Practice Tips
Welcome to the Colorado School of Music! If you are looking for music lessons nearby please consider the Colorado School of Music for private music instruction. The Colorado School of Music provides private music instruction offering lessons for all ages and levels in piano lessons, guitar lessons, Ukulele lessons, violin lessons, drums lessons, voice lessons and band lessons and orchestra lessons. Located in the heart of downtown Golden, our current roster is comprised of musicians from all over the Denver Metro area and includes students from Golden, Denver, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Littleton and Boulder!
Today I will be talking about different practice techniques for guitar players to increase their picking technique and dexterity. Most of what I will be discussing will be different exercises for your picking. We will be using the major scale or the Ionian mode. This scale shape or mode is particularly useful for exercises because each string has 3 notes. The other tool we will be using is a metronome. First start by finding a comfortable tempo on the metronome for going up and down your major scale. Set the metronome at 1/4 notes to start. Try playing the major scale with 1/8 notes up and down the scale shape. You should have the metronome at a tempo that you can play the scale with 1/8 notes at a comfortable pace. Next see if you are able to play the scale with triplets with out changing the temp of the metronome. With the triples next try accenting the first beat or note of each triplet. 1 trip let 2 trip let 3 trip let 4 trip let. Again you should be accenting the 1, 2,3 and 4 of each beat. This gives you a clean grouping of each triplet beat. If you are struggling to stay with the metronome then slow it down so that you can get each accent on each beat in the measure with your triplets. Make sure you are going up and down your scale. Next we want to see if we can do some 1/16 notes picking up and down the major scale. At this point you may now need to adjust the metronome. Again go up and down your scale with the 1/16 notes accenting on the first part of the beat. (1,2,3,4) Now we are going to get into some different sequences with your major scale. Try going up your major scale 4 notes then coming back to the second note in the scale and go up 4 notes continuing this patter up the entire major scale. You could do this exercises with 1/8 notes or 1/16 notes. (C,D,E,F then D,E,F,G then E,F,G,A ect) Next try going up the scale in 3rds. Starting on C to E then D to F then E to G ect.. Making sure you are accenting on the first part of the beat. I would do this last exercise with 1/8 notes. If you really want to push your technique try going up your major scale in sixths. You would start on C to A, D to B, E to C, F to D ect.. I would start this one with 1/8 notes. With each of these exercises make sure you are going all the way up the scale shape then all the way back down the scale shape.
Now lets work on our hammer-ons and pull-offs. First set the metronome at a good tempo for triplets. Now pick one note a string and go up with hammer-ons and down with pull-offs twice per string. (C,D,E,D,C,D,E,D,C) Then on to the next string moving all the way up the scale and through each string. Then moving back down the scale with hammer-ons and pull-offs.
If you practice these exercises daily and on a regular basis it will improve your technique. It should only take about 10 mins to work your self through all these exercises and with in a week you should be seeing results. Keep track of where you are setting your metronome for each exercises and try increasing the tempo little by little.
Thank you for visiting our blog page. Please contact us to come in for your $10 introductory music lesson from one of our great instructors or myself. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lesson, Ukulele lessons, vocal lessons as well as some orchestral instruments and more.
