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The Guitar Technique Book PDF
The Guitar Technique Book PDF
Really we got a lot of these from our teachers, who got them from their teachers,
who got them from …
The contributions are collected and presented on his web page by:
John Jumper
…and edited with some
so me modifications into this book by:
Gerhard Ersdal
Warm up...............
up ................................
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.......... 3
Synchroniza
Synchronizationtion Exercises
Exercises ..................................
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.................................
................ 9
Scales, scales, scales ..................................
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..... 20
The modes
modes ..................................
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................. 20
The CAGED system.................
system..................................
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... 20
Arpeggios
Arpeggios .................................
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..... 24
Techniques
Techniques that you need to exercise ................................
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................. 27
Hammer
Hammer on and pull offs .................................
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.............. 27
Finger
Finger sliding
sliding .................................
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.............. 28
Position
Position shifting
shifting exercise.............
exercise..............................
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................. 29
Sweeping
Sweeping .................................
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... 29
Hybrid
Hybrid picking
picking .................................
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........... 31
Warm up...............
up ................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
...................................
...................................
...........................
.......... 3
Synchroniza
Synchronizationtion Exercises
Exercises ..................................
...................................................
..................................
..................................
.................................
................ 9
Scales, scales, scales ..................................
...................................................
..................................
..................................
...................................
.......................
..... 20
The modes
modes ..................................
...................................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
................. 20
The CAGED system.................
system..................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
....................
... 20
Arpeggios
Arpeggios .................................
..................................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
...................................
.......................
..... 24
Techniques
Techniques that you need to exercise ................................
.................................................
..................................
..................................
................. 27
Hammer
Hammer on and pull offs .................................
..................................................
..................................
..................................
...............................
.............. 27
Finger
Finger sliding
sliding .................................
..................................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
...............................
.............. 28
Position
Position shifting
shifting exercise.............
exercise..............................
..................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
................. 29
Sweeping
Sweeping .................................
..................................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
..................................
....................
... 29
Hybrid
Hybrid picking
picking .................................
...................................................
...................................
..................................
..................................
............................
........... 31
Warm up
In the beginning of a longer work out on, you should do some easy warm up exercises. This
may help you avoiding tendonitis and other stuff that you really don’t want interrupting your
guitar playing. Warming up should be playing easy stuff that you know. A warm up may
consist of:
• Strumming some chords or a song that you know.
• A few chromatic runs (e.g. 1-2-3-4 on each string).
• Some well known scale runs (e.g. playing all the modes in C in one position).
• A few well known arpeggios.
This easy warm up sequence would be great and probably sufficient for most of us. However,
some exercises are considered to be good for warming up.
Warm up exercise 1
This is a nice warm-up exercise that takes you through a great set of stretches. As with any
warm-up exercise, take it slow and work up to playing it in time. This exercise is inspired by
recommendations by Eric Vandenberg on how to warm-up for a practice session. The BIG
stretch can be found in measures 9, 10, 13 and 14, take them slow!!
I play the first 8 bars as chords. I repeat the 8 first bars one fret down, and continue down
until I can't stretch it no more. Hence, the tab is more like an outline. My rather small hands
are limiting my stretching abilities, and that's why I focus on these exercises also. Bar 9 etc I
play note by note. It is still a good stretching exercise, but I can't finger them as chords.
Warm up exercise 2
This is a nice warm-up exercise that takes you through 4 notes per string chromatics to 2 notes
per string in different fret skipping patterns and finally arpeggiated triplets. This is intended as
a warm-up so take it at a relaxing pace with no metronome. Let it get the blood flow moving
to your fingers.
Try using different finger combinations (1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 1 and 3, 2 and 4).
The last part will give nice stretches for your fingers. The parts in bar 10 – 15 will also give
nice stretches if you use adjacent fingers (1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4).
Warm up exercise 3
This exercise was specifically designed as a warm-up exercise. It is intended to stretch your
fretting hand and work different finger separations. Take it slow as you should during the
warm-up stage of your practice session.
Warm up exercise 4
The key purpose of a warm-up exercise is in my opinion to stretch the fingers a little. It's
important to do something simple (like walking / light jogging) before the real work-out
starts, and not do something difficult as the warm-up. This easy little stretching exercise
should be easy to remember. It starts with a Gmaj7 chord. Then the first finger is lowered
down to 1st fret, forming a G7 chord. This gives a good stretch between t he 1st and 2nd
finger. Then the second finger is moved down to the 2nd fret, forming a G7b5 chord. The
stretch is now between the 2nd and 3rd finger. The next step is to lower the 3rd finger one
fret, forming a Gm7b5 chord. Stretch is now between 3rd and 4th finger. Finally the 4th finger
is lowered 1 fret, forming a F#maj7 chord. Repeat this exercise by starting a fret higher
(G#maj7), or by reversing the progress from the F#maj7 back to the Gmaj7 chord a few times.
