33 Guitar Course Guitar Exercises – Guitar Fuss

GUITAR EXERCISES

Guitar Exercises

There are numerous ways to exercise your fingers, just as there are many methods to work out our bodies. In this course, we’ll cover the ones that produce the greatest results.

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Pull-off - Exercise 1, 2 & 3

Simple exercises to improve pull-off technique and timing combined with palm muting.

PULL-OFF

Exercise 1

A simple exercise to improve your pull-off technique combined with palm muting.

Fretboard Hand

Throughout this exercise we are going to use all of our fingers. One finger at a time for the entire exercise.

Picking Hand

We’re going to use a guitar pick for this exercise, but you can also use your middle (2) finger on the first string (E) and your thumb (T) on the second string (B).

A 4-note pattern exercise combined with palm muting

The idea here is not speed, but rather the quality of the notes that are played. In this pattern, only downstrokes are used (↓).

The exercise consists of 4 notes per pattern – 4 patterns per bar – and the last two bars are done with palm muting (P.M.).

As follows: 3↓ – 0 – 3↓ – 0.

Here's what it sounds like (140 bpm)

Every note with the ^ character is an accented note. After we have used all of our fingers, we are going to rest for 30 seconds.

Fretboard view

This is a view of the fretboard for reference.

Practice this exercise as many times as you need to become familiar with it.

I usually do this exercise three times. I do one at 100 bpm, one at 120 bpm, and one at 140 bpm.

Exercise 2

Exercise to improve pull-off technique & with palm muting.

Fretboard Hand

Throughout this exercise we are going to use fingers 2, 3 & 4.

Picking Hand

We’re going to use a guitar pick for this exercise. You can also use your thumb (T) on all of the strings.

A 6-note pattern exercise combined with palm muting

In this pattern, only downstrokes are used (↓).

The exercise consists of 6 notes per pattern – 2 1/2 patterns per bar – and the last two bars are done with palm muting (P.M.).

As follows: 3↓ – 0 – 3↓ – 0 – 2↓ – 0 – 3↓ – 0.

Here's what it sounds like (140 bpm)

Every note with the ^ character is an accented note. After 4 runs we are going to rest for 15 seconds.

Do runs at 80 bpm, at 100 bpm, at 120 bpm and at 140 bpm.

Practice this exercise as many times as you need to become familiar with it. Again, the idea here is not speed, but rather the quality of the notes.

Exercise 3

Exercise to improve pull-off technique & with palm muting.

Fretboard Hand

Throughout this exercise we are going to use fingers 2, 3 & 4.

Picking Hand

We’re going to use a guitar pick for this exercise.

A 6-note pattern exercise combined with palm muting

In this pattern, downstrokes and upstrokes are used (↓-↑).

The exercise consists of 6 notes per pattern – 2 1/2 patterns per bar – and the last 4 bars are done with palm muting (P.M.).

As follows: 3↓ – 0 – 0↑ – 5↓ – 0 – 0↑ – 3↓ – 0 – 0↑ – 5↓ – 0 – 0↑ – 3↓ – 0 – 5↓ – 0.

Here's what it sounds like (120 bpm)

Every note with the ^ character is an accented note. After 4 runs we are going to rest for 15 seconds.

Do runs at 80 bpm, at 100 bpm, and at 120 bpm.

Hybrid Picking - Exercise 4

Simple exercises to improve pull-off technique, hybrid picking and timing combined with palm muting.

HYBRID
PICKING

Exercise 4

Hybrid picking, pull-off & palm muting.

Hybrid picking technique

Hybrid picking refers to a style of playing where you use your fingers, usually the middle finger, and a guitar pick simultaneously. You can play more complicated patterns with better sound quality when playing a riff.

Guitar pick & middle finger simultaneously

We are going to use a guitar pick and our middle finger to play notes on the two strings. The guitar pick will play notes on the second string while our middle finger will play notes on the first string.

Here's what it sounds like (120 bpm)

After 4 runs we are going to rest for 15 seconds. Do runs at 80 bpm, at 100 bpm, and at 120 bpm.

