists (such as Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, e.t.c…..) show off there skills on the guitar.