MASTER YOUR FINGERS
Before tackling this course, you should be comfortable with all the material from Unit 3 | Three Note Per String

Our final unit deals with arpeggios, and really dials in on how to pick and sweep through ar- peggio shapes. We also help you to learn a number of different ways to play through major and minor triad arpeggios to see which style suits your playing the best. Each exercise offers more technique and synchronisation improvements, as well as new shapes and ideas to master.

Lesson 19: 3 String Major & Minor

The Shapes

First up, we tackle a three string shape for major and minor arpeggios. The triad simply contains 3 notes, the root, 3rd and fifth (with the 3rd flattened in the case of minor). Our focus is more on the right hand technique, to get the sweep sounding fluid and clean. Let’s take a look at the shapes first.

When picking these triads, we will be thinking in triplets. This means counting “1 2 3” or “1 2 3 4 5 6”, which Dan explain clearly in the video. The, with the picking direction, you should play “down, down, down, up, up”. This is shown nice and clearly on the tab to help! Focus on very little movements with your picking hard as well... Try to just drop or rise through the strings as effortlessly as possible!

The Exercise

NOTE:As triplets can be a little hard to get initially, we will work with 8th notes as our base. You therefore need to count, per bar, 4 lots of 3. “one two three, one two three, one two three, one two three”.

BPM Count

For this exercise, we demo it at 100BPM 8th Notes, then scroll down to 60BPM 8th notes. Our focus is to get it sounding perfect, slowly. As you grow in confidence with this exercise you can start to push the speed, but we would always recommend practicing this slowly first as a warm up. Not only does it loosen up your fingers, but by training your fingers at a slower pace, the speed will be there when you need it.

Lesson 20: 5 String Major & Minor

Next we expand our sweep! We will be using a 5 string shape, based on our C CAGED chord, to help us go through this exercise. Our focus, once again, is the direction and subtlety of the picking hand. The tab contains the exact down and up strokes as you should be using them to make it as easy as possible. Once again, we work in triplets, so counting 3 or 6 each time!

The Shapes

This exercise uses the F Major and F Minor triads over 5 strings. Here are the fretboard diagrams:

The Exercise

BPM Count

For this exercise, we demo it at 100BPM 8th Notes, then scroll down to 60BPM 8th notes. Our focus is to get it sounding perfect, slowly. As you grow in confidence with this exercise you can start to push the speed, but we would always recommend practicing this slowly first as a warm up. Not only does it loosen up your fingers, but by training your fingers at a slower pace, the speed will be there when you need it.

Lesson 21: Full Neck Major Triad

We now try something totally different from the sweep ideas we’ve used so far. We will now take a simple 3 note pattern, and repeat it in octaves across the fretboard. For many people, this is an easier way to play arpeggios, but this is for you to decide as you go through it. Once again we stick with the basic triad (3 notes). Be sure to use the specific picking pattern on the tab!

The Exercise

BPM Count

For this exercise, we demo it at 100BPM 8th Notes, then scroll down to 60BPM 8th notes. Our focus is to get it sounding perfect, slowly. As you grow in confidence with this exercise you can start to push the speed, but we would always recommend practicing this slowly first as a warm up. Not only does it loosen up your fingers, but by training your fingers at a slower pace, the speed will be there when you need it.

Lesson 22: Full Neck Minor Triad

Let’s take the same idea as in the previous exercise, but expand it to minor now. Minor has a totally different fingering, as the flattened 3rd means we have to rethink the shape a little. Once again though, this exercise is a totally different way of playing through an arpeggio. Be sure to copy the picking direction as well!

The Exercise

BPM Count

For this exercise, we demo it at 100BPM 8th Notes, then scroll down to 60BPM 8th notes. Our focus is to get it sounding perfect, slowly. As you grow in confidence with this exercise you can start to push the speed, but we would always recommend practicing this slowly first as a warm up. Not only does it loosen up your fingers, but by training your fingers at a slower pace, the speed will be there when you need it.

Lesson 23: Major & Minor Epic

In this final exercise we will bring together concepts from all the previous exercises, as well as introduce another new one! We start by running through the triad in major, in 3 areas of the neck, then followed by a sweep using the ideas we learnt previously. We then do the exact same thing but in minor! Check out the picking directions as well, although this one is up for some debate, so do whatever feels most comfortable for you!

The Exercise

BPM Count

For this exercise, we demo it at 100BPM 8th Notes, then scroll down to 60BPM 8th notes. Our focus is to get it sounding perfect, slowly. As you grow in confidence with this exercise you can start to push the speed, but we would always recommend practicing this slowly first as a warm up. Not only does it loosen up your fingers, but by training your fingers at a slower pace, the speed will be there when you need it.

Lesson 24: Mega Workout

Here is our final mega workout, combining all of the exercises in one, across various speeds. You play along with the video, but make sure you know the order of exercises here.

    Before You Start...

  • 1. Make sure you have every exercise memorised - there won't be time to refer to the tab for every note!
  • 2. Familiarise yourself with the structure on the table below.
  • 3. Click the link to go to our awesome interactive tab that actually plays along with the video of Dan going through the whole workout! (This is perfect if you need to pause for breaks)
  • 4. Finally, if anything is painful have a break!

The Workout

ARPEGGIOS MEGA WORKOUT
PART 1 - 40BPM
33 String Major & Minor
2 Sets (F|A|C)
5 String Major & Minor
2 Sets (F|A|C)
Full Neck Major Triad
3 Sets
Full Neck Minor Triad
3 Sets
Major & Minor Epic!
3 Sets
PART 2 - 60BPM
33 String Major & Minor
2 Sets (F|A|C)
5 String Major & Minor
2 Sets (F|A|C)
Full Neck Major Triad
3 Sets
Full Neck Minor Triad
3 Sets
Major & Minor Epic!
3 Sets
PART 3 - 70BPM
33 String Major & Minor
2 Sets (F|A|C)
5 String Major & Minor
2 Sets (F|A|C)
Full Neck Major Triad
3 Sets
Full Neck Minor Triad
3 Sets
Major & Minor Epic!
3 Sets

All done?

Congratulations

You've now completed Guitar Gym: Master Your Fingers and taken a huge step forwards in your guitar playing journey.

Feel free to bask in glory for a while, or go ahead and try another course if you're hungry for more.