Technique…
Over the course of my life I’ve been focused on technique to varying degrees. I’ll admit, it feels really nice when it feels like you’re able to execute anything, but of course you can go too far and sacrifice musicality for the sake of technique. The “flow state” comes when you’re playing enough music that the technique follows.
That said, there are some simple exercises that have helped me with finger independence, finger stretching, and picking technique, especially when I was newer to the guitar. Here are ten that you can do in front of the TV:
Finger Pairs - a finger independence exercise. Work on staying relaxed through the whole thing, focusing on finger pairs that don’t like to move independently. You can try this using adjacent fingers across more than one fret as an added challenge.
Chromatic - not a true chromatic scale as you’re only using four notes per string, but the point is again limbering up the fingers and making them move independently, simultaneously developing coordination with your picking hand, without having to think about any scales. Try to stay relaxed and keep all fingers moving independently, close to the strings.
Linear Chords - similar to the previous exercise, this is about moving your fingers in a “shape” that doesn’t serve any musical function (at least in this context). I got this from a John Petrucci DVD a long time ago. You can of course try many different shapes to alternate or cycle between. Again, the goal is economy of motion and finger independence.
String Skipping (Diatonic Arpeggios) - there’s some musicality in this one. The focus is of course skipping strings accurately, but I’m taking a triadic figure and moving it up the G major scale diatonically. Many possibilities to try once this becomes too easy. You’ll see I flubbed a note here and there.
Cross Picking - the pattern is down, down, up, down, down, up, down, up, for a total of 8 eighth notes. I’m using I, IV, and V triads moving up through the inversions, but if you want to just pick three open strings and try this pattern that’s fine too. A good book to check out if you want to get really good at this is the Essential Clarence White book. Even if you don’t like bluegrass, your picking hand will become beastly as you work through this and your economy picking lines will just flow.
Picking Over String Pairs - pick two strings and alternate attacks between them starting on the lower note each time. Try the following patterns, and here’s the key - aim to make them all sound the same in sequence:
Down, Up, Down, Up - traditional alternate picking. the british guitar magazines used to call this “outside picking,” i.e. picking from outside the two strings. Easier for some, harder for others.
Up, Down, Up, Down - so-called “inside picking.” Maybe this is a commonly accepted term… I don’t know.
Down, down, down, down - “economy picking.” Try to “push through” the strings on the way down.
Up, up, up, up - awkward, but worth practicing. If we were starting on the higher note, this would be economy picking by the way.
This next exercise is the same thing, except you are skipping a string for added challenge.
2-1-2-1-2-1 Pentatonics - here is a concept I learned from some Tim Miller materials floating around on the internet. Here we’re using a standard minor pentatonic shape, but playing 2 notes per string alternated with 1 note per string, starting on the 6th string. For the 2 notes per string, I am using hammer-ons, so that for the ascending portion I am only using downstrokes. Likewise for the descent, pull-offs only, upstrokes only. For the 1 note per string, I’m using the higher of the two options.
I do this up and down twice, then play a different pentatonic that is essentially the same minor pentatonic with the root lowered a half step. This has the effect of sounding like a V altered chord leading back to the minor key the first pentatonic suggests. This pentatonic, incidentally, is a mode of the major b6 pentatonic, which is originally how I discovered and started using it.
You can of course pick whatever pentatonic scale(s) you like. Just practice that 2-1-2 action. Keep it smooth.
Stacked Fifths - I got this from a Guitar Technique magazine back in the 90s. Great way to stretch out your fingers, get everything coordinated and accurate, and assess your guitar’s intonation across the entire neck. Nothing too complicated here, just perfect intervals. Mind the transition between the G and B strings…
Donna Lee - make it musical! Figure out a bebop head and try to play it fluently as possible. These have the added (and arguably more important) benefit of familiarizing you with bebop vocabulary which is foundational to 90%+ of jazz music, no matter how modern. Try a lot of different fingerings and figure out what works for you. Then learn it another way. Put all the above techniques into practice.