Don’t go over 120 bpm if you’re not getting high quality notes. It’s not about speed, but how even and consistent the sound is when switching between strings.

Accuracy - Exercise 5 & 6

Having proper technique is the key to improving accuracy. Sometimes just correcting your position or playing will help.

ACCURACY

Exercise 5 & 6

It is only through practice and repetition of the right things that your guitar accuracy will improve.

Accuracy exercises

You might be affecting your accuracy if you hold your guitar incorrectly, whether you are sitting down or standing up. You will be able to improve your accuracy with more practice.

However, if we fail to practice as relaxed as we should when we should be, we can negatively impact our performance overall.

Exercise 5 - A 4-note pattern exercise

A very effective exercise for improving accuracy is to stretch your fingers as much as possible and press strings in unusual ways.

From the low E string, pick all the way to the G string, then reverse the fret pattern. This is from the 1st fret all the way to the 12th fret.

Here's what it sounds like

It’s about the sound quality of the strings we are pressing, as well as having the ability to switch fingers.

Exercise 6

Exercise 6 - A 4-note strumming pattern exercise

In this exercise, we’ll strumming rather than picking these notes, using the same strings and frets as before.

Starting at the 1st fret of the low E string and continuing until the 12th fret.

Remember, it’s about the sound quality of the strings we are pressing, as well as having the ability to switch fingers.

Here's what it sounds like

Exercises that are different can help you improve accuracy by making your hands adjust naturally and forcing your form to hit the strings well.

Hammer-on - Exercise 7

A hammer-on or a pull-off is a technique that enables you to link notes together without using a guitar pick or a finger when you are playing them.

HAMMER-ON

Exercise 7

A hammer-on or a pull-off is a technique that enables you to link notes together without using a guitar pick or a finger when you are playing them.

Hammer-ons

The hammer-on method refers to the act of tapping a string on a fret with one of our fingertips in order to reproduce a given note.

Pull-offs

The pull-off method involves pulling a string by using your fretboard hand’s finger and letting it go to produce a note.

8-note pattern exercise

From the high E string, you will have to go all the way down to the low E string, and then you will have to come back up to restart the exercise.

The only notes we are hitting are those marked with the ^ symbol, the rest of the notes are all hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Here's what it sounds like

This is the kind of exercise where it’s all about the sound quality of the notes we are playing and gaining speed as we make progress, while maintaining the same level of quality of notes we are playing.

Bending - Exercise 8 & 9

"Full bend" or "half bend" refers to bending a string a whole step or half a step.

BENDING

Exercise 8

“Full bend” or “half bend” refers to bending a string a whole step or half a step.

Full bend

The term “full bend” refers to the process of bending a string a whole step or two frets.

As we are bending the 2nd string on the 10th fret, which is the A note, then a full bend would take the A note to the B note, which would be a whole step higher than the A note.

Full bend. Here's what it sounds like

It is all about the quality of sound in this exercise as well, nothing complex.

Exercise 9

“Full bend” or “half bend” refers to bending a string a whole step or half a step.

1/2 bend

As its name suggests, a half bend refers to bending the string half a step up or one fret.

As an example, if we bend the 2nd string on the 10th fret, which corresponds to the A note, then a half bend will take the A note to the A# note, which is half a step higher than the A note.

1/2 bend. Here's what it sounds like

In order to do this exercise successfully, we have to bend the string correctly, as well as perform a vibrato and sustain the note.

X Notes - Exercise 10

X Notes or dead notes. Basically, it's palm muting, but with the fretboard hand's fingers. Learning how to mute strings with our fretboard fingers is crucial to improving the quality of our sound.

X NOTES

Exercise 10

Learning how to mute strings with our fretboard fingers is crucial to improving the quality of our sound. On guitar tabs, dead notes are marked with an X.

X Notes or dead notes

To master this technique, the first step is to learn how to do it using chords as a starting point.

Here’s an example that will explain how it works: let’s say we are playing a D chord and we want to mute the first string. The way to achieve this is by simply raising the finger that is pressing the first string just enough to mute it.

