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5 Effective Pentatonic Exercises For Building Speed

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Photo by JD Hancock
Building speed is not just for guitar players who want to play fast and look good (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but building speed is good for any aspect of guitar playing.

Once you’ve got a good technique and finger dexterity everything you play becomes easier from rhythm playing to soloing and everything in between. Life on the guitar gets better.

I’ve written down 5 exercises that will help you build up speed but also to get a good grip on your pentatonic scale so you can learn to play them inside out.

Go through each exercise slowly a couple of times before you try to speed up.

Set up a slow tempo on your metronome and when you feel comfortable enough gradually increase the tempo. Play as accurate as possible and keep your notes clear and clean.

Try to avoid extra sounding notes that aren’t supposed to be there by muting the strings you don’t want to hear with either your left hand or right hand.

Practice with focus and dedication and reap the benefits.
Have fun!Continue Reading

4 Furious 4 Notes-Per-String Exercises!

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I couldn’t resist the temptation to write one final post on notes-per-string licks.

I just love ‘m! They’re great for warm-ups and to work on your alternate picking.

Previously I wrote a post on 2-notes-per string called “10 Smoking 2 Notes-Per-String Licks to Rock On!” and a 3-notes-per strings article (my most popular post) “21 Cool 3 Notes-Per-String Exercises”, but today we’re gonna take it one step further and dive into some 4 notes-per-string exercises for the adventurers among us.

You can play all 4 notes on each string with all your four fingers, that would be a nice finger stretch exercise which is good for building strength and reach. Or you can play it a more easier way which feels and sounds really nice too. You can see below the tabs with which fingers to play each note.

i = indexfinger, m = middlefinger, r = ringfinger, p = pink

Building speed:
– First play the exercise slow a couple of times.
– Memorize the exercise.
– Gradually increase your tempo. (play the exercise a couple of times)
– Now play the exercise slow and accurately. (a couple of times)
– Increase your tempo a little more. (play the exercise a couple of times)Continue Reading

10 Smoking 2 Notes-Per-String Licks to Rock On!

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Photo by John Hope
A lot of you who are working on “developing technique and increasing speed” have probably put some blood sweat and tears in my 21 Cool 3 Notes-Per-String Exercises.

If you haven’t and you got the nerve be sure to check it out.

But today I present to you 10 smoking 2 notes-per-string licks”.

A technique that feels different from the 3 notes per string and will definitely improve your technique in many ways if you work hard at it. Also the licks are perfect to incorporate into your improvisations.

While there are a lot of great guitar players known for their 3 notes-per-string, don’t underestimate what people like Zakk Wylde, Eric Johnson and John McLaughlin can do with 2 notes per string. They rock!

So let’s get your hands back in the dirt and work on these smoking licks.

Note: Don’t forget to use the alternate picking technique (up,down,up,down,up,down…)

Make yourself proud!


EXERCISE #1 (A minor pentatonic)
e--------------------------------------------------------5-8-|
B-----------------------------------------5-8-------5-8------|
G--------------------------5-7-------5-7-------5-7-----------|
D-----------5-7-------5-7-------5-7--------------------------|
A------5-7-------5-7-----------------------------------------|
E-5-8--------------------------------------------------------|
Continue Reading

The 5 Minute Guitar Workout

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Photo by Akram
There are days when I can’t get myself fired up to start practicing.

Sometimes it’s because I think I’m entitled to a break for whatever ridiculous reason or because I’m feeling kind of tired and I’m also burdened with the thought that there is so much else to be done.

They’re all pathetic excuses so I don’t have to get off my lazy ass.

But I found a really easy way to take care of those excuses and to be honest with you it works brilliantly.

I call it “The 5 minute guitar workout”

Let’s take a closer look:

When you’re sitting in that comfy chair of yours or you’re looking at your busy schedule your mind is already going into defense mode and you’re like… “No no I have no energy left or time to play guitar for 20 or 30 minutes, let alone more than that.”

The thought of such a long guitar workout can sometimes be too much of a stumbling block.

Now replace that inner dialog and tell yourself you’re only going to practice for 5 minutes. No more. Just 5 minutes. That sounds easy doesn’t it.

That sounds even quite reasonable.

And you know what… It’s just that little push you need to get started. It’s the number one most important aspect of practicing: “Getting started.”

Once you’ve started the rest takes care of itself. And it’s okay to practice for only 5 minutes but you’ll probably end up playing longer than that, because once you’re playing you’ll get in a flow, a meditative state and you’ll be enjoying the ride.

I found that it works every time, because it’s only 5 minutes whatever the real outcome may be.

It’s so effective that I made 5 minute workouts for everything and I spread those workouts randomly throughout the day and week.

I’ve become in love with my 5 minute workouts.

Here’s my list:

– 5 minute scales workout

– 5 minute speed picking workout (working with a metronome)

– 5 minute soloing improvisation workout

– 5 minute playing, memorizing and enjoying songs workout

– 5 minute music theory workout

– 5 minute transcribing songs for my students workout

I also have other 5 minute workouts that have nothing to do with guitar playing whatsoever, but anyway here you are:

– 5 minute meditation workout

– 5 minute running workout

– 5 minute reading workout

Thanks for your 5 minutes. I appreciate it.
Klaus Crow