You may strum all the chord notes at once or play each note of the chord by alternate picking
or by sweeping.
Do to my rather small hands I normally start this exercise one octave higher than written in
the tab and work my way down rather than working my way up as written in the tab.
Warm up exercise 5
Another possible warm up exercise is the so-called spider. Try starting with both an up-stroke
and down-stroke (as indicated in the tab).
Warm up exercise 6
This is really a left hand finger-strength exercise that can be used in the end of the warm up
part of you exercise. Hammer-on all notes in this exercise.
Returning by using pull-offs (pull-off with the first finger to an open string) would be a good
additional exercise to this one.
Warm up exercise 7
Synchronization Exercises
In order to play technical difficult stuff, it is very important that both hands are synchronized.
The synchronization exercises are intended to improve your synchronization between your
left and right hands. The exercises are working on your picking, left hand finger coordination
and on your timing. The technique is an important basis to be able to play your musical ideas
out on the guitar. You should start your speed improvement by working with these exercises
first. Use your metronome. Start slow and get it accurate. Then increase speed.
JJ Sync 1
A chromatic 16th note exercise. Four notes up four notes down per string. This is a chromatic
16th note exercise. It moves through four up and four notes down per string. Pay close
attention to the picking pattern, because that is what we are working on. Notice that even on
the slide the note is picked. With this exercise we are trying to strengthen the alternating
picking syncronization between the left and right hand.
JJ Sync 2
A string skipping 16th note exercise. This exercise outlines chords. This is an exercise one of
my teachers gave me to synchronize the left and right hands during string skipping. I found
this very difficult initially. Well, I still find it difficult. It is one of those exercises that points
out a weakness and just screams frustration for me.
JJ Sync 3
A chromatic arpeggio like 16th note exercise. This one is a hard one. My teacher gave me this
one and said he thought it was a Steve Vai exercise. I have an old guitar magazine that has an
exercise similar to this by Joe Satriani called smart fingers. However, that exercise was more
focused on chords. Make sure you take this all the way up and down the neck.
JJ Sync 4
This one is a finger twister with 3 different variations. This is one of those exercises that
drives you crazy until you get it. When you finally get it it feels pretty cool to play. Again, I
got this from one of my teachers. Take it slow and get it right before speeding it up. There are
3 variations of this exercise provided here. Each has its own challenges.
JJ Sync 5
4 notes per string chromatic. Make sure you take this one slow. Don't let it get sloppy.
JJ Sync 6
4 notes per position shifting. This is another one I got fro m one of my teachers. This one
again is syncronizing right and left hand. This a lso works on acurate position shifting. Take
this slow and pay careful attention to the frets and positioning of the patterns.
Synchronization Exercise 7
Diatonic single string position shifting. This is another one I got from one of my teachers.
This one again is syncronizing right and left hand. This is a diatonic exercise that shifts up
and down the neck on a single string. I think the is an Al Di Meola exercise. It sounds really
cool with a clean jazz sound.
Synchronization Exercise 8
Diatonic two string position shifting. This is another one I got from one of my teachers. This
one again is syncronizing right and left hand. This is a diatonic exercise that shifts up and
down the neck on two strings. This exercise also helps visualization of the scale paterns and
how they fit together along the neck.
Synchronization Exercise 9
Dense chromatic triplet block. This one is a dense chromatic exercise in triplets. It is similar
to SYNC-3 but in triplets. PAy attention to the alternating picking. Additionally, try to accent
the first note in each triplet. If you can accent the first note of each triplet this exercises takes
on an interesting sound.
Synchronization Exercise 10
Repeating diatonic single string triplets. This one works both synchronization and endurance.
Repeating patterns are often times difficlut to maintain. Notice the "15x" on the repeats! I had
difficulties maintaining patterns for a long time at high speed and this exercises helps. This is
an example of writing an exercise to work on a particular weakness. If you know you are
weak in an area you should not avoid it during practice sessions - you should take it on as
vigourously as you can!