After we understand how to achieve this with chords, we are going to learn how to mute strings as we play solos or fast-paced riffs. While other methods are necessary besides raising fingers, the concept is the same. We’re just going to learn different ways to mute other strings and multiple strings at once.

D chord

C chord

Here's what it sounds like

Mastering this technique will increase the quality of your overall sound. It is a technique of the legends.

Vibrato - Exercise 11

Vibrato is one of the most powerful techniques a guitarist can possess. Only our dominant hand is capable of executing this technique to its full potential.

VIBRATO

Exercise 11

Vibrato is one of the most powerful techniques a guitarist can possess. Only our dominant hand is capable of executing this technique to its full potential.

Vibrato is a powerful technique

Although most people think vibrato is a basic technique, it is not. In my opinion, vibrato is the one technique you cannot master to the fullest if it is not performed with your dominant hand. This is why we based our dominant hand test on it at the beginning of the course. In a sense, vibrato is powerful enough in itself to add a sense of emotion and intensity to our playing when done correctly.

In other words, vibrato is more than simply shaking a string up and down. It follows the beat of the song in different notes, such as whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc.

Guitarists with a strong vibrato have a distinctive style that makes them stand out from others. Almost all renowned guitarists in the world share this characteristic. That is why at the beginning of the course we learned how crucial it is to decide which hand to use for our fretboard hand right from the start.

Wide

Slight

Here's what it sounds like

Another reason why this technique requires our dominant hand to execute to its fullest potential is because the main vibration does not necessarily come from our fingers, or our wrist, as the word implies, but rather from the arm, which is what produces most of the vibration.

Tapping - Exercise 12

Tapping is a technique that involves a combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs using both hands simultaneously.

TAPPING

Exercise 12

Tapping is a technique that involves a combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs using both hands simultaneously.

Tapping

Even though tapping is not a technique that is commonly used in modern songs, it was very common during the 80’s and 90’s.

This is a technique that I don’t recommend spending too much time with, but if you are curious about it, I recommend that you learn it and try different variations of it, so that you are familiar with it. Although this is not a technique that you may need, it is not a bad choice to have it at your fingertips.

While you can do this technique on an acoustic guitar, it is easier on an electric guitar.

Exercise 12

The following is a very basic but melodic tapping riff which you start by playing the 3rd string with your picking hand’s index finger and then while the string is still resonating, you will start playing hammer-ons and pull-offs with both hands.

Our next step will be to switch to the 2nd and 1st strings. In order to switch between the 2nd and 1st strings, we will need to do a hammer-on with our picking hand in order to transition between the two strings.

Notes with the letter (T) are played with the index finger of our picking hand.

Here's what it sounds like at 100 bpm

Here's what it sounds like at 160 bpm

It is possible to incorporate tapping into our playing in many different ways. These examples are some of the most basic and classic ones. If you learn how tapping works, you can unleash your creativity and make music with it rather than using it to showcase your speed.

Slapping - Exercise 13 & 14

Slapping usually involves slapping a lower string with the thumb and popping a higher string with either the index finger or middle finger.

SLAPPING

Exercise 13

This usually involves slapping a lower string with the thumb and popping a higher string with either the index finger or middle finger.

Popping & Slapping

The technique is called slapping and popping. It’s mostly used by bass players. It doesn’t necessarily express a melodic message, but it just adds some energy to the song.

Since the strings are closer together on a guitar, it is more complicated than on a bass, but not impossible to master. This technique, however, carries no musical taste with it, so using it to make music won’t do much for a song’s melody.

Interestingly enough, I use this technique quite often myself, but never to make music. I use it because I love bass and drums, as well, and it goes without saying that I naturally try to emulate some of these elements in my style of playing.

Introduction

This is a technique that is very self-explanatory, but there is an easier way to introduce it into your playing from a rhythmic perspective, as opposed than diving into it right away without having a complete understanding of what you are doing.

In this exercise, you will sit down and lay your guitar flat on your legs. You will slap with both hands. With your fretboard hand, you will slap the lower 3 strings around the 9th fret with the tips of your fingers, while with your picking hand, you will slap the 6th string with the middle of your thumb right on top of the last fret.

