Singing While Playing Guitar

Hi there everyone. In this lesson, I'll be trying to help you on singing while playing guitar, whether you know nothing about singing, or can sing but having difficulty singing while playing.Note: This is not a singing lesson, it's not how to do a vibrato by your vocal chords or a vocal training, so if you're looking for that, don't waste your time on this. Here it’s only about how to get your singing and playing synchronized. In other words, how to control your singing to go with your music beat by beat & note by note.

(Please be aware that this is not anything I've been taught academically or even in private lessons. I have been playing guitar for 2 years and more without being able to sing along, so that's what I came up with accumulatively to help me).

Well, to start off, you have to abandon these ideas:

1-I sing well, and I can play guitar, so at some point after regular practice, it will naturally happen that I can sing while playing along.
>>No, this won't happen because singing while playing is a practice itself.

2-I gave up on that, I can't sing while playing, there are some people who are gifted by that and can do it, but I'm mentally unable to do it, I always screw up while trying to separate between what I'm speaking and what my hand is doing on the neck of the guitar.
>>Not true, it's just that you don't have the key thing, when it's so simple.

One of these two things (or both) may happen when you try singing while playing:

1-You screw up the lyrics, and may even speak nonsense words.

2-You screw up the music, and at times when you have to change chords, you just keep singing, with the same previous chord which sounds like something is terribly wrong.

Here's what i think to be the key.

Part 1.
Things to do before even touching your guitar:

1. Sing the song for few times and try to be louder than the singer.

2. Read the lyrics if you can't figure them out, and it'd be better if you know them by heart (memorize it), but you can print it out or look at it on the computer while singing.

3. Master the song, and what I mean is that you sing it without having to think about it. Example: If you are singing this:
"So close no matter how far
It couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Don't hold your guitar when you are still at the level of

"Damn I forgot what comes after the 1st line!"
"Was it much more from the heart, or much from the heart?"

If you are still at that level, then keep practicing the song. Because that will absolutely make you screw up while playing, because you will start to think about lots of things at the same time, and you won't be able to focus.

If you sing "much from the heart" instead of "much more from the heart", and you are following some chord progression, you will jump to the next line that may have different chord that should be played, but you are still on the same chord, because that line in the original song is longer.

So master the song (lyrics wise) before trying to do both singing and playing at the same time.

Part 2
Do these before starting to sing along.

1. Of course make sure your guitar is tuned the correct tuning for the tab you are looking at.

2. Make sure you know how to play all the chords properly(technique wise) and having no problem with changing from one chord to another.

Part 3
Important practice.(It's better if you have some chord and music theory to totally make advantage of this part)

First of all, think about your voice as another instrument, let's say a lead guitar. And all what you are going to do, is to play that guitar. So you have to play the proper note, and beat for the song.

If your voice is an instrument, you have to practise it.

Here are some ways:

1. Play a note on your guitar then, try to sing it.

2. Play some scale like the E major scale

(Do this on the E string)

E--0--2--4--5--7--9--11--12

1st try to sing each note after playing it once.

After that, try to sing the whole scale outloud without playing anything, but only the 1st note of the scale (the E note, for the E scale, the A note for A scale, the C note for C scale... Etc)

And keep altering things that, play a note like the 2nd fret, then do the 4th and 5th by your own voice.

That helps A lot to get a control over your instrument (your voice).

Do the same with minor Scale

E--0--2--3--5--7--8--10--12

Sing each note after everytime you play it on the guitar for few times. Sing a note that's the next one after a note you played.

Example: play the 5th fret ("A" note) then sing the 7th and 8th by your voice, and if you get it wrong, play them and do it again.

That will help you control how to jump by your voice from a note to the CORRECT next one, and if you can't do that, you will never be able to sing.

3. Use your voice to produce a chord. You can't of course sing two notes at the same time, so play a note on the guitar, for example let it be the C note (The 3rd fret on the A string)

Then you sing the E note (The 2nd fret on the D string). That will really help because most of the times, what you are doing when you are singing along with playing some chord, is that you are singing a note that the chord you are playing contains.

Example you are playing Am chord, and what you are supposed to sing, is a word with the note C, which is a note in the Aminor chord).

Now try it for different chords


E minor: e--0
B--0
G--0
D--2
A--2
E--0

pick the 1st 3 strings, then try to sing the note "G"(the 4th open string).


