GUITARHABITS

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Pentatonic Scale Shape Exercises Around The Fretboard

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A lot of guitar players use only one pentatonic position / shape: The first position (E shape) it’s because it’s the most comfortable shape to play in.

That’s great if you start out with soloing, in fact it’s better to stay with that for a while to explore all the possibilities and to really be able to improvise with that one shape.

But after some time it’s good to get out that box and discover more of the world. Wouldn’t it be great to attain the freedom to use the entire fretboard for all your rock, blues, country and heavy metal soloing? It’s the next step to becoming a complete guitarist.

To expand your reach on the fretboard beyond the most popular pentatonic position #1 (E shape), you need to learn all five pentatonic positions, also known as shapes. If you haven’t learned the five pentatonic shapes yet check out: The Five Pentatonic Scale Shapes You Must Know

This post is to designed to give you some extra exercises (once you’ve learned the five shapes) to really get those shapes down.

Have fun!
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The Almighty 1 2 3 4 Combinations Workout

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The 1 2 3 4 exercise is a notorious warmup exercise that many skilled and famous guitar players have adopted in their regular workout.

It’s the perfect exercise to develop dexterity and increase your speed.

In the beginning it tends to be a little bit boring because of the monotonous movements, but after a while your fingers get accustomed to the stretch and finger placement and you’ll start feeling the rush of getting up to speed. You’ll notice your fingers become more flexible and capable and eventually you’ll get hooked on the exercise.

Also playing chords, fill ins, licks, arpeggios and everything else on the guitar becomes a lot easier, even effortless, depending on how much you practice.

This is the Almighty 1 2 3 4 Combinations Workout:Continue Reading

Graceful 3 String One Octave Arpeggio Workout

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Photo by Ethan Prater
I like to incorporate one octave arpeggios into my improvisation solos, because of the way they sound and feel. I prefer them over 2 octave arpeggios.

When I play an occasional one octave arpeggio in my improvisation it just sounds nice and fresh and could be something I made up on the spot.

But when I play a 2 octave arpeggio (without reorganizing it in anyway) you can really hear that I copied that straight away. It sounds too pre manufactured. It’s like playing a complete major scale or blues scale in your solo. You don’t wanna hear that.

Don’t get me wrong there are guitar players who play amazingly beautiful solos with 2 or 3 octave arpeggios but they are often extended arpeggios with extra notes or re-organized arpeggios.

So I do recommend to practice 2 octave arpeggios to expand your guitar vocabulary, knowledge of music theory, improve your dexterity and gain new ideas.

But today is all about 3 string one octave arpeggios. These are my favorites. I already wrote a post on one octave arpeggios which is a much bigger workout, but I always practice and memorize things in different ways. And I really love this workout.

Here are some tips:Continue Reading

Playing 2 String Triad Arpeggios All Over The Neck

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When I started learning to solo and improvise I began with the pentatonic / blues scale.

Somewhere along the way I got into arpeggios, intervals, patterns, improvising and making melody with the major scale. I accumulated all these ideas over time and incorporated it into my playing.

Learning all of these things takes time and effort, but the important thing is to have fun and experiment.

Bit by bit you will connect the dots and bring everything together and you’ll get a better overview of how guitar playing really works.

Learning to make melodies and creating ideas from the major scale, blues scale, modes, triads, intervals, patterns, arpeggios, etc, makes improvising and soloing exciting and more interesting to listen to. Expanding your vocabulary will expand your possibilities to make even more beautiful music.

TRIAD ARPEGGIO
A triad arpeggio is a three note chord where the notes are played one after another. There are four basic triads: Major (1-3-5) , Minor (1-b3-5), Augmented (1-3-#5) and Diminished (1-b3-b5).

In the examples below the triads are played within the key of G. (diatonic triads) There are 7 triads that can be derived from the major scale. One triad built on each scale degree. For the G major scale those are: G Am Bm C D Em F#dim

Take your time and practice these triad arpeggios all the way up the neck and back down again.

Have fun!
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