Emulate a drum’s snare and kick with the following rhythmic pattern. One x (x) means you slap with your thumb, and three x’s (xxx) means you slap with your fretboard hand’s palm.

Here's what it sounds like

As soon as you become familiar with the rhythmic pattern, you can move on to the next example.

Exercise 14

Let’s slap and pop individual strings using the example below.

The following TAB shows how each note was played. (*) indicates thumb slap, (s) indicates slap, and (p) indicates pop. We will increase the tempo as we get used to the exercise.

While this exercise doesn’t seem like much, it aims to teach you how to pop a string using your index or middle finger.

Before each pop, there are four Xs. On the third X, your picking hand will lay on top of the strings as you prepare to pop each high string.

Here's what it sounds like

This technique can be done in many different ways, but mastering this basic one and getting really good at it will suffice to show that you can slap. I personally wouldn’t advise getting too into it since it doesn’t have a melodic element at all.

Sweeping - Exercise 15

The sweeping technique is basically a sweeping motion across the strings.

SWEEPING

Exercise 15

The sweeping technique is basically a sweeping motion across the strings.

It could be 3, 4, or 5 strings. The technique involves playing a chord or a pattern of strings from low to high and then back again in a smooth, rhythmic way while maintaining the beat.

In most cases, this technique is used as a way to play fast notes without having to pick each note individually.

There are multiple variations that can be used to make sweeping easier or more complicated. It consists basically of playing a downstroke all the way to the 1st string, then on our way back we play an upstroke.

Here’s an example of sweeping the strings in an A minor chord that extends to a higher note on the first string, and then we sweep back to the beginning. After that, we’re going to add three more major chords.

In the pattern, pay attention to where the hammer-ons and pull-offs are. They are key to transitioning to the next string, as well as closing the pattern.

Here's what it sounds like at 60 bmp

Here's what it sounds like at 160 bpm

A variation of sweeping would be to open strings, tap, hammer on and pull off, as well as to add notes to a chord in order to make transitions between strings easier.

Harmonics - Exercise 16

In music, harmonics are known as amplified overtones.

HARMONICS

Exercise 16

In music, harmonics are known as amplified overtones.

A harmonic is also called an amplified overtone. While there are many ways to create harmonics, let’s cover the most common ones and we’ll discover more as we go.

Harmonics can be natural or artificial. Natural harmonics can be found by lightly mutting a string on a specific fret with your fingertip.

Although they can be found all over the fretboard, they are particularly easy to reproduce right on top of frets 12, 7 and 5.

In order to reproduce harmonics, you must be very accurate and precise when lightly mutting the string. When you do this accurately, harmonics will appear all over the fretboard.

Here's what it sounds like

It is not common to hear these in modern music, but it is important to know how they work, as they are relatively simple.

Compound Exercises

You can combine some of the exercises that are covered in this lesson in a variety of ways.

COMPOUND
EXERCISES

Exercise 17 & 18

You can combine some of the exercises that are covered in this lesson in a variety of ways.

You can combine some of the exercises that are covered in this lesson in a variety of ways if you wish. While the course covers some of the best exercises there are, your ideal exercise is one that you’ll use often, one that has your signature sound, or one that’s already in your music.

We can, for example, combine various types of exercises such as slapping, hammer-ons, picking, alternate picking as well as hybrid picking and legato hammer-ons, pull-offs and so on, all in a single exercise, and then repeat them over and over making it a compound exercise.

Exercise 17

Hybrid picking, pull-offs, hammer-ons, palm muting, vibrato

Here's what it sounds like

Exercise 18

Hammer-ons, bending & pre-bend tapping, vibrato

Here's what it sounds like

The idea behind having a signature sound is so that you don’t have to practice every single exercise that there is in order to be considered skilled. Success comes from being good at one thing if not the best.

When you practice lots of exercises and always look for new ones, it is unlikely that you will put much effort into mastering each one, while if you devote all of your time and effort to just a few of them, you will be able to master them all.

Thumbs up when you're done with this task

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