F major: e--1
B--1
G--2
D--3
A--3
E--1

Pick the 1st 3 strings, then try to sing the note "A" (The 2nd fret on the 4th string)
Do the same for different chords, then try to play a note, like F, then sing the whole other notes that make up the major chord.

Then do same for minor.

Now try to do things like these.
Play a note then sing the note that makes the power chord for the note u played. Example:

A---5 (Sing this)
E---3 (PICK IT)

Play a note then, sing the same note but an octave higher (If it's an E, sing the next higher E).

Example e-- e--3 (sing this)
(E and B-- B---
an G-- G--0 (pick this open string)
octave D--2 (sing this) D--
higher 1)A--- A--
E--0 (PICK IT) E--
(G note and an octave higher 1)

Part 4: Singing Along
Two things you need to figure out before singing while playing guitar.

First: Figure out the 1st note you are going to sing. (That will be the problem because once you have done the previous practice tips a lot, you will be able to jump from some note to the correct one)

But now you will have to figure out the very 1st note just to start.

You will know the attack time and the 1st note by your ears. Just listen carefully, and if you can't figure out the 1st note, try all the notes in the chord till you think that one is it. If you can't still find it, try all the notes that in the scale that the Chord is from.( example: Try C, D, E, F, G, A, B for C major chord).

Second: The attack time of your singing.

You need to know when exactly you are going to start singing. Don't just play some chord and sing anywhere.

If you get this right, you most likely won't screw up with timing for the rest of the song if you know the song well. And it will be easier to change the chord in sync with changing the notes you are singing.

Few examples:
From the Song "Rain" by Breaking Benjamin look at the link if you don't know these chords.


C Fmaj7sus2
Take a photo-graph

The 1st note: is the 2nd fret on the D string. The word (Take) and the (PHOTO) part, are in E note (2nd fret on D string).
The attack time: You play the C chord once, then you start singing right at the same time you strum the chord again.

Then, another attacking time (you will get this by instinct if you get the 1st attack time, and 1st note right) is when you start saying (-graph), you switch to that F chord at the same time you start saying (-graph).

And the note of (-graph) is the G on the D string (5th fret on D).

From the song "Unforgiven II" by Metallica


Am C G Em Am
Lay beside me, tell me what they've done

(Assume you are playing it on standard tuning)
The first note: the E note on the D string.

The Attack time: the 1st one is so easy, but time to switch can be little tricky:

So here's how I sing it:


Am C G Em Am
Lay bes--ide me--ee, Tell me what they've done

Lay bes-- (E note (2nd fred, D string))
--ide me--ee (D note (open D string)

So the word "me" is all sang in one note(D), but you only switch chords.
I hope that helped, it's long and boring, but it will help if you were stuck.


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How To Improve Hand Synchronization

Single string exercises are an effective way to develop coordination and synchronization between the hands as well as alternate picking technique on the guitar. When focusing on one string only, you can exclusively work on developing your picking, fret hand and position shifting technique without having to be concerned with moving from string to string (which is a separate skill that also needs to be developed.)

Below are four separate exercises designed to develop your right and left hand skills. The first one focuses on a single left hand fretboard position and the next three all involve left hand shifts.

All the exercises use straight alternate picking with the right hand. You can start with either a downstroke or an upstroke—it is a good idea to practice them both ways. Once memorized, all the drills should be practiced on all strings and in other areas of the fretboard.

A detailed video of all the exercises is available here.

The first exercise is a six note repeating figure in one position:

Exercise 1

|---------------------------| |--5-8-5-7-8-7-5-8-5-7-8-7--| |---------------------------| |---------------------------| |---------------------------| |---------------------------|

The second drill incorporates a one fret shift with the index finger when descending and a one fret shift with the pinky finger when ascending. Take it slow until you are comfortable with the left hand shifts and can maintain perfect synchronization between the pick hand and the fret hand when executing the shifts.

Exercise 2

|---------------------------| |--8-7-5-4-5-7-8-7-5-4-5-7--| |---------------------------| |---------------------------| |---------------------------| |---------------------------|

Similar to the second exercise, the third drill incorporates a two fret shift with the pinky finger when ascending and a two fret shift with the index finger when descending.

