The Need for Speed - Lesson 1
letostak@ix.netcom.com Judy Letostak
Metal Edge BBS 619423-4970
1:202/1109 FidoNet
http://www.netcom.com/letostak/musicshp.html
This lesson is for guitarist that wants to learn to SHRED.
If you dont, then dont read it. I dont want to read
email about how shred has no feel, if thats the way you
think, then keep it to yourself, we dont want to hear it.
This is going to be a series of lessons for the serious
guitarist, the guitarist that wants to get the most out of
his/her fingers and guitar. These lessons will be posted
a bit erradically sp?. So have patience, I will do as many
as I can.
The first thing you will want to do is to limber up your fingers
before you start. These exercises are an excellent way to
limber up. BE WARNED!!! If you experience pain, stop, rest,
stretch out your fingers then go back, DO NOT practice with
pain, its the worst thing you can do.
------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2
---------------------------------1-2-3-4-----------------
------------------------1-2-3-4--------------------------
----------------1-2-3-4----------------------------------
--------1-2-3-4------------------------------------------
1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------------
-5-4-3-2-------------------------------------------------
-----------5-4-3-2---------------------------------------
---------------------5-4-3-2-----------------------------
-------------------------------5-4-3-2-------------------
-----------------------------------------5-4-3-2---------
----------------------------------------------3-4-5-6----
-------------------------------------3-4-5-6-------------
----------------------------3-4-5-6----------------------
-------------------3-4-5-6-------------------------------
----------3-4-5-6----------------------------------------
-3-4-5-6-------------------------------------------------
use all 4 fingers
etc., do this all the way up the neck til you run out of
frets then go back down. Reversing the forward/backward
pattern is a litle better than just forward.
I suggest practicing all these lessons with a metronome.
-------------------------------1-2-3-4-3-2---------------
-------------------------1-2-3-------------4-3-2---------
-------------------1-2-3-------------------------4-3-2---
-------------1-2-3-------------------------------------4-
-------1-2-3---------------------------------------------
-1-2-3---------------------------------------------------
use 1 2 3 fingers
-------------------------------------------------3-4-5---
-------------------------------------------3-4-5---------
-------------------------------------3-4-5---------------
-3-2---------------------------3-4-5---------------------
-----4-3-2---------------3-4-5---------------------------
-----------4-3-2---3-4-5---------------------------------
etc., use 1 2 4 fingers
this is a good excersise because it forces you to switch
your picking patterns. i.e., the first three notes would be
down up down the next would be up down up. It gets the
alternate picking thing going for your picking hand.
These are played a triplets one-two-three or one and a
to count. Play with a metronome and play this pattern
all the way up the neck then back down
-----------------------------------------2-3-4-1-etc-----
---------------------------------1-2-3-4-----------------
-------------------------4-1-2-3-------------------------
-----------------3-4-1-2---------------------------------
---------2-3-4-1-----------------------------------------
-1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------------
The pattern with this one is which finger starts first.
E string your first finger starts
A string your second finger starts
D third finger
G fourth finger
etc.,
This one takes a lot of practice to get it right. Take this
one VERY slow to start and build up. Again, metronome.
-1-2-3-4-2-3-4-5-3-4-5-6-4-5-6-7-5-6-7-8-6-7-8-9-etc-----
This is also a tricky excercise because you have to shift
your hand to get to the next pattern. Go up to the highest
fret, then back down and do it again for the remaining 5
strings. Use a metronome.
--------------------------------1-3-4--2-4-5-------------
--------------------------1-3-4---------------2-4-5------
--------------------1-3-4----------------------------2-4-5
-------------1-3-4---------------------------------------
-------1-3-4---------------------------------------------
-1-3-4---------------------------------------------------
etc.,
-------------------------------1-2-4--6-4-3--------------
-------------------------1-2-4--------------6-4-3--------
-------------------1-2-4---------------------------6-4-3-etc
-------------1-2-4---------------------------------------
-------1-2-4---------------------------------------------
-1-2-4---------------------------------------------------
The above two patters are to work your 2nd and 3rd fingers
seperately. Do the same as the rest, all the way up the
fretboard then back down. You can use as many patterns
as you can dream up.
---------------------1-3--4-2----------------------------
-----------------1-3----------4-2------------------------
-------------1-3------------------4-2--------------------
---------1-3--------------------------4-2----------------
-----1-3----------------------------------4-2------------
-1-3------------------------------------------4-2--------
use 1st third fingers
---------------------2-4--5-3----------------------------
-----------------2-4----------5-3------------------------
-------------2-4------------------5-3--------------------
---------2-4--------------------------5-3----------------
-----2-4----------------------------------5-3------------
-2-4------------------------------------------5-3--------
use 2nd and 4th fingers
---------------------1-4--5-2----------------------------
-----------------1-4----------5-2------------------------
-------------1-4------------------5-2--------------------
---------1-4--------------------------5-2----------------
-----1-4----------------------------------5-2------------
-1-4------------------------------------------5-2--------
use 1st and fourth fingers
The next few lessons will be just warming up exercises. I
wouldnt advise doing all of these everytime you practice. Pick
two or three that arent familiar to you and work on them for about
15-25 minutes or for a small part of your practice session. Then
after youve mastered those, move on to harder patterns. These are
not supposed to be used musically, theyre just patterns to help
get your fingers moving, or to help strengthen them. Dont just
practice this, this isnt a music lesson, just a warmup.
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