Weekly Warm Up No. 38
Do you ever invent your own exercises? Let me clarify…Do you ever create exercises to help you solve technical or musical challenges on the guitar?
If I could go back in a time machine, this would be one of the few things I would have encouraged myself to do a bit earlier and with more abandon.
When I first explored this, it was because I had a very specific challenge I was trying to solve and couldn’t find an etude or exercise for it. Of course, this was preinternet…still, that moment when I decided to make something for myself–to create something that helped me get better was a pivotal moment. I had no idea that what I was giving myself was permission to be creative and develop my own way of playing (which is the point right?). I was a kid who couldn’t do barre chords very well and wanted to be able play this one piece without buzzing all the notes in tenth position (who puts a barre chord in tenth position anyway?!?). Sometimes I think this gets lost in the pursuit of learning the guitar…we want to “do it the right way” versus how it might work best for you. The latter is far more interesting to me.
So what about you? Do you make up your own things to help you?
This week’s WWU is all about groups of three in the right hand arpeggios and groups of four in our left hand slurs.
Tempo:
Quarter Note set @ 80 BPM & 100
Right Hand Arpeggios:
(Based on the A Major Pattern Outlined Here)
- pim
- pmi
- pma
- pam
- pia
- pai
- pim ami
- pim ami ami ami
Left Hand Slurs:
- 3210
- 4210
- 4310
- 4320
- 0123
- 0124
- 0134
- 0234
Synchronization Drills: Single String
- 1010 | 1234
- 2020 | 1234
- 3030 | 1234
- 4040 | 1234
