LESSON > FRETBOARD WORKSHOP
A Bitter Pill to Swallow
BY PETE HUTTLINGER
Pete Huttlinger has become widely known as
one of the most awe-inspiring acoustic guitar
players in the world. His unique arrangements
and spell-binding musicality and precision
have entertained audiences from Los Angeles
to Milan. As a recording artist, Huttlinger has
released numerous albums and performed at all
three of the Crossroads Festivals. For more infor-
mation about his latest release, Finger Picking
Wonder-The Music of Stevie Wonder, visit
petehuttlinger.com. Photo by Paul Schatzkin.
CHOPS: Beginner
THEORY: Beginner
LESSON OVERVIEW:
• Learn how to properly warm up
before a gig or practice session.
• Develop your fingerstyle technique through the use of tremolo.
• Create finger-twisting exercises
for your fretting hand.
Click here to hear
sound clips of
these examples.
“Why don’t you take your own advice?” she asked me.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Well, for a long time you’ve been
teaching people to slow down and get it
right before moving on. Why don’t you try
it yourself? After all it’s been nearly four
months since you’ve played your guitar.”
Once again, my wife was right. I had
been in the hospital for nearly four months
with a heart condition. Two of those
months I just laid flat in bed. So when I got
back home and started to play again, I tried
to pick up where I had left off. Wrong! I
could barely play a D chord, much less an
actual tune. I was so frustrated that I would
play for 15 minutes and then put my guitar
down for a few days before trying again. I
told her that maybe I didn’t need to play
guitar anymore. I’d played enough for one
lifetime and perhaps it was time I did some-
thing else.
She simply smiled and said she didn’t
think that was the answer. But each time
I would try to play my arrangement of “I
Got Rhythm” or “Superstition” or something else that used to be so easy for me, I
just could not do it. So I took her advice
and decided to listen to what I had been
telling others for so long. As hard as it was,
I had to go back to square one. Literally.
And I found out that it works!
So what I’m presenting here are three
exercises for you to try. Now bear in mind
that I was at a fairly high level of playing
when I got sick so, as luck would have it,
I was able to progress fairly quickly upon
my return home. Which means these exercises are going to progress fairly rapidly, as
well. I recommend you try each exercise
and then look for ways to expand it into
something of your own. The process has
been a very good one for me—though it’s
still ongoing—and I think it will be good
for you as well.
Let’s begin with Fig. 1. Start slowly with
your metronome set at 80 bpm and work it
up gradually. Make sure that you connect
all the notes. This means your fretting hand
has to stay in place until the last second,
then shift all your fingers at once. Notice
that the chords are not the same ascending
as they are descending. I need to have some
variety when I’m practicing, and it makes
a simple exercise a little more musical. For
real variety try doing this exercise in D
minor. Hint: Think in the key of F.
Fig. 2 is a great workout for your fretting hand. Be very careful to play this cleanly. Remember, we are not talking about
speed. What we are looking for is accuracy.
When you play this one, move your first
and third fingers at the same time and
do the same with your second and fourth
Fig. 1
D
G/D
44 &## ˙‰oejoeoeoe˙oeoeoeoeoe
A/D
D
˙oeoeoeoeoe˙oeoeoeoeoe
G/D
A/D
˙˙
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
D
˙˙
oeoeoeoeoe˙
3
2
3
3
5
5
7
5
8
7
2
2
4
4
6
6
7
7
7
7
9
10
9
9
˙
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
0
10
10
11
D
A7/D
&
##
˙
oeoeoeoeoe
˙
oeoeoeoeoe
0
11
0
10
10
11 9
8
9
9
G/D
DOE„Š7
˙˙
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
8
7
7
5
7
7
6
6
0
0
E‹/D
D
˙
oeoeoeoeoe˙oeoeoeoeoe
5
3
3
2
4
4
2
2
0
0
A/D
D
˙oeoeoeoeoe˙˙˙
2
0
2
0
0
22
3
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PREMIER GUITAR FEBRUARY 2012 63
