Fretting And Picking Exercises

By Raymund Tamayo

Exercise No. 1

Place your index finger (No. 1 Finger) on the first fret (Fret No. 1) of the No. 6 string and pluck it downwards once.

Then place your middle finger (No. 2 Finger) on the second fret (Fret No. 2) of the No. 6 string and pluck it downwards once.

Next, place your ring finger (No. 3 Finger) on the third fret (Fret No. 3) of the No. 6 string and pluck it downwards once.

Finally, place your pinky finger (No. 4 Finger) on the fourth fret (Fret No. 4) of the No. 6 string and pluck it downwards once.

Do the same pattern on each string moving upward. After the No. 6 string, do it on the No. 5 string, then the No. 4 string, and so on and so forth.

Do this exercise five times. Play slowly and try to do the fretting and picking properly always. Don’t be in a hurry and you should hear the sound of the string on each pluck clearly, without any buzzing. Make sure you press the middle of the fret every time to avoid buzzing.

 

Exercise No. 2

Do the same finger and fretting pattern, but this time start on the fifth fret (Fret No. 5) going to the eighth fret (Fret No. 5). Also, instead of plucking it downwards only, alternate plucking downwards and upwards.

For example, in the No. 6 string, pluck downwards with the index finger on the fifth fret, then pluck upwards with the middle finger on the sixth fret, then pluck downwards with the ring finger on the seventh fret, and then pluck upwards with the pinky finger on the eighth fret.

Do this same pattern on each string moving upward to the No. 5 string, No. 4 string, and so on and so forth.

Assignment

Do these two exercises for the next six days until Session Two. Do them three times a day – one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening – for 15 minutes each time.

Memorize the parts of a guitar.

Memorize the names of the strings.

Memorize the fret numbers and finger numbers.