IMPORTANT! Tuning: EADGCF.
These exercises aim to make playing scales as efficient as possible.
1. Tuning. Standard tuning (EADGBE) is inconsistent. The interval between each string is a perfect fourth (5 half-steps) except for the G-B interval, which is a major third (4 half-steps). This is why the CAGED system has five different patterns for a root position major chord (C, A, G, E, and D). Playing scales is worse - seven different patterns for a major scale, depending on which position you start in. Retuning the guitar to symmetric perfect fourths reduces the major scale to one pattern. The same simplification happens to chords.
2. Left hand fingering. Playing three notes per string creates an easily remembered pattern that can be repeated anywhere on the neck. A position shift completes the three-octave scale.
3. Right-hand picking. Matching right-hand p, i, and m free-stroke to left-hand 1, 2/3, and 4 reduces mental overhead as the two-hand synchronization is intuitive. Also, each finger does one-third of the work for each hand. You can use a string damper at the nut to keep resonant strings silent. Don't use the damper when practicing exercises; you want to hear every sound your fingers make on the strings.
The video shows the exercise played at four speeds: 40 b.p.m., 80 b.p.m. with one note per beat, 80 b.p.m. with two notes per beat, and 80 b.p.m. with four notes per beat. Practice strategies:
1. Start as slow as you need to.
2. Each time you play the exercise, raise the metronome by a manageable percentage. I often use 5% increments, so my speed may go 40 - 42 - 44 - 46 - 48 - 50, then 53 - 56 - 59 - 62 - 65 - 68, etc.
3. When you are comfortable with the exercise, you can add adjustments each time you increment the speed. For instance, if I play the Aeolian mode from the first fret at 40, I will then play the Dorian mode at the second fret at 42. By continually switching it up, you can work through all modes, in all positions, in one practice session.
Finally, all of the exercises in this series begin with sheet music showing the notes, the fingering TAB, and the left-hand fingerings and right-hand picking patterns where helpful. To make the music easy to read, sharps and flats are avoided by only playing modes of the C Major scale. These include F Lydian at the first fret and G Mixolydian at the third. Unless your fingers are very long, this can result in some uncomfortable stretches. Some stretches can be cheated by a very slight shift instead. I play exercises in all positions. But when playing songs, I mostly avoid the lower positions with the wide stretches. To make your playing easy, smooth, and efficient, focus most of your playing in the positions that are most comfortable for your fingers, only shifting up for the high notes, and only shifting down for the low notes. This is a general rule that you can break for specific musical effects.
12 сен 2024
