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Guitar Speed Drills: Building Coordination Through Unfamiliar Patterns

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Guitar Speed Drills: Building Coordination Through Unfamiliar Patterns

©2017 Jesse Allain

The guitar has a disconnected and complex nature as of the player’s hands selects the
pitches to be played while the other hand physically attacks the string that the pitch
resides on, setting the string into vibration. When explained in this way, a mastery of the
guitar would seem to be one of the most marvelous feats of human dexterity but while
guitarists are subconsciously aware of this process it is not is often studied.

This particular topic has been of great interest to me for over 10 years and I have
studied guitar coordination and dexterity ever since. The ten Speed Drills analyzed in
this article utilize strict alternate picking (Figure 1) to build coordination with specifically
unfamiliar patterns. Each Speed Drill presents a different pattern whereby playing the
exercise repeatedly through all 12 musical keys will allow one to acquire the pattern by
procedural memory.

By focusing attention on single­note playing with an emphasis on the awareness of

coordination, one will begin to realize increased speed potential. The first seven drills
are scalar exercises where pick to fret hand coordination is linear. Here, memorizing the
scale pattern is essential and allows for more attention to be paid to coordinating the
hands in perfect synchronicity.

The final three drills use arpeggio shapes to focus on crossing the strings while
maintaining a high level of awareness to both the hands and the music. It will be
admittedly difficult to memorize the final three drills due to their complexity. But it will be
worth the effort once the patterns begin to appear in your own improvisations as your
hands become an extension of your psyche.

Figure 1: All speed drills will utilize and alternate picking pattern beginning with a down stroke.
Instructions

The first seven Speed Drills utilize a common major scale fingering pattern with an
inbuilt “C” chord (Figure 2). This scale pattern begins and ends on the root in the first
seven Speed Drills. All drills are written in the key of “C” for simplicity but they must be
played in all 12 musical keys in order to properly assimilate the patterns into procedural
memory. Memorize the scale pattern in all 12 keys before attempting the drills.

All note durations are sixteenth and should be counted as such regardless of tempo.
The indicated tempo for each drill is 120 beats per minute where a quarter note receives
one beat. All drills must be played with a metronome or other perfect time­keeping
device. Note that 120 bpm is a goal tempo and should not be attempted at first. A good
tempo to begin with is 60 beats per minute provided you are already familiar with the
scale pattern being used.

In any case where a greater speed on an instrument

is desired, it makes sense to justify the need for an
increase. My personal argument for the cause is
rooted in improvisation. I believe that when
improvising one should be able to play whatever
they are inspired to play and not be inhibited by
technical limitations. The lack of adequate speed is
often one of these handicaps. When played
diligently and with progressive tempo increase only
when a perfectly clean performance is achieved, a
refined dexterity will allow for such speed to become
a natural technique.

Figure 2: Major Scale Pattern (drills 1­7)

In the final three drills there are six common 4­note arpeggio shapes used. The
arpeggios are permuted through the first octave and then repeated through the second
octave. Major seventh (Figure 3), minor seventh (Figure 4) and dominant seventh
(Figure 5) shapes are used, the latter two should also provide a significant fret­hand
stretch anywhere below the 5th position.
Figure 3: Major seventh arpeggio shapes shown in two octaves, each beginning on the root.

Figure 4: Minor seventh arpeggio shapes shown, beginning on the root. Note the stretches.

Figure 5: Dominant seventh arpeggio shapes shown, beginning on the root. Note the stretch.
Playing in All Keys

There are many ways to achieve playing in all keys. Refer to the table in Figure 6 for
alternatives to the chromatic approach.

Pattern Key

WT G A B C# D# F F# E D C Bb Ab

P4 G C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D

P5 G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# F C

DIM G Bb Db E G# B D F A C Eb Gb

AUG G B D# Ab C E A C# E# Bb D Gb

Figure 6: Alternative algorithms to playing any musical example through all 12 keys.

