Great Daily Guitar Exercises

[slim231990]

Hey there everyone I just want to share some simple guitar exercises that have really helped my thru the years, not only with building speed and dexterity, but also helped with the conversion from 6 stringers to 7. Anyways I'm sure you have seen these exercises before but when put together they seem to work magic for me. Hope this helps someone out there like it helped me

First Exercise (Warm Up): Ok this first exercise is very simple and probably the most common exercise out there. It's pretty much a basic chromatic exercise starting on the first string first fret. You pretty much fallow the fingering pattern 1234 then descend a string and repeat when you make your way to the high E come back up and afterwards repeat pattern on next fret.

Second Exercise (Steve Vai): This next exercise I pretty much stole from a Guitar World DVD and basically it is one of Steve Vai's personal exercises and is kinda tricky to catch onto at first, but you will be amazed at how much it helps your playing. Ok so pretty much on this second exercise you start back on the first string first fret and pretty much do a chromatic on the first string 1234, then you descend to the next string and chage the fingering pattern to 2341 then the next string will be 3412.... then 4123 and when you get to the G string (on a 7 string) the pattern starts back at 1234 then 2341 on B string then 3412 on the high E after you get done with the high E string you go backwards thru the pattern and repeat on next fret. Now where this exercise gets tricky is when your ascending back up from the high E and repeat the patter backwards just take your time and let the muscle memory sink in and you'll have it!

Third Exercise (Cool Down): Mk last but not least is another chromatic type exercise much like the first exercise, but instead of just descending a string after the first pattern 1234 you descend a string and a fret and repeat the 1234 pattern. Just like the other exercises when you get to the high E string you repeat the pattern backwards and move down a fret and repeat again.

 

[octatoan]

I do the second one absent-mindedly, all the time.

 

[Berserker]

Looks good, I'll give them a go.

By the way, you're confusing descending with ascending and the 1st and 6th strings... made it a little difficult to figure out what you meant.

 

[Ante Skific]

There is also a cool exercise that is similar to those you described.

It goes something like this:

You play first fret of sixth string with your first finger, then second fret of fifth string with the second finger, then third fret of the fourth string with the third finger, and fourth fret of the third string with the fourth finger. That is the first part. The second part starts with the first finger on the first fret of the third string, then second finger on the second fret of the fourth string, then third finger on the third fret of the fifth string and finally the fourth finger on the fourth fret of the sixth string. After that you continue doing the same but you start from the second fret this time.

So you basically do the same 1234 pattern, but every note is on the different string. If you do this with sweep picking - in this way at the same time you practice both your right and your left hand.

It is a very useful exercise...

 

[ElRay]

I know I'm being a bit pedantic, but you're going to confuse people. Up/Down, ascend/descend, etc. on a guitar refer to the change in pitch, not the direction of movement relative to the ground. Also, if you're going to use any of these as warm-ups, you should start on the higher (e.g. closer to the body) frets and work towards the lower (towards the nut) frets, so you give the fingers a chance to warm-up and stretch out.

So, I FTFY:

First Exercise (Warm Up): Ok this first exercise is very simple and probably the most common exercise out there. It's pretty much a basic chromatic exercise starting on the bottom (sixth, seventh, eight, etc.) string around the 12th fret. You pretty much fallow the fingering pattern 1234 then ascend a string and repeat when you make your way to the top string (typically high E) come back down and afterwards repeat pattern on next lower (towards the nut) fret.

Second Exercise (Steve Vai): This next exercise I pretty much stole from a Guitar World DVD and basically it is one of Steve Vai's personal exercises and is kinda tricky to catch onto at first, but you will be amazed at how much it helps your playing. Ok so pretty much on this second exercise you start back on the bottom (sixth, seventh, eight, etc.) string around the 12th fret and pretty much do a chromatic on the bottom string 1234, then you ascend to the next string and chage the fingering pattern to 2341 then the next string will be 3412.... then 4123 and when you move up four strings (e.g. the G string on a standard tuned 7 string) the pattern starts back at 1234 then 2341 on the next string then 3412, etc. until you reach the top/first string (typically high E) after you get done with the first string you go backwards thru the pattern and repeat on next lower (towards the nut) fret. Now where this exercise gets tricky is when you're descending back down from the first string and repeat the patter backwards just take your time and let the muscle memory sink in and you'll have it!

Third Exercise (Cool Down): Mk last but not least is another chromatic type exercise much like the first exercise, but instead of just ascending a string after the first pattern 1234 you ascend a string and a fret and repeat the 1234 pattern. Just like the other exercises when you get to the first string you repeat the pattern backwards and move up (towards the body) a fret and repeat again.

Oh, and don't get me going on infinite radius fretboards and vibrato tailpieces!

EDIT: I forgot: Get off my Lawn!

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

Hi guys, just to let you know Steve Vai's 10 hour workout tab is available here.

10-hour Guitar Workout Tab by Steve Vai @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

It includes the above mentioned exercises.