Hey there, following on from Part 1 of the advanced guitar lesson series I aim to show you another finger gymnastics exercise and to further develop your pivoting scale ability but this time on the A string. I also want to share with you the idea of spreading an arpeggio out along the fretboard so you can get a very wide spread of notes in different octaves. All of this information I am sharing with you was given to me in a one- to- one guitar lessons with the exceptional guitarist and tutor Scott McGill.
Finger Gynmastics 3- Fingers 1, 3 and 4
Ok so last time we looked at this exercise focusing on the finger groupings 1,2 and 3 and groupings 1, 2 and 4. Today we will focus on the 1, 3 and 4 pattern. These different patterns will give you greater command over playing melodies and scale runs and also make playing through your scales easier. The hardest part about accurate picking is the crossing of strings and finger strength between certain groups of fingers, these exercises with help both of these areas.
Finger Gymnastics 3
Scale Pivoting (Dorian Mode A string)
In Part 1 I shared with you my experience of learning the pivoting scale technique with Scott McGill and why it is worth learning. We looked at how to build a Dorian mode off each finger moving chromatically from the C note to the A note on the low E string. Today I want to show you how to take the same concept with the Dorian mode but this time starting on the 8th fret A string. This means your fourth finger will play an F Dorian, third finger E Dorian, second finger Eb Dorian and first finger D Dorian. The skill is being able to play the Dorian modes off each root note specified without moving out of position. This will give you command over playing to chord changes and help you break out of the box if shapes have been restricting you.
Scale Pivoting (Dorian On The A String)
Wide Spread Arpeggios (cycle of 4ths)
Arpeggios can be found all over the place in music, some are subtle and others are in your face high speed swept arpeggios and some are in between. Players such as Jason Becker would commonly use arpeggios to suggest a chord progression, moving through the arpeggios at break neck speed. Arpeggios can be used more sparingly if this is not in your intentions and here is an example of an arpeggio spread out through octaves, quite like a piano style approach. Notice the pick movements are not alternate and are not swept with hammers and pulls off, instead we use the sweeping motion and alternate at different points to make the motion fluent and accurate.
Wide Spread Arpeggios Cycle of 4ths
Notice the harmonic movement of the exercise is the cycle of 4ths, if you are unsure about the cycle of 4ths then you may wish to read Be The Guitarist (eBook link below).
I hope you have found value in this free guitar lesson and if you wish to learn guitar with Your Guitar Tutor then please see the eBooks.
Tom Clark