The Chromatic Scale - The Most Important Exercise for Every Guitarist

I had already been playing guitar for 7 years when I learned this technique building exercise. I was fortunate that my instructor, Arnold Lessing, a professor of Music and Guitar from the Santa Monica College, lived right up the street from me. He accepted me as a student at age 15, I was thrilled!

This is the first subject Arnold spoke with me about.

The chromatic scale also appears in Scott Tennant’s book titled “Pumping Nylon”, as the first exercise for building your technique. I highly recommend the book for any guitarist who want to improve their skills.

It’s just a simple chromatic scale played in the open position, it only takes a few minutes to warm up with, and the benefits are huge. After teaching this to all my students for the last 34 years, I have refined the detailed procedure to play it and get the most out of it.

You will increase your flexibility, build strength, dexterity, precision, synchronization, anticipation ability, and overall control of your dynamics.

Standard notation:

Tablature:

To begin:

1. Plant fingers 1-4 on the 6th string (behind each fret) start with the 4th finger.

2. Lift fingers 1-4 about 1/4 -1/2 inch above the 6th string, try to keep them straight, and spaced evenly over the frets.

3. Start playing the exercise with strict alternate picking, or fingerstyle alternating with right hand fingers i,m. For left hand fingering, use the same fingers that corresponds to the frets (1-4).

4. As you play each note, and press the string down to the fret, keep each finger planted until you switch to the next string. When you switch to the next string, be sure to lift the fingers carefully (1/4 - 1/2 inch) above the next string, keep them spaced evenly over the frets, lined up with the string, and continue playing the exercise.

5. When you get to the first string, start descending, lifting your fingers one at a time. Remember to only lift each finger 1/4-1/2 inch, and keep them over the string, and lined up with the string. Then plant them all at once on the next string, and continue descending.

6. Repeat a few times, and use a metronome if you have one, slowly at first to develop control, one click per note. Speed the metronome up, only after you can play the exercise perfect, three times in a row without mistakes.

7. There are no accents, the dynamics should be even from note to note, try not to play louder of softer. However, I do recommend playing a little louder than normal, at forte preferably, this builds more strength in the right hand.

This way of playing the exercise works on flexibility, control, and the prepare to play concept.

The exercise should also be practiced with only one finger down at a time, which will develop good synchronization for the left and right hand working together.

Try some slurs with it as well (hammer ons and pull offs), make those fingers burn!

After a few weeks, you will notice the benefits, you should develop more control, and increase your speed, much of what you play will become easier.

This really helps with playing chords. For example, if you are trying to play a Cmaj7/G chord, plant all your fingers on the 4th string(frets 1-4).

Now lift the 4th finger and move it to the 3rd string 4th fret, 3rd finger to 6th string 3rd fret, and 1st finger to the 2nd string 1st fret, keep the 2nd finger planted where it is, and there is your Cmaj7/G chord. The 5th string is not used.