The “WT” pattern refers to Whole­Tone which means whole­step. This pattern ascends
through the whole­tone scale then bumps up a half­step and descends through the 2nd
whole­tone scale. The “P4” and “P5” patterns are simply ascending through keys by a
perfect fourth and perfect fifth interval, respectively. “DIM” refers to a diminished pattern
where the drill is played starting on each tone of the 3 diminished chords. Finally the
“AUG” pattern uses the 4 augmented chords played by starting on each tone of the

Speed Drill 1: Two­Note Groups

In the first drill (Figure 7) the major scale pattern is divided into groups of two notes
(C­D, D­E, etc.). It is also important to see that each group of two notes is played twice.
The last note of the first group is the same pitch as the first note of the next group. This
series continues until the root is reached on the 1st string. At this point the note order
reverses direction all the way back to the root on the 6th string.

As indicated in the notation, the drill restarts on the key one half­step above where it
initially began. To continue any of these patterns through all 12 keys would be difficult if
one were to begin on C due to shrinking fret spacing as the keys ascend. If a chromatic
approach to playing through all keys is to be used, I recommend beginning with the key
of Gb in the 1st position and ascending up to the key of Gb in the 13th position.
Figure 7: Speed Drill 1 requires close attention to string crossing due to the small note groups.
Speed Drill 2: Three­Note Groups

Breaking away from the 4/4 notation, drill 2 (Figure 8) uses 3/8 time due to the use of
three­note groups. On the metronome, set the tempo to a comfortable speed and play
the notes at the same speed as in the previous drill. Maintain strict alternate picking
beginning each group with whichever stroke is next, do not begin each group by playing
a downstroke (this is a type of picking that will not be used in these speed drills).

The challenge with drill 2 is that the picking hand will want to break the pattern when the
fretting hand does so. In other words, after the group is repeated and the fretting hand
advances to the next group, the picking hand will have the tendency to change what it is
doing as well. Be aware of this interplay between the brain and the hands and do not
allow any variation from strict alternate picking.
Figure 8: Maintain alternate picking as strictly as possible in Speed Drill 2.
Speed Drill 3: Four­Note Groups

With 4­note groups (Figure 9) we will be playing more than one half of one octave of
the scale. As more of the scale content exists per group, the ear will tend to anticipate
and expect the scale to be completed. By playing each ascending group at a fast tempo
a strong “climbing” effect is created.
 Figure 9: The use of 4­note groups at a fast tempo creates a strong ascending effect.

Speed Drill 4: Five­Note Groups

A group of five notes is assuredly more difficult to play simply due to the fact that most
note groupings in music are divisible by 2 or 3. In drill 4 (Figure 10) there are repeating
groups of five notes which will present a new challenge if one has not played odd note
groupings before. Practice assimilating the feel of fives by accenting each first note of
any given group: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ­ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ­ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ­ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Figure 10: Five­note groups can be played by accenting each first note in the group.
Speed Drill 5: Six­Note Groups:

When playing six­note groups (Figure 11) one may have the tendency to group them
into 2 sets of three by accenting the first and fourth note of the group. Accent only the
first note in the group. If this proves difficult, try playing a deliberate decrescendo from
notes 2­6, then the accent on the next 1 will seem to be stronger.
 Figure 11: Resist the urge to break each group of six into 2 groups of three.

Speed Drill 6: Seven­Note Groups

Spanning almost a complete octave with each group, drill 6 (Figure 12) is a challenging
technical exercise for the fret hand due to the string crossing from the highest note of a
group back down to the lowest note of a group. Coordinate these movements at a slow
tempo so fingering will be highly accurate when a higher speed is achieved. Also, pay
close attention to pick­stroke direction during the wide string cross.
Figure 12: Note the wide string crossing between the highest and lowest notes.
Speed Drill 7: Ascending­Descending Groups

Utilizing a classic speed­building exercise, drill 7 (Figure 13) employs a scalar 5­notes
up 4­notes down approach for each group. Pay close attention to the last note of each
group; it will be a third lower than the previous note instead of the second used on the
first time through.
.
Figure 13: In Speed Drill 