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B Y M A T T B L A C K E T T
ant to be a better player? Of
coursewe all do. Thats
why we practice. So why
does it seem like all that practice time isnt pay-
ing off? It could be because youre not prac-
ticing the right stuff. s Guitarists tend to as-
sociate the term chops with playing fast. And
while technical proficiency is definitely part of
the equation, theres a lot more to chops than
just burning through scales. To really grab a
W

PUMP UP YOUR TECHNI QUE

WI TH THESE
ESSENTI AL EXERCI SES
76 GUITAR PLAYER APRIL 1999

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Alternate Picking
YOU CAN BUILD ALTERNATE-PICKING
chops by running scales up and down the fret-
board. Play scales using intervals, however, and
youll get more musical results. Featuring minor
and major thirds, Ex. 1a makes a great warm-
up and sounds coolin a quasi-classical kind
of way. Apply this two notes down, one note
up concept to a pentatonic scale and you get
Ex. 1b. Simple, but effective.

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15 12 14
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etc.
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Here are some cool ways to get even more mileage out of these exercises:
But Wait, Theres More...
listeners attention youve got to play with con-
fidence and conviction. You need accuracy, dex-
terity, and a solid sense of time. The good news
is that if you strive for all these things, the speed
will come.
The following exercises are designed to break
you out of the stereotypical chops mentality
they should strengthen your groove and your ear,
as well as your fingers. To really benefit from these
exercises, use a drum machine or a metronome
when you practice. Trust me15 minutes with
a drum machine is the equivalent of one hour
without it. Its not only the fastest way to improve
your timing, its also a great way to chart progress.
If last week you could barely play a lick at 100 beats
per minute, but this week youre burning through
it at 115 bpm, thats improvement!
Ive included left- and right-hand fingerings
where I thought they might help, but theyre
merely suggestions. Always use the fingerings
that keep you relaxed and playing in time.
There are no tempo indications. Each of
these exercises should be played at a variety of
tempos. To really know a pattern, you should be
able to groove with it at a slow crawl and at
breakneck speeds. The slow tempos help to etch
the rhythms and fingerings into your soul and
give you solid time. The fast ones give you the
ability to stay with the groove when youre blaz-
ing away. You need both.
Obviously, this is not an all-inclusive regi-
men. Each example is simply a jumping-off
point to your own exercises and licks. And you
dont have to tackle these drills all at once, either.
Pick and choose based on your own needs. Se-
lect a few areas of study, get your drum machine
going, and hit it for 15 minutes a day. In 15 days
time you will see dramatic improvement in your
playingguaranteed.
Move them to other keys.
Mess with the phrasingif its picked, try slurring, or vice-versa.
Mess with the timing. For example, see what happens if you start
the lick one beat earlier or later.
Try out different grooves. If a lick is written as a blues shuffle, try it
over a hip-hop beat.
If you really want to supercharge your licks (and dont have
problems with your tendons), try these exercises on an
acoustic guitar. The heavier strings will work your hands that
much harder.
To make any exercise sound more musical, throw in rests, slides,
and bends.
Ex. 1a
Ex. 1b
APRIL 1999 GUITAR PLAYER 77

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- - - - -
* Hammer-on w/out picking.
7 7
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2
THE HENDRIX-INSPIRED LICKS OF
Ex. 3a give your weaker fingers a great work-
out, and they animate what might otherwise
be boring, normal chords. Try to pick only the
first and last notes of bar 4.
Just want to fly through scale patterns? No
problem. Ex. 3b is an easy, symmetrical shape
taken from the B Locrian mode. If you get
your fingerings down, youll only need one
pick-stroke between the first note of bar 3 and
the end. Take it slow, and try to keep the
phrase fluid and lyrical.
Sweep Picking
HERE ARE A COUPLE OF SIMPLE LICKS
that not only improve sweeping chops and pick
control, but sound great at the same time.
Sweeping is similar to strumming: As you pick
one string, your pick comes to rest on the next.
Sweep across the strings in one smooth motion.
Ex. 2a combines sweep picking with ham-
mer-ons and pull-offs in a cool pentatonic lick
that creates the illusion of cleanly picking every
note. Ex. 2b incorporates alternate picking and
sweeps to create a lounge-lizard flourish. Dont
rush the sweepsmake sure all the notes are
of equal length.
Hammer-Ons & Pull-Offs
Ex. 2a
Ex. 2b
Ex. 3a
Ex. 3b
3
78 GUITAR PLAYER APRIL 1999

TAKEN FROM OUR OLD FRIEND
the pentatonic scale, Ex. 4atakes two notes
and then plays them in reverse, one octave
higher. To reach the high Din bar 2, slide
with your 1st finger to change positions
on the and of beat three.
Want to inject some space into your
soloing, improve your knowledge of the
fretboard, and sound badass and funky,
all at once? Try Ex. 4b. The muted notes
buy you just enough time to make the
position shifts. Attitude is more impor-
tant than intonation on the high-Cbend
in bar 2, so do it with no fear. Who ever
thought just a couple of notes could be
so hard to play and sound so cool?
4
HERES SOMETHING TO HELP YOU FAKE
your way through tunes by Paul Simon, James
Taylor, and a host of others. You can nail this pat-
tern using only your picking-hand thumb (p)
and index finger (i), but for a more flexible tech-
nique, try including your middle (m) and ring
(a) fingers as shown. Dont short-change the
quarter-notes on beats one and fourits their
sustain that gives this pattern its rolling quality.
If Ex. 5a sounds too corny for you, try Ex. 5b for
a more dungeonistic vibe.
5

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Fingerpicking
String Skipping

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Ex. 4a
Ex. 4b
Ex. 5a
Ex. 5b
APRIL 1999 GUITAR PLAYER 79
TWO NOTES PLAYED TOGETHER, THESE
nifty little diads are good for a lot more than just
playing the intro to Johnny B. Goode. Working
with double-stops will improve your coordination,
expand your knowledge of harmony, and get you
to think outside the blues box. Double-stops are
also just the thing for soloing on an acoustic or
clean-toned electric. Once you can really fly
through Ex. 6a, slide into Ex. 6bs slinky licks.
6
7

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Fmaj7
Em7
Dm7
Cmaj7 Bm7 5 .
Am7
G7 Cmaj7
Bm7 5 .
Am7
G7 Cmaj7
Dm7
Em7
Fmaj7
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Am7
Bm7 5 .
Cmaj7

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Em7
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Em7 Fmaj7
Am7 G7
G7
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Cmaj7 .
Bm7 5 .
G7
Am7
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Em7
Fmaj7
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Em7
Cmaj7
Dm7
Bm7 5 .
Cmaj7
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3
THIS IS BASIC, DIATONIC HARMONY
101 stuff, but plenty of us can use a refresher
course. Take a C major scale, play every other
note (C-E-G-B), then move each note up to the
next higher scale tone. What was a Cmaj7 be-
comes a Dm7 (D-F-A-C), then an Em7 (E-G-
B-D), and so on. Zillions of tunes are built on
these simple moves, so understanding them
will come in handy. Work with the drum ma-
chinechords wont do you any good if you
dont hit them right on time. Get so you can
cruise through Examples 7a and 7b, then watch
how much harder you groove the next time you
get a progression thrown at you.
Chord Scales
Double-Stops
Ex. 6a
Ex. 6b
Ex. 7a
Ex. 7b