LESSON > FRETBOARD WORKSHOP
fingers. Move them in one quick motion.
It will be tricky at first, but then one day it
will make sense and you’ll see how it helps
other things you play.
Start the metronome at about 70 bpm,
and move the passage up the neck one fret
at a time. This means you’ll begin at the
2nd fret with your left first finger and then
do the whole pattern. Then start at the 3rd
fret and do the whole pattern. Take it up
the neck as far as your frets will allow, then
work your way back down. This should
take about 10 minutes. Finally, play something you already know and see how free
your left hand feels!
Okay, now it’s getting tough. Fig. 3 is
an exercise I used to do first thing in the
morning to wake up my fingers. I would
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.
do this and others like it for about 15 min-
utes, and then, as far as my right hand was
concerned, I was ready for anything. To do
a nice smooth tremolo takes a long, long
time. Work this out very slowly at first—like
50 bpm—until it feels really smooth. Then
build your speed gradually—bumping up
about 5 bpm at a time—until you reach 140
bpm. Then slow it down. You’ve got to be
painfully honest with yourself on this one,
because if you try to speed it up before you’re
ready, it will just sound like a mess.
Fig. 2
44 &
oeoeoe# oe# oeboeoen oe# oeboeboenoenoeboeoenoe#
˙
1
3
2
41
3
2
41
3
2
41
3
2
4
oeoeoe#oe#oenoenoe#oe# oeboeoenoe#oeboeboenoen oeboeoenoe#oeoeoe#oe#
1
3
2
4
1
3
2
4
1
3
2
4
1
3
2
4
1
3
2
4
1
3
2
4
Fig. 3
44 &#### oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
pami
000
000
000
000
1
2
˙
2
4
&
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
000
000
000
000
8
9
9
11
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
000
000
000
000
4
6
6
7
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
000
11
00
0
13
0
00
13
14
64 PREMIER GUITAR FEBRUARY 2012
premierguitar.com