Exercise 3

|-----------------------------| |--5-7-8-10-8-7-5-7-8-10-8-7--| |-----------------------------| |-----------------------------| |-----------------------------| |-----------------------------|

The final exercise consists of two three note sequences ascending and two three note sequences descending.

Exercise 4

|----------------------------| |--4-5-7-5-7-8-10-8-7-8-7-5--| |----------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------| |----------------------------|

As mentioned, take these drills slow to start, make sure everything is smooth and in sync between the right and left hand. Use the minimum amount of pick hand movement in your right hand and the least amount of left hand finger pressure you need to get the notes to sound clearly.

Then work the drills on all other strings and in other areas of the guitar neck. You can also develop your own single string exercises — the possibilities are limitless. Find fingering sequences that give you trouble and come up with your own exercises to conquer them. You will notice an improvement in your playing technique in a short time after working these exercises into your daily practice routine.

Download the free video of this lesson here.

Paul Kleff is a musician and guitar instructor located in Grand Rapids, Michigan USA. To receive a free E Book with 5 additional mini lessons, go here.

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How To Pick Accurately

Level 1: Start Simple
Alright, firstly find a good pick. You want one that doesn't flap, fits a good bit of your thumb, but not so much that it restricts your playing. Hold firmly but not tightly, and place the side of your hand in a cup shape near your strings (middle of the pick-ups, or funny square black things). Then without force gently strum this out:

e--0-1-2-3-4------------------------------------------------------- b------------0-1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------- g----------------------0-1-2-3-4----------------------------------- d--------------------------------0-1-2-3-4------------------------- a------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4--------------- E----------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-----

The reason why I use the 0 is because it teaches you control on open notes. Especially since people hit multiple strings this way. Also if you use a metronome, set it very low and go through this at first down-stroke only. You need those skills in general. But if you want improvement, then you should do this alternate (up and down). Do this exercise about:

Just started-3 months: Do this maybe 6 times, you need the basics of music more than how to play the guitar right now

4 months-7 months: You can do this maybe 4 times through to get better at speed as well

8-months beyond: You probably don't need this but if you have problems then do this about 3 times to warm up your fingers for intense training.

Level 2: A Little Harder Up-downs

Here is my mixture of soloing and warming up. I won't give any explanations, but make all your movements fluid and as close to subtle as you can. Try to make it so that your up-down motion is involuntary (took me a year and a half). You probably think that up-down is either too much a hassle or actually useless compared to just striking down. Well it's Not! You can search for somebody playing a guitar solo or anything and they will most likely be going up-down (if they are good anyway). So now let's try your best friend, the penatonic scale, in an easier and simple way: (use a metronome for best results and this is obviously up-down)

e---------------------------------5--8--5------------------------------- b---------------------------5--8-----------8--5------------------------- g---------------------5--7-----------------------7--5------------------- d---------------5--7-----------------------------------7--5------------- a--------5-6-7-----------------------------------------------7-6-5------ E--5--8-------------------------------------------------------------8--5

If you get this down (just take it down if you need to, chop into small parts, and keep your goal a little over andante), you can move your root (5 in our case, or A) anywhere in theory.

Level 3: My Own Creative Warm-up Song

You probably want to be pretty agile now, and you want to be able to step back and forth with your hand. If not take it slower and please don't rush through it or give up. that's why you need this training, young grasshopper. Up-down!

e---15-13-12--13-12----12----------------------------------12----12-13-- b-------------------15----15-13--15-13-12--13-15-13--13-15----15-------- g----------------------------------------------------------------------- d----------------------------------------------------------------------- a----------------------------------------------------------------------- E-----------------------------------------------------------------------  e-12-13-15-------|.| b----------------| | g----------------| | d----------------| | a----------------|.| E----------------| | (repeat)

I think that's right, though I didn't have a guitar nearby so that just proved it unreliable. But it's a nice tune and you can add the other strings also. Good luck and respond if you liked it.

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The Intangibles Of Forming A Great Band

I've been playing guitar for 12 years, dabbled in a bunch of bands (good and bad). Every person is different, and what works for one band may not for the other. But here are some things that experience has taught me that will make your band practices effective and your band even better:

1) No Alcohol (or other drugs) At Practice! I know this may seem like blasphemy, but I have seen more bands destroyed by alcohol than anything else. If you are going to be pushing each other to improve, critiquing each others songs, tensions are going to run high at some points even while sober. It's healthy, and it happens. But with alcohol in the mix, it makes people say stupid things, it makes them do stupid things, and generally leads to a lot of bickering and in-fighting that should not happen. You wanna sit around and have a few afterwards? That's cool. But showing up or getting trashed during practice only leads to trouble, and it doesn't make you play better.

