Chromatic Guitar Exercises

Chromatic guitar exercises are a guaranteed method for getting better at playing guitar, when played with focus, comfortable techniques, and variety.

We will first play a linear chromatic, then some fixed position chromatic cycles.

The goal of any exercise like these is to study how our hands work.

We aren't doing exercises just to do exercises. To get the most out of every moment of practice, we focus our energies on finding out what it takes to play with less effort, fatter tone, & get comfortable.

Linear Chromatic

Consider your shifting in the above exercise. Often, with shifting (changing positions), our elbow precedes the movement of the hand. Therefore, it can act like slack in a rope. If we move our elbow slightly the hand will follow. How much we 'throw' our elbow, can determine where our hand will end up.

Fixed position chromatic guitar exercises also offer us an opportunity to program motion and send individual instructions to each finger in a repeated manner. Fixed means we do not shift, yet we do expand the term fixed to include scales with slight shifiting.

A real insight to playing can occur when we experience being a step ahead while relaxed.

As we play a tone, we are planning the next one.

We snap to the next location - in our pick (leave) & in our fretting hand.