The mo des
The most used scales are the modes:
- Ionian mode
- Dorian mode
- Phrygian mode
- Lydian mode
- Mixolydian mode
- Aeolian mode
- Locrian mode
This is not a music theory book, so I’m not going to talk much about the modes. Each mode
fits certain chords, and this is a bit of music theory that is rather important. So get yourself a
theory book and learn the basics. Here I’m going to concentrate on the technique of playing
these modes on your guitar.
There is a lot of different ways of systemizing how to play the modes. There is the CAGED
system and the 3NPS (3 notes per string) approach, and I guess a lot more. Here the CAGED
and 3NPS is included.
T h e CA G E D s y s t e m
The CAGED system is using positions that relates to the 5 different ways of playing a major
chord. The names are related to how the chords are played in open position. The C form, the
A form, the G form, the E form and the D form. Hence the name CAGED.
Scale Exercise 1
Scale 3 NPS Major Scale - Ionian or First Mode. This is a diatonic exercise in the key of D
Major or D Ionian. This is a three note per string exercise. Make sue you take care to use the
alternating picking as shown. Alternating picking is the focus of the e xercise. Start out slow as
usual with a metronome and then slowly increase a s you become competent at the speed you
are working on.
Scale Exercise 2
Scale 3 NPS Dominant - Mixolydian (Ionian b7) 5th Mode of the Major Scale. This is a
diatonic exercise in the key of G Major but centered on D Mixolydian. This is a three note per
string exercise. Make sue you take care to use the alternating picking as shown. Alternating
picking is the focus of the exercise. Start out slow as usual with a metronome and then slowly
increase as you become competent at the speed you are working on. Notice that Mixolydian is
the same as Ionian b7. Compare the scale pattern with Scale Exercise 1.
Scale Exercise 3
Mixolydian Cascading Triplets. This is a diatonic e xercise in the key of G Major but centered
on D Mixolydian. This is a three note per string exercise. It is called cascading triplets
because of the sound. Move down three strings in triplets and then move back one string.
Make sue you take care to use the alternating picking as shown. Alternat ing picking is the
focus of the exercise. Start out slow as usual with a metronome and then slowly increase as
you become competent at the speed you are working on.
Scale Exercise 4
Minor 3 NPS - Dorian (Mixolydian b3) 2nd Mode of the Major Scale. This is a diatonic
exercise in E Dorian. This is a three note per string exercise. Make sue you take care to use
the alternating picking as shown. Alternating picking is the focus of the exercise. Start out
slow as usual with a metronome and then slowly increase as you become competent at the
speed you are working on. Notice that this mode is the same as Mixolydian b3. Compare it to
exercise SCL-2.
Scale Exercise 5
Minor 3 NPS - Aeolian (Dorian b6) 6th Mode of the Major Scale. This is a diatonic exercise
in E Aeolian This is a three note per string exercise. Make sue you take care to use the
alternating picking as shown. Alternating picking is the focus of the exercise. Start out slow as
usual with a metronome and then slowly increase as you become competent at the speed you
are working on. Notice that this mode is the same as Dorian b6. Compare it to exercise SCL-
4.
Arpeggios
Al Di Meola arps:
CAGED arps:
Techniques that you need to exercise
H am m e r o n a n d p u l l o f f s
Finger sliding
Slidin' the Scales (GE-SLIDE-1)
Today's exercise is on finger sliding, primarily. Two very basic scale exercises with extensive
use of sliding hopefully will bring our finger sliding technique to a higher level. Try these:
If you are slow on the alternate picking, this can help you gain more speed, and it sounds
good. Enjoy.
Sweeping
Sweeping Arppegio Exercise 1 (JJ-ARP-1)
This is a diatonic exercise in the key of F Major. Each of the diatonic chords in the key of F
are arranged in ascending and then decending order. The chord notation for each of the chords
are I,ii,iii,IV,V,vi,vii. Those chords in F Major are FMaj7, Gmin7, Amin7, BbMaj7, C7,
Dmin7, Emb5. This is one of the few sweep picking exercises that I have. Sweep picking is
difficult to keep even so make sure you work with a metronome and pay carful attention to the
timing you generate. Once this gets going is is a beautiful exercise. Although this exercise
goes straight through the diatonic chords in the key of F try mixxing them up once you get
them up to some speed.
Hybrid picking
If you are having a hard time with this lick try practicing it in groups of four notes. Once you
master each set of four notes then put the full lick together. You could think of it a s a string of
six different licks.
The figure below shows the letter that refers to each of the fingers on the picking hand.