2) Beware of the musician who says "I'll play anything". First off, this statement screams, "I just wanna play and make money. If you find someone on Craigslist or know somebody who says this to you, be wary about bringing them into the fold. I've seen this happen too. They say this, then you present a blues song you wrote, and then they say"I don't like blues." Ok, then you just contradicted yourself. Or worse, they play it even though they hate it, and then they quit with no warning because they hate playing the music. Not everybody in the band has to like all the same bands, or even like all the same styles you do. But you need everybody to at least enjoy their own parts, and dig what you do.

3) Work with people you would normally associate with. If you are clean and sober, and you are playing with a bunch of junkies, things probably will not go so well. Ask yourself if these are the type of people you would hang out with on a Friday night if you didn't know them through the band. If the answer is no way, then this isn't the band for you. Even if the music is great stay away. #4 explains why...

4) Bond as individuals outside of band. Go bowling once a week. Go for pizza on Friday nights. Hold a movie night every now and then. Go camping once a month. Just enjoy hanging out outside of the band setting. You don't have to be the best of friends, but remember that you are going to be working with these people, a lot. You're going to be criticizing each others work. If you can't get along as people, then there is no way this is going to work.

5) Be honest with each other, brutally if need be. This is where #4 is most helpful. If you really don't like a song, speak up. If somebody is playing something wrong, tell them. Don't just call them an idiot and tell them the song sucks, be constructive and tell them WHY you don't like it. If you get along well with each other, this kind of criticism won't be taken personally and will improve the songs your band is putting together. If you are the kind of person who does not respond well to criticism, music may not be your thing.

6) Find out what everybody's ideal goal is. Do you want to sign to a major label and end up on MTV? Do you want to sign to a smaller label, but have more control over your own music and image? Are you just looking to gig once or twice a month? Having different goals in mind is not a band killer in itself early on, but if everybody is not on the same page when things take off, it can lead to trouble.

7) Take practice seriously. Practice can be fun, but if somebody is constantly showing up trashed, showing up an hour late, or just not showing up without a phone call, it ruins practices and needs to be fixed. If it's you, you're killing your chances of being in a successful band. For some reason, musicians seem to think that this is ok behavior (and for some reason, it's often the drummer:-p). People who are unreliable or cannot be counted on don't last long in new bands. Also, if you aren't going to be at practice, have a good excuse. People get sick, you get stuck at work, relatives pass away, the car's transmission falls off, hey it's ok just call and let people know. But excuses like being hungover, not feeling like it, or my girlfriend and I had a fight 3 days ago and I still feel kind of bummed out (real!) are not going to fly.

8) Don't do it for the money. Seriously, doing it for the chicks is a better idea than this. If you expect to make money playing music, odds are that you are going to wind up disappointed, frustrated, and bands who do it for the money often don't get along when there isn't any to be had. Cover bands may make a little bit to start, but won't get the good gigs until they build a good reputation. Original bands, don't expect to make anything in your first few gigs. You know why AC/DC can charge $90 a ticket? Because they're AC/DC. This is a business where there is a direct relationship between payment and reputation. People aren't likely to pay a $5 cover charge for a band they never even heard of. Plus, bars aren't going to pay much if they are unsure if a band will draw a crowd. Some money is nice, but it's takes time and patience before you can even earn a little.

9) Love the music. If you and your band can't be happy playing what they do, all the other tips are null and void. You cannot enjoy doing what you do if you don't enjoy what it is that brought you here in the first place.

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Building Speed On The Fret Board

This lesson, I will cover all of the speed training on the E panotonic scale and some on the Mixolydian mode. It is one of the more easier scale to memorize once you start the practice, plus the Mixolydian mode has a good stretch at the beginning of the pattern. Plus you want to start simple and then move on to more complex scales.

