5 Week Speed Builder by Danny Gill

Licklibrary’s 5 Week Speed Builder by world-renowned guitar tutor Danny Gill is the ultimate guitar lesson course for players looking to develop precision, control, and above all, speed. This structured program takes you through a five-week journey, focusing on different core elements of speed and technique building. Whether you're a beginner aiming to level up your chops or an intermediate player looking to break through speed plateaus, this course is packed with high-value, focused exercises that yield real results.

Each week is dedicated to a specific technical area, ensuring that by the end of the five weeks, your hands are faster, your playing is cleaner, and your coordination is tighter than ever.

Week 1 – Picking Hand

The journey begins with a focus on the picking hand. This week introduces exercises to enhance your control, stamina, and accuracy using various picking techniques. Danny Gill guides you through essential patterns designed to help you build speed with clean articulation, no matter what genre you play.

Technique focus:

• Alternate picking: Build even tone and consistent attack by developing wrist control. This is the foundation for all fast lead playing and ensures you're not just playing faster, but cleaner.
• Tremolo picking: Increase picking hand speed and stamina with continuous motion that trains endurance and tight rhythmic feel.

Benefits:

Developing the picking hand is crucial for efficient right-hand mechanics. You’ll gain control over dynamics and tone, especially when playing fast passages or intricate rhythm parts.

Week 2 – Fretting Hand

Week two shifts the focus to the fretting hand, targeting finger independence, strength, and economy of motion. Through legato-based drills and finger dexterity exercises, this week’s lessons will tighten up your technique and reduce excess motion that slows you down.

Technique focus:

• Legato: Strengthen hammer-ons and pull-offs for fluid, smooth note transitions.
• Hammer-ons & Pull-offs: Improve speed and phrasing with efficient motion across all four fingers.
• Trills: A great endurance tool for your fretting hand that also builds articulation and strength.

Benefits:

By working on the fretting hand alone, you isolate its movement, making it more efficient. This enhances your ability to perform longer runs, tricky stretches, and even reduce fatigue in longer performances.

Week 3 – Hand Synchronisation

One of the biggest obstacles to speed is a lack of synchronisation between both hands. Week three brings it all together with exercises designed to lock in your picking and fretting hands with precise timing.

Technique focus:

• String crossing drills with alternate picking.
• Syncopated rhythmic patterns to enhance timing.
• Legato and picking hybrid exercises for total control.

Benefits:

When your hands are perfectly in sync, you eliminate sloppy playing and ghost notes. This week is a breakthrough moment for most guitarists — unlocking true speed through efficient and timed movement.

Week 4 – Repetitive Licks

Week four targets lick-based repetition, designed to reinforce muscle memory and embed speed patterns into your playing. You’ll explore high-speed licks across scales, arpeggios, and string groups, ideal for shredding and soloing.

Technique focus:

• Repetitive scale runs using legato and alternate picking.
• Arpeggio sequences with fast transitions.
• Slides and position shifts at speed.

Benefits:

Repetition builds speed and consistency. This week helps you convert your technical skills into actual musical phrases, making it easier to implement high-speed runs into your own solos.

Week 5 – Rhythmic Subdivisions

Speed isn’t just about playing fast — it’s about playing in time. The final week focuses on rhythmic subdivisions, helping you master different note values and gain control over tempo changes and phrasing.

Technique focus:

• Triplets, sixteenth, and thirty-second notes for time feel.
• Syncopated rhythms to challenge your internal clock.
• Palm-muting to control articulation and tone within fast riffs.

Benefits:

Mastering subdivisions makes you a more expressive, dynamic player. You’ll be able to adjust your speed to fit the musical context, improving your phrasing, groove, and improvisation skills.

Influences and Inspiration

The techniques and approaches found in 5 Week Speed Builder are inspired by some of the most iconic shredders and rock/metal guitarists of all time. Players like Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Steve Vai have all influenced the methodology behind the speed-building routines. Danny Gill channels the essence of these players, giving you the tools they’ve used to dominate stages and recordings.

Guitar Techniques Covered

Below is a list of the guitar techniques featured across the five-week program. Click the links to explore their definitions and get even more out of your practice sessions:

• Alternate Picking
• Legato
• Hammer-ons
• Pull-offs
• Trills
• Tremolo Picking
• Slides
• Arpeggios
• Palm-muting
• Syncopated Rhythms

Whether you’re looking to blaze through solos or clean up your technique, 5 Week Speed Builder by Danny Gill is a powerful program that will elevate your playing week by week. Dive in and discover how far your fingers can take you!