Hi, I am a better-than-beginner player and have been playing since 2 months (self learning). Although I can alternate pick and have been practising basic finger exercise (1-2-3-4-3-2-1), there are few issues: 1) Say my left hand's index finger is pressing a fret. Then the middle finger is automatically very far away from fretboard. Similarly when middle finger presses a fret, index finger and pinky are pretty far away from fretboard. Whereas I have seenthat to play fast, they need to be close to fretboard. How to make fingers stay near fretboard? 2) Which exercises are best to make fingers independent of each other? 3) I can't pick notes fast (left hand is slow). Which exercises are best to increase speed? (I think it is called shredding). Refer to 0:35-0:38 in this video John Petrucci Style Melodic Solo 2 Lesson
Okay first, you are not better than beginner yet. Don't label yourself. 1. Practice slowly, and make sure you don't lift your fingers off too much. The only way to make this a habit while playing fast is to learn it slow. 2. For independence, work on chromatic patterns like 1-3-2-4, 1-4-2-3, etc. Also use 'the spider', where you fret every consequent fret without lifting your other fingers, even while fretting the next string. 3. All exercises when started slowly with gradual progression will build speed. You need patience and dedication, there's no shortcut. Only push the tempo up when you have it down 100% at the current tempo.