Explaining My Method

The method I use, I like to call Single Time to Double Time, simple! ( I'm sure I'm not the only one that figured this method out, I just wanted to get better. I have showed my friends and this works really good for us, maybe it will work for you). You will need a metronome to keep you in time. So every beep of the metronome will represent a quarter note also, in between the beeps will represent the eight notes. What you want to do is take a pattern of a scale and run through it with a basic quarter note rythm. You will play each note of the scale pattern on a beep (single time). Once you get back to the top of the pattern you will go back through the pattern with eight notes (double time). Not only will you play the beeps of the metronome but you will play in between the beeps. (Important: The picking you will use for this practice will be down, up, down, up etc... All the way down the patern and back up. To know if your picking the pattern right, the first note you pick will be a down pick. Once you go all the way down the pattern and back up, the last note you pick will be a down pick.) Also before I forget, you will start at a low bpm (beat per minute), try using 60bpm on your metronome to start with. Then once you get confortable with this speed, increase the bpm by 5bpm everytime. Untill you reach about 120bpm, then you want to go back down to about 80 bpms then work your way back up. This will help your fingers with stanima, also you will remember the scale this way. The more times you play a scale the better chance your going to remember the scale. Also you want to keep your fingers loose so when you switch from single time to double time it won't be a strain on your fingers.

Remember! The first time through the position (pattern) use quarter notes and then the second time through use eight notes. (Scroll down to lick section for a good example.)

E panotonic scale.   1st position.     q q q q ect. e I---------------------0-3-0----------------------I B I-----------------0-3-------3-0------------------I G I-------------0-2---------------2-0--------------I D I---------0-2-----------------------2-0----------I A I-----0-2-------------------------------2-0------I E I-0-3---------------------------------------3-0--I   2nd position.   e I-------------------------3-5-3------------------------I B I--------------------3-5--------5-3--------------------I G I---------------2-4------------------4-2---------------I D I----------2-5---------------------------5-2-----------I A I------2-5-----------------------------------5-2-------I E I-3-5--------------------------------------------5-3---I   3rd position.   e I-----------------------5-7-5--------------------------I B I------------------5-8---------8-5---------------------I G I-------------4-7------------------7-4-----------------I D I---------5-7---------------------------7-5------------I A I-----5-7------------------------------------7-5-------I E I-5-7---------------------------------------------7-5--I   4th position.   e I---------------------------7-10-7---------------------------I B I---------------------8-10----------10-8---------------------I G I----------------7-9----------------------9-7----------------I D I-----------7-9-------------------------------9-7------------I A I------7-10---------------------------------------10-7-------I E I-7-10--------------------------------------------------10-7-I   5th position.   e I---------------------------------10-12-10-------------------------------I B I--------------------------10-12-----------12-10-------------------------I G I--------------------9-12-------------------------12-9-------------------I D I--------------9-12-------------------------------------12-9-------------I A I-------10-12------------------------------------------------12-10-------I E I-10-12------------------------------------------------------------12-10-I

Those are the 5 positions of the E panotonic scale. I'm not going to tab out the whole scale twice and put Q (quarter notes) and E (eight notes) at the top of the positions, it would take to long and I would never get done with this lesson. But I will tab out some practice lick using the same method. With the Q's and E's abouve the Tab.

*These licks are from the Mixolydian mode.

Lick #1       q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q   e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e         A I----------10-12-14-12-10------I----------10-12-14-12-10--------I E I-10-12-14---------------14-12-I-10-12-14----------------14-12--I i Lick #2       q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q   e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e      G I----------11-12-14-12-11------I----------11-12-14-12-11-------I D I-10-12-14---------------14-12-I-10-12-14----------------14-12-I   Lick #3       q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q    e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e   e I----------12-14-15-14-12-------I----------12-14-15-14-12-------I B I-12-13-15----------------15-13-I-12-13-15----------------15-13-I   Lick #4       q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q  q   D I-------------------10-12-14-12-10----------------I A I----------10-12-14----------------14-12-10-------I  cont. E I-10-12-14----------------------------------14-12-I       e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e  e   D I-------------------10-12-14-12-10-----------------I A I----------10-12-14----------------14-12-10--------I E I-10-12-14----------------------------------14-12--I

You can see Lick 1-3, I'm just focusing on two strings and then in Lick 4 I'm just adding a string. After you get done with lick number 4 and are up to a nice fast speed, just add the G string in the Lick, then add the B, then the e. You can practice this with any mode or pattern of a scale. Instead of me tabbing out 100 diffenent Licks, just make some up of your own or explore different scale. The licks matter, don't get me wrong. But using the ideal of Single time to Double time is the main focus here. Plus Putting the Q's and the E's above the licks take alot of time to get it even with the numbers.

