speed and desert rose

[e73]

hey guys,
i've been tackling Desert Rose by Eric Johnson and have been frustrated lately. It seems that I just can't get up to the speed he plays his licks at without losing quality and cleanliness of the notes. Has anyone tried playing this song and have any tips? The sad part is that I'm sure this isn't even his fastest song. I really feel capped on my speed. Thanks in advance for your comments and responses.

-a

[phantom]

Practice with the metronome slowly then raise the tempo until you get it up to speed.

I'm sure you doing this already and this might sound like a dumb answer, but that is what it takes.
There is no shortcut.
If you are not ready for that speed - keep on practicing.

If you don't have massive mistakes in your technique, you'll beat the task someday.. how long it takes - nobody knows.
One day you might seem pretty close to the original, the other day you might not even get it on half speed.
That's how it is - don't worry.
Keep practicing.

Good luck. :)

[e73]

yea, i'm making progress but it's coming slow. i was wondering what the general opinion would be upon increasing speed on the metronome. should i focus on one area/lick until i build it up (ie part of the song) to speed or learn the whole song and then build the whole thing up to speed.

thanks

[phantom]

I'd say break it in pieces and work on the hard bits first, then put it together again and take care about playing it fluently and musicaly.

Break it down and try to play that bar or phrase up to speed.

Good luck ;)