Control Your Fretting Hand

All the examples below are based on the chromatic scale and use sequence groups of sixes. I think the workout develops finger independence, alternate picking, and most important, helps to synchronize both hands. Play each exercise by moving the pattern up and down and then moving up chromatically in half steps, starting at the 5th fret and working up to the12th fret, and back down. Start out slowly until you have some control; you should increase the speed until the desired tempo is reached. Enjoy your picking!

Example Study 1. Here is a chromatic sounding study that ascends and descends through an A chromatic scale. Notice the finger pattern of the first and second beats of the groups of sixes (1 - 4 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 4) in an ascending and (4 - 1 - 3 - 4 - 2 - 1) in a descending A chromatic scale.

Example Study 2. This is a variation on the previous example, but with a finger pattern (1 - 4 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 4) in an ascending and (4 - 1 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 1) a descending A chromatic scale.