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How To Practice

This is my first non-theory lesson so please bear with me. I kept wanting to play as fast and clean as my favorite guitarists and I never seemed to get any closer to my goal. I would just jam along with CDs all day and not really get any better. Then I started buying guitar books and DVDs and actually using them and I learned a LOT about practicing.

First things first, you should get a metronome. They aren't that expensive out of musiciansfriend or samash or guitar center, you could probably find one for about $10. A metronome is a little machine that produces a ticking or beeping sound to help you keep the tempo. Several people think they've got this down and don't need a metronome to help with it. The reason for getting a metronome is because it keeps PERFECT time, you never know what little mistakes you might be making without realizing it, and they can have a BIG effect on your playing; plus tapping your foot or counting takes your concentration off of the guitar itself. A metronome will help you stay more focused on the guitar and keep perfect time. Even guitar gods like John Petrucci still use metronomes. The best way to use a metronome is by taking the fastest speed that you can play the lick cleanly and playing it 10 times perfectly at that speed. Then increase the speed by 1. This is the part that everyone hates and tries to skip over, I find myself skipping over it as well, but this is the quickest way to get results. Instead of waiting days to get the lick up to speed, you find that you can get it much faster in a matter of minutes.

Now that we've got that down, here's another extremely important part of practicing: Organization. What I mean by that is scheduling a time to practice and scheduling what to practice. My schedule consists of at least 2 hours. I cut it into 30 minute segments. I devote 30 minutes to scales, 30 minutes to chords, 30 minutes to technical exercises, and 30 minutes to improvising. It's always a good idea to jam around with a CD though, it keeps guitar fun. Hours and hours of just hard practice will make you loose interest in your instrument as I did once(but hard technical practice will help you reach your goals much faster so don't count it out!.

If this begins to happen, I reccomend watching guitarists that inspire you, and if you feel inferior, look for videos of those guitarists making mistakes. I watched a Paul Gilbert DVD, he's a very down to earth and modest guy. He made a few mistakes in his DVD and it made me feel a lot better about myself. It showed that he is still human and not completely perfect, there are also videos of John Petrucci making mistakes if you can believe it. Those two are ridiculously amazing guitarists, and seeing them make mistakes reminds me that although they are insanely great, they are still human just like me and I can reach their level, and so can you.

In order to make sure you practice the set ammount of time, you should get an alarm clock(I don't reccomend this one), or get a kitchen timer. Basically anything that keeps up with time and can annoy you with a loud noise after 30 minutes or so. I personally prefer the kitchen timer, you can set it easily and it'll scare the crap out of you when your practice time's done.

You should learn the Major scale and all of it's modes as well as Pentatonic minor and Harmonic Minor. Play all of these modes in whatever key you desire(I use F just because it's the first fret. It makes things easier for me to keep up with). Although it's a good idea to be familiar with other keys, that's not what this lesson is about. Make sure you ascend and descend and try different patterns. Try ascending 4 notes then go to the second note and ascend 4 more notes and then go to the 3rd note and ascend 4 more and continue until you hit the last note and then reverse the process.

Ok, here's an exercise I learned from a bass player from Atlanta. This exercise is meant to strengthen your fingers and teach them to stay close to the fretboard. This allows you to play faster by keeping your fingers from moving too far away from the strings.


------------------------------------------1-2-3-4----------------
----------------------------------1-2-3-4------------------------
--------------------------1-2-3-4--------------------------------
------------------1-2-3-4----------------------------------------
----------1-2-3-4------------------------------------------------
--1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------------------

Now the idea behind this is not so much in the notes you're hitting, but how you move your fingers.
On the low E string
-1-2-3-4--

you get all of your fingers down on these frets and hold them there.
Then, while still keeping all of the other fingers on the low E string, move your index finger to the first fret of the A string. When that finger is in place, bring your middle finger over to the second fret while still keeping all of your other fingers anchered onto their strings. DON'T MOVE YOUR INDEX FINGER OFF OF THE A STRING! Continue this process with all fingers all the way down to the high E string. Only one finger should be off of the strings at a time. When you do this for the first time your hand will probably be hurting. Take a quick break but try not to get too distracted. A good idea would be to read up on some music theory or try to learn the notes on the guitar, something that doesn't involve physical work, you don't want to hurt your hand and cripple yourself. But the main idea is to stay focused on guitar and music.

You should try to come up with your own practice exercises as well. Take a scale and isolate two strings. Play the notes on those two strings and change them around, play them out of order, find difficult ways to play them and perfect them. This will help you be more creative and original as well as work out your technique. It's fun to find difficult licks and impress your friends with them. Also try string skipping, don't just stick to strings that are side by side.

That is basically how I practice each day, you can practice longer if you want, but I like to keep my strict practice at about 2 hours a day and noodle for the rest of the day. It's also great to practice writing, so when you're not working on technique you can exercise your creativity.

Well guys, I hope this lesson has been helpful and I wish you all the best of luck on your musical journey. More lessons comming soon!


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Right Hand Economy And Left Hand Agility

Alright, some of these aren't perfect, but then again this is my first lesson... Once again this is for somebody that was having a problem with right hand accuracy on the forum, I wanted to help him with this, so I started writing this lesson, I spent about 3 hours on it so decided to share this with everyone else...
When you play these exercises, be sure you are playing in an even tempo, use this metronome I customized, you can adjust the tempo to your liking. I also took the liberty to mark down the beep, click, click, click metronome timing... [b= beep, c=click.]

The picking style is also very important aswell, alternate picking can become very sloppy, try to use economy picking.

Essentially economy picking is the same as sweep picking...

If the string you wish to pick is below the one you are currently picking, then pick down, and if it is above, pick up...

So basically an example would be....

ep1


1| x x
2| x x x x
3| x x

d u d du u d d

Or
ep2


1|
2| x x x x
3| x x x x
d u u d d u u d\


fig1
b c c c b c c c
1| | | | |
2| | | | |
3| | | | |
4| | | 8 10 | 7 9 |
5| 8 10 | 7 9 | 7 9 | 8 10 |
6| 7 9 | 8 10 | | |
d- d-u--d | u-u-d-u | d-d-u--d | u-u-d-u
+++++
u=upstroke, d=downstroke
Do that on any string\fret you wish, and then if you want to start working on skips


fig2
b c c c
1| | |
2| | |
3| | |
4| 8 10 | 7 9 |
5| | |
6| 7 9 | 8 10 |
d d u d u u d u
Also another one that I "invented/or not"


fig3
b c c c
1| |
2| |
3| 8 | 5
4| 7 | 6
5| 6 | 7
6|5 | 8
d d u d u u d u
On those ones, if you master them, start double or triple picking each note


fig 4a
Also my favorite....
b.......c.......c.......c.......b.......c.......c.......c.......b......
/=======================================================================\
1|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
2|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
3|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
4|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|5------|5-6----|5-6-7--|5-6-7-8|
5|-------|5------|5-6----|5-6-7--|5-6-7-8|--6-7-8|----7-8|------8|-------|
6|5-6-7-8|--6-7-8|----7-8|------8|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|d-u-u-d|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|d-u-u-d|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|
\=======================================================================/

fig4b
c.......c.......c.......b.......c.......c.......c.......b......
/===============================================================\
1|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
2|-------|-------|-------|-------|5------|5-6----|5-6-7--|5-6-7-8|
3|5------|5-6----|5-6-7--|5-6-7-8|--6-7-8|----7-8|------8|-------|
4|--6-7-8|----7-8|------8|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
5|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
6|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|d-u-d-u|d-u-u-d|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|d-u-u-u|d-u-d-d|d-u-d-u|
\===============================================================/
fig4c
c.......c.......c.......b......
/===============================\
1|5------|5-6----|5-6-7--|5-6-7-8|
2|--6-7-8|----7-8|------8|-------|
3|-------|-------|-------|-------|
4|-------|-------|-------|-------|
5|-------|-------|-------|-------|
6|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|d-u-d-u|d-u-u-d|d-u-d-u|d-u-d-u|
\===============================/

Play that up the fret board, if I screwed up with the up down picking order for economy, please let me know;
Also if you REALLY want a challenge play that going backwards... don't feel like tabbing it.
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