Speed/Coordination Exercises Part 1 - Intermediate/Advanced

Fragment Patterns - A Minor/C Major Pentatonic (shape 1/5)

Here's a huge post seeing as it's the weekend!

As promised, this is the first in a series of speed and coordination exercises that will be of use to guitarists of all styles, and should keep you busy for months to come. Although we are back in familiar pentatonic territory, these exercises can easily be applied to any other scale or arpeggio (I will post more exercises using the heptatonic/modal shapes and also arpeggios at a later date). Because my last two posts have focused upon the pentatonic scale, I thought that this tutorial would tie-in quite nicely with them, as the exercises below can be combined with the 50 licks and 5 scales shapes to help turbo-charge your improvising skills.

So what is a fragment pattern?

Basically, a fragment pattern is a scale or arpeggio fragmented (broken up) into small, repetitive sections that either ascend or descend the guitar neck. I always think of these exercises as two steps forward, one step back. The scale being played is staggered so that it lasts longer than it would when playing through it in a regular manner. This allows you to create long runs when improvising. It also develops excellent coordination between your left and right hands, a skill that is essential in all areas of guitar playing.

These exercises will also greatly increase your playing speed. If you want to get fast, this is one of the main routes to obtaining that goal. But please, please, please always remember - being a fast guitarist doesn't necessarily make you a good guitarist. Speed isn't a sign of great musicianship. It just means that you can play fast. It's great to have the ability to play fast as many musical situations will require it, but the real skill is knowing when not to play fast. There is always going to be someone in the world that can play faster than everyone else. Ok, so perhaps it's an accolade to say, "Hey, I'm the fastest guitarist you'll ever gonna hear", but so-what? It doesn't automatically make your music good. It doesn't mean that people are going to want to listen to you. Holding back from playing fast all of the time will make your music more exciting when you do launch into a burst of speed. This will keep your audience on their toes and leave them wanting more.

The exercises below should always be practiced whilst using a metronome and strict alternate picking. Start at a moderate speed that is easy for your fingers to handle. At all times, clarity is more important than speed. It's always better to hear something played slowly, well and accurate, rather than fast, patchy and inaccurate. I know that speed is the aim here, but good sounding notes are the priority, speed will follow. Keep a log of your daily practice tempo. If you start on Monday at 80 beats per minute (bpm), aim to get to 95 bpm by the end of the week. Keep your aims realistic. This is the way to succeed. Practicing anything takes time and patience. Rushing headfirst into the exercises here will only result in frustration and failure. Take your time and you will achieve your goals.

So here are the exercises (all 14 pages of them!!!) and good luck!

















KEY;

Retrograde: having a backward motion or direction.

Inversion: presentation of a melody in contrary (opposite) motion to its original form.


SOUND FILES & VIDEO COMING SOON...