“The object is to take your hands to a point where they are never confused by anything you present them”: Watch shred icon Rusty Cooley share his strategy for building up speed – and explain why he likes to avoid obvious note choices

Rusty Cooley.

Rusty Cooley, often known as the fastest guitar player in the world, and always regarded as a bona-fide shred god, recently sat down for a video interview-cum-guitar lesson for Dean Lamb’s YouTube channel and presented us with some invaluable insights in how we can develop speed in our playing.

First he explained some of the way in which he avoids solos sounding predictable. As Cooley admits, he is a player who likes to avoid the base pleasures of hammer-ons and pull-offs in his arpeggios. No thank you. And when it comes to note groupings, he is particularly choosey as to where his fretting hand lands.