We're going to continue with the series of exercises we had planned for this installment, for beginners and advanced guitarists alike. Previously, you reviewed the Bb major scale with three notes per string, and we promised to run through it in groups of four notes. We also talked about laying out the C major scale in this key all over the neck of the guitar. That's the first thing we'll do and, as you'll see, it isn't a technique exercise but a knowledge exercise, to develop your understanding of the guitar, as I'll explain below.
Of course, we're still following the advice given in the first installment on how to do the exercises without any pain or discomfort. This article contains three key exercises, unlike last month's, which had one, because in my opinion it's very important to always keep them in mind. As a reminder, the exercises I call “key” are of special interest and worth keeping well in mind and remembering, for beginners as well as more advanced guitarists; in short, make them your own and include them in your “exercise routine.”
- Developing Your Technique I
- Developing Your Technique II
- Developing Your Technique III
- Developing Your Technique IV
Major Scale Exercise Across the Fretboard
We're going to lay out the C major scale across the neck of the guitar to get a special view of it and, as I mentioned, this is not a technique exercise but a knowledge exercise.
Whenever I've seen an example of a scale laid out across the whole neck, it has been the typical diagram of the fretboard with all the dots, as notes, marked on it. That is of course perfectly valid but, to my taste, too confusing to serve as a practical reference. As a study, we'll lay it out in a special, subtle way so you get a good sense of this scale mapped completely across the fretboard and make learning it less difficult. Needless to say, if we wanted to use it in another major key, we would only have to move up or down the frets as needed.
One of the biggest difficulties you may encounter in playing the exercise is in the groups of more than three notes per string, where you'll keep up the alternate picking (downstrokes and upstrokes). But the difficulty won't lie there; it will be in the left hand. Since this isn't a technical exercise as such, you shouldn't worry about playing it perfectly at first, but about memorizing precisely those notes. Also, anyone who has already studied the Greek modes (if you haven't, don't worry) will know that this way of extending the major scale across the whole neck “contains” the rest of the major-mode scales (although the spacing between them is what gives each its particular character). Again, we're in the technical section, all the more reason to practice.
In other installments we'll have the chance to present different extensions from the one we just saw, to give you several points of view on this scale and make it easier to memorize.
Major Scale in Groups of Four Notes
We'll continue with the Bb major scale in groups of four notes. You'll play this exercise first in eighth notes, as many times as necessary and at a slow speed, for example a quarter-note value of 90 or 100 (you choose according to your level) until you can do it correctly. Then you'll raise the speed progressively. Finally, you'll return to the suggested tempo (the one on the score), playing it exactly the same way, and then you'll play it in sixteenth notes (that is, doubling the speed). This exercise, as you'll see when you finish it, is widely used for solo passages where you want to give that “hard-rocking,” “fast” feel.
As with another of the exercises given earlier, the first thing you need to do here is memorize the fingering perfectly. Then, in practice, it's a matter of working up to the right speed as we pointed out before.
This will also be one of the key exercises (the first) of this whole article. Once again, we're speaking to beginners and to those who have been playing guitar longer.
This exercise (figure 2) will take you some time to master. You can play it with any scale that has three notes per string.
Alternate Picking Exercise With String Skipping
Now on to another exercise that has a higher level of difficulty than the previous ones, but after all, we have to take on harder ones by now.
I've chosen the Bb major scale again but, unlike the previous exercises, you won't have that chromatic or nearly chromatic continuity; the pattern to follow is different now. Several notes are consecutive, but others aren't, since they include a string skip. We'll always be alternate picking and, as in all the previous exercises, you'll choose a slow speed to start, again with a quarter-note value of 90 or 100. When you can do it correctly, you'll move to the tempo on the score and then play it in sixteenth notes.
This will be the second key exercise of this article.
Diminished Scale Arpeggio Exercise
Finally, we'll do an exercise that has quite a lot to do with the previous one and is built as an arpeggio. It's a diminished arpeggio and, like the previous one, includes some string skipping. You can play this exercise in two different ways:
- The first: Wherever you move to one note per string, you can take advantage of the sweep and so save energy in your picking hand. This technique is called sweep picking and is widely used (I'm sure you've heard of it as a way to “economize wrist movement”). Given the type of exercises we're studying, I advise the second approach, which is, in my opinion, the most appropriate; but keep this point in mind, since I'll be talking about this very special technique in the future.
- The second: We go back to alternate picking throughout the exercise, including the string skips. This way of playing the exercise is harder, but in the long run it will give you much more power in your wrist and pick. The types of finger changes for the left (fretting) hand will also be different from the ones we've used before, so we keep filling out our practice routine.
This will be the third key exercise of the article. I advise you to increase the speed of this exercise progressively; if you manage to practice what's on the score at a quarter-note tempo of 130, you'll see an exercise that's very recognizable by ear and widely used as a device.
So for now we have a great many exercises to study, and all of them carry a heavy technical load if you practice them as I've explained.
For the Next Installment
- We'll lay out another different view of the major scale.
- We'll begin practicing scales in which picking won't always be necessary... Keep in mind that you've already tackled a series of exercises that, if you've practiced/played them correctly, you should be able to play without problems (if not, it's just a matter of reviewing), and so we should take a step up to more difficult ones (or possibly not so difficult for you).
Until the next chapter.
