Metronome set to about 138 BPM.
Click for tablature: TAB-4 string Arpeggio Picking melodic guitar exercise 1

This lesson emphasizes arpeggio picking across the four highest guitar strings, D, G, B and E.  First listen to the melody enough so that you get a good idea of the way the pattern sounds.  The pattern has four fingering positions that all start on the D string, the first starting with fret 5, the second with fret 7, the third with fret 10 and the last with fret 12.  The entire exercise starts low on the neck and moves up the neck to a higher set of notes.  In each fingering position I play the same pattern of notes, so I’m playing the arpeggiated pattern a total of 4 times, and I use slide to move between positions.  The only exception to that is at the end of the whole exercise where I put in a set of extra notes to end the exercise, those notes are explained further down and can be practiced separately.

This exercise helps you build improved synchronization of the fret hand and the pick hand so that you can shred better at high speeds.  The pattern forces you switch between using different fingers when you change from one string to another.  It is also good practice for changing strings rapidly after a single note is played, which is at the core of the arpeggio technique.  I use my index finger first on the D string, then my ring finger on the G string, my middle finger on the B string and finally my index and small fingers(pinky) on the high E string.  There is a melody built into the exercise phrasing so that you don’t get bored when practicing repeatedly.  The exercise also helps you alternate between picking forwards (toward the higher strings) and backwards (from the higher strings to the lower strings in reverse).

With arpeggio exercises, it is important to always use your metronome and start slow between 80-100 BPM, depending on how comfortable you are repeating the notes in the exercise and your skill level.  Play the exercise many times at a slower speed until you nail it.  When you are doing pretty good at a particular metronome speed, increase the BPM by one to two settings.  For example if you are practicing at 100 BPM and you are doing well, increase the metronome to 104 or 108 BPM and then start repeating the exercise at the higher speed.  If you get to a speed that you cannot play the pattern cleanly at, take a break, your fingers and hands may be tired and need a break.  If you are not tired and just cannot play at that speed, decrease the metronome and play at a slower setting until the next time you practice.  I find that this is especially helpful at higher speeds above 160 BPM.  The other thing to watch for if you are having problems with a higher speed is that you may not be repeating the pattern enough at the lower speed.  Your brain needs to be able to play the exercise without thinking about it much when you are at a high speed, and that only comes with several repetitions.

One approach to this exercise is to break the pattern apart by only practicing the first 5 notes in each fingering position until you are comfortable.  This way your fingers will be moving in only one direction until you master that first part of the pattern.  For example, to begin play 5, 7, 6, 5, 8.  That’s a total of 5 notes.  Then play 5 notes in the next fingering position down the neck, 7, 9, 8, 7, 10.  The point here is to play only the first 5 notes until you have perfected that.

Once you nail the first 5 notes of the pattern, at that point start to add on the next 7 notes of the pattern.  This will make a total of 12 notes in each fingering position.  Watch your tempo to make sure the notes sound clean and you can play them with ease.  You can experiment with breaking apart different parts of the arpeggio and focusing your practice session on the corresponding parts that are challenging.  Play the challenging set of notes in isolation without the rest of the pattern until your fingers get automatically accustomed to the movement.

The final part of the exercise contains a set of 19 speed picking notes that do not follow the main arpeggio pattern.  I put this in there as an example of how you can link an arpeggiated set of measures with a set of speed picking measures to complete a riff or lead part.  There is no rest or break between the arpeggios and the ending speed picking riff, it is a continuous play of notes to end the entire exercise.  Another technique you can experiment with on your own is to do the reverse by starting off with some speed picking and then add arpeggios to finish a riff.  Whatever you try, keep the flow of notes continuous without a pause so that it sounds fluid and try to find some common notes between the two sets of measures to link them up within your riff.

Metronome set to about 176 BPM.
Click for tablature: TAB-3 string Speed Picking melodic exercise 1

This lesson emphasizes fast alternate picking across the three highest strings of the guitar, G, B and E.  First listen to the melody enough so that you get a good idea of the way the pattern sounds.  The pattern has two fingering positions, the first starting with fret 8 on the G string and the second starting with fret 15 on the G string.  In each fingering position I play the same set of notes twice, with one extra note at the end of the second repetition.  I do a slide between fingering positions.

This exercise helps you build improved synchronization of the fret hand and the pick hand so that you can shred better at high speeds.  All four fret fingers should be used.  The pattern helps you switch between using different fingers when you change from one string to another.  For example in some parts of the pattern I switch between using the index, middle, ring on one string to the index, middle, little fingers on a higher string.  There is a melody built into the exercise phrasing so that you don’t get bored when practicing repeatedly.

With speed picking exercises, it is important to always use your metronome and start slow between 80-100 BPM, depending on how comfortable you are repeating the notes in the exercise and your skill level.  Play the exercise many times at a slower speed until you nail it.  When you are doing pretty good at a particular metronome speed, increase the BPM by one to two settings.  For example if you are practicing at 100 BPM and you are doing well, increase the metronome to 104 or 108 BPM and then start repeating the exercise at the higher speed.  If you get to a speed that you cannot play the pattern cleanly at, take a break, your fingers and hands may be tired and need a break.  If you are not tired and just cannot play at that speed, decrease the metronome and play at a slower setting until the next time you practice.  I find that this is especially helpful at higher speeds above 160 BPM.  The other thing to watch for if you are having problems with a higher speed is that you may not be repeating the pattern enough at the lower speed.  Your brain needs to be able to play the exercise without thinking about it much when you are at a high speed, and that only comes with several repetitions.

At the end of the exercise you will notice an extra set of measures that I use to close it out.  This final set of closing notes is the same notes as the rest of the exercise and same fingering position.  The only difference in the closing measures is that the notes are organized in a different order, starting with the high E string and descending backwards onto the B and G strings.  I put this in there to show you how you can take the same notes of the pattern and experiment on your own by changing the sequence and phrasing of the exercise.  You can also use parts of the exercise to build longer practice exercises perhaps using additional strings.