The Breakthrough to CONTROLLED Blazing Speed

Claus Levin

For years, I’ve explored the hidden mechanics of guitar improvisation - how the brain processes notes, how patterns emerge under the fingers, and how to break free from stumbling blocks that interrupt musical flow. One of the most elusive skills I’ve pursued is the ability to play extremely rapid 16th-note triplet runs - in time, with full control, and in the context of improvisation. This chapter is the conclusion of that research journey.

The Core Challenge

The challenge with high-speed runs isn’t just physical. At lower tempos, improvisation is about freedom and flexibility. You can displace what you play rhythmically, start and end anywhere in the bar, and associate freely with the pulse. That’s the essence of musical flow.

But when the tempo increases, a new problem arises: you stumble again and again. Why? Because your brain can't keep up with calculating each individual note. Instead, it relies on pre-learned patterns, just like it does in language when you speak fluently without thinking of each syllable. At high speeds, you're essentially speaking music - only with your fingers.

Great performers don’t think less, they think differently - using mental representations and patterns built through deep practice.” - Daniel Coyle

Improvisation and Prediction

What enables true improvisation, even at slower tempos, is prediction. We hear the next note in our head just before we play it, and there's a deep connection between our internal vocabulary and the instrument. We're not "creating from nothing." We're associating between what we've practiced and what we hear.

This doesn't change when we play fast runs. What changes is the precision and predictability required. At this level, you can’t just combine random finger patterns and hope it lands well rhythmically. You must hear what you're about to play before you play it - even if it's at blistering speed.

Why We Can't Just Do It

The stumbling happens because we fire off note groupings without knowing:

1. Where they end in the bar

2. How they resolve

3. How they connect to the next movement

This problem intensifies when you’ve practiced out-of-time playing for years, like I have. Your fingers can go anywhere - but that freedom becomes a liability at high speed unless you anchor it in time.

The Missing Piece

The breakthrough came when I realized what was missing: pre-composed runs. Yes, we must master each building block, but we also need to assemble them into long, automated, rhythmically locked sequences.

Without this, your playing remains fragmented. You never develop the fluid, connected vocabulary that allows improvisation to happen without stumbling. But with it, you create the link between spontaneous thought and physical execution - even at 16th-note triplet speed.

My Three-Part Practice Framework

This insight led to a three-part framework that forms the basis of my upcoming advanced program. Here’s how I built it:

1. Micro Investigation of Fretboard Areas

Using the Changes arpeggio system, I began mapping every small area of the fretboard—1, 2, or 3 notes on a string, across any combination of strings. These weren’t standard 3-note-per-string shapes. They were uneven, unsystematic groupings rooted in arpeggios and real musical patterns.

Each area was a mini playground. I explored every possible combination, movement, and fingering in isolation, building a library of physical and auditory possibilities.

2. Constructed Long Runs

Next, I began assembling these small movements into long, pre-written 16th-note triplet runs - up to 8 bars long - across dominant 7 arpeggios, using scale notes and chromatics.

Practicing them took intense repetition. I spent two full days, around 15 hours each, looping each run while watching TV, until they were hardwired into my fingers and brain. At that point, the runs became fully automated - not just memorized but embodied.

3. Improvised Testing with Feedback

Finally, I began testing my ability to improvise 16th-note triplet runs to a metronome or backing track. Every time I stumbled, I stopped and asked, Why? What didn’t connect? Which two building blocks failed to transition? Then I repeated the combination until it worked. One bar at a time became two, then four, then entire solos.

Over time, my ability to predict before I play became sharper, and the improvisation started to feel just like slower tempos - but a lot faster.

Realizations: The Key Takeaways

High-speed improvisation is pattern-based. Your brain can't improvise at note level; it must rely on pre-learned sequences.

Prediction is the key. You must hear or sense what you're about to play milliseconds before you play it.

The stumbling isn't fixed by learning more sequences. It’s fixed by organizing and mastering how you connect sequences in time.

Three ingredients build mastery:

1. Investigate small fretboard movements inside arpeggios and scales.

2. Build and automate long composed runs.

3. Improvise with these runs to test and refine your ability.

What This Program really  Is

• A highly advanced training system to master super fast in-time 16th-note triplet and sixteen note runs.

• Built on the Changes arpeggio system and works with any technique (legato, hybrid picking, etc.).

• Focuses on predictive control, not just technical skill.

• Develops deep improvisational fluency at maximum speed.
  
  

Includes:

• Micro-exercises to explore every position on the fretboard

• Long pre-composed runs to automate fluency

• Improvisation drills to integrate and test mastery

• Covers all four diatonic arpeggio types, with two 8-bar runs per shape.

Also strengthens and refines your technique through repetition and integration..