This exercise uses a similar finger/string skipping pattern, but the movement is "forward" this time and the exercise is played on strings 5 and 6. This requires your fingers to stretch out more than when playing on strings 1 and 2 and thus presents new challenges, especially to fingers 3 and 4 which aren't as long and therefore have to stretch more.
Finger 3-4 Independence - Exercise #3 (Click to Enlarge)
For even more variation, you could play Exercise #2 on strings 5 and 6, and play Exercise #3 on strings 1 and 2.
This week we'll learn a new finger 3-4 independence exercise.
FINGER 3-4 INDEPENDENCE - EXERCISE #2
This exercise is great because it challenges our fretting hand in 3 different ways:
It changes strings,
It stresses independence for all of your fingers, and
It moves "backwards". I think most players are more comfortable moving from finger 1 to 2, 3 and 4 then they are moving from finger 4 to 3, 2 and 1, which this exercise requires you to do.
Finger 3-4 Independence - Exercise #2
(Click to Enlarge)
As always, take it slowly at first. Don't expect to nail this exercise in one sitting. It took me 5 minutes of daily practice for several days to get this to the point where I could play it comfortably at the tempo shown in the second half of the video. I often use this as one of my warm-up exercises.
Everybody knows that line about bleeding fingers from Bryan Adams "The Summer of '69". To the average person on the street, this probably sounds like hyperbole But all beginning guitars players know that Bryan was not making this stuff up.
When you first start playing, the finger tips on your fretting hand are going to hurt! And the longer your practice session, the more they are going to hurt. The good news is that your body will build up calluses on your fingertips. Once this happens, the pain goes away.
So one of your goals as a guitar player is to develop your calluses and to keep them up. The key to developing your calluses is daily practice. The key to keeping them up is daily practice.
If you only pick up your guitar once a week, your calluses will be slow to develop. If you play every day to the point where your fingertips start hurting and then stop, they will develop much faster. Even if all you do is 5 minutes of warm-up exercises, this will speed their development.
Once they've developed, you need to keep them up. Again all this takes is regular, and preferably daily, practice.
Warm-up! - Exercise #3
Warm-up! - Exercise #3 is similar to Warm-up! - Exercise #1, but now we only play two notes per string. Skipping strings like this helps with your picking hand development, and playing only two notes per string helps develop your finger independence in your fretting hand.
As with Warm-up! - Exercise #1, I like to start Warm-up! - Exercise #3 by playing each note twice, and then switching to playing each note only once.
Warm-up! - Exercise #3
Now you've got 3 different warm-up exercises to use in your practice sessions!
The major scale pattern is the single most important bit of music theory you will ever learn. It is the foundation upon which everything else is built. So it is critical for your development as a musician that you learn this pattern.
If you've seen The Sound of Music, or even if you haven't, then you are familiar with the sound of:
do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do
This is the sound of the major scale pattern.
TIME FOR SOME THEORY
In Confession #5 - Use a Metronome!, I talked about how the piano is an excellent tool for learning music theory, and showed a picture of the C major scale on the piano keyboard:
The first C is the root note of the scale (the one on the left). The second C is called the octave (the one on the right). If the frequency of the first C is 200Hz (Hz or Hertz means cycles per second), then the frequency of the second C is 400Hz, exactly twice is fast (see Confession #3 - Set-up your Guitar! for more on the octave). So when you play the octave of any particular note, the frequency of the sound vibration is twice as fast.
The octave of any particular root note has a fundamental sameness as the root note. This is why it is given the same name. It's pitch may be higher, but it has the same quality as its root note. Thus, we will only find unique notes between a root note and its octave.
For reasons that are unknown to me, it was decided long ago that the octave should be divided up into 12 notes (well... actually, there are reasons in physics for this). Start at the first C and count all the keys up to and including the B. You'll find 12 notes.
For further reasons that are also unknown to me, it was decided long ago that we would ignore 5 of these 12 notes, leaving 7 notes to form the major scale. I don't think physics is to blame for this.
Notice that some of the notes of the scale have a black key between them, and others do not. This pattern of white and black keys makes up the major scale pattern, which in the key of C is:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
Whole Steps and Half Steps
Since we want to be able to play in all musical keys and not just the key of C, we need a way to describe the major scale pattern that will allow us to find it in other keys. We do this by describing that major scale as a series of whole steps and half steps like this:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
...where W means a whole step and H means a half-step.
On the Piano
On the piano, a W means move up two keys (regardless of colour) and H means move up one key (regardless of colour). If you start on the first C on the keyboard above, and apply this pattern, you will hit all the white keys and finish on the octave, like this:
C-W-D-W-E-H-F-W-G -W-A -W-B -H-C
On the Guitar
On the guitar W means move up two frets and H means move up one fret. So, on the guitar fretboard, the pattern looks like this:
If we tuned our 6th string to a C, then starting with the open string (i.e. the root), this pattern would give us the C major scale. Of course, our 6th string is actually tuned to an E, so playing this pattern actually gives us the E major scale: E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E.
Tip: Applying scale patterns to open strings helps us visualize the pattern better then staying in one position and changing strings as we move up the sale. Use this technique when learning new scales.
Now in practice, we rarely play a entire scale on just one string (but it can be quite effective - The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" uses a descending scale pattern on the 2nd string for one of its lead lines), so we need to learn a major scale pattern that allows us to stay in one position.
Warm Up Exercise #2 - Major Scale in One Position
Here is a one octave major scale pattern that starts on the third string and finishes on the first string. The numbers 1 to 4 indicate which finger should be used for each note in the scale (where 1 is your index finger and 4 is your pinky). If you play this pattern in 5th position (i.e. starting at the 5th fret), then you'll get the C major scale.
I like to use this pattern as part of my warm-up exercises. I play it ascending and descending like this:
Warm-Up! - Exercise #2 - C Major Scale (Click to Enlarge)
As mentioned in Confession #6 - Warm-up!, warm-up exercises get boring in a hurry, so move this pattern up and down the neck to keep things interesting. For example, if you start the pattern in 7th position, then you'll be playing the D major scale. Try to get to the point where you can play the scale ascending and descending in 5th position, and then seamlessly switch to playing it in 7th position without stopping.
When you are young, your body will let you get away with a lot. I'm sorry to tell you that as you get older, it won't do that anymore. If you are an older player, you need to warm up before playing. If you are a younger player, it's a good habit to get into now, rather than trying to break 20 years worth of bad habits when you are older. And yes, even the pros warm-up before a gig.
Also remember to take a short break every 45 minutes or so and give your fretting a hand a rest.
FRETTING HAND
Playing guitar can be hard on your fretting hand, especially if you are playing songs with lots of barre chords. Barre chords require you to hold your hand in an awkward position and then squeeze with a lot of force. That can be hard on your wrist. So rather than starting by picking up your guitar and slamming out The Ramone's Blitzkrieg Bop, take a few minutes to warm up your hand first.
I'll talk more about barre chords in a future Confession.
First, Some Single Notes
I have a few different exercises that I use for warm-up. They can be played anywhere on the fretboard, but I usually start them in 5th position (i.e. at the 5th fret). This is because 5th position is probably the post comfortable position to play at on the whole guitar. Your wrist is not cocked one way or the other, and the spacing between the frets is just right.
Warm Up! - Exercise #1 is a simple chromatic run. It doesn't sound particularly musical, but that's not its purpose. Play it slowly. As your hand limbers up, you can gradually increase the tempo. Remember, the point is to warm up, not to shred. Also, use light pressure with your fretting hand. Don't try to strangle the guitar's neck! Using light pressure will also benefit you by forcing you to be more accurate about your finger positioning behind the fret.
Warm Up! - Exercise #1 (Click to Enlarge)
I actually like to start by playing each note twice, like this:
Warm Up! - Exercise #1 playing each note twice (Click to Enlarge)
This slows down the changes and gives your fingers a chance to get up to speed. Then I do single notes.
The other benefit of Warm Up! - Exercise #1 is that the descending phrases (i.e. 8-7-6-5 etc.) help develop your finger 3-4 independence (finger 4 is your pinky). I'll talk more about finger 3-4 independence in a future Confession.
Now Some Chords
When playing the single note warm up exercises, only one finger is under tension at a time. After I've finished my single note exercises, I like to switch to some open chord work. This will put 2 or 3 fingers under tension simultaneously. So pick your favourite strumming song and gently play through it. Your fretting hand should be warmed up now.
Mix It Up
Warm up exercises get boring fast! When they do, your mind starts to wander and then you start making mistakes. So don't stay on any one exercise too long. Mix it up! I'll provide some more warm up exercises in future Confessions.
SHOULDERS
Dunno if its just me, but my shoulders sometimes get stiff when playing. So I like to do some stretches beforehand. Stand up straight with your arms at your side. Keep your arms straight and raise them to the side until they are pointing at the ceiling. With both arms up over your head now, grab one hand with the other and gently stretch. Release and slowly lower them back down at your side.
(If this causes you any pain or discomfort, stop immediately!)
