Chromatic Exercises
As with any instrument, developing perfect hand position is crutial to playing well. This exercise is designed to work on this aspect of technique. Like all technical exercises, practice very slowly at first, listening to the begining and end of every note. Consistancy is the goal. Except for the pitch, each note should sound the same.
This exercise is fairly simple in concept. Begining on the first fret of the fourth string, play each note on that string until you run out of frets. Use the fingering shown below. Although, the notes are played in groups of four fingers (first 1, second 2, ring 3 and pinky 4), there should be no pause between four fret groups. Once you have developed the ability to play smoothly across one string, practice playing the exercise on all of the strings. Then, in reverse.
Ultimately, you should be able to play without pausing, all of the notes of the fingerboard from the lowest to the highest and back. The tricky part is that every four notes means a position shift. In addition, every string change means a huge position shift so practice slowly until these are inperceptable.
| This is the exercise written on the staff as it is played on the fourth string. Look closely at every note to familiarize yourself with the staff. The example is written in only one octave; however, it should be practiced using every fret. Also, be sure to alternate between your first and second fingers of your right hand. | |
| This is exercise #1 on the fourth string as it appears on the neck.Compare this to notated version above. Get in the habit of refering to standard notation whenever possible. |  |
| This is what your left hand should look like. Make it a goal to have relaxed, perfect hands. Practice looking in a mirror so you can see your hands from different perspectives. Play slowly. |  |
| Exercise #2 is the same as exercise #1 but each note is doubled using eigth notes. Be sure to practice slowly and gradually build speed as fast as you can play perfectly. |  |
|
| Exercise #3 is also the same as #1 only this time, uses sixteenth notes in groups of four. Continue up the neck until you run out of frets, then, change strings without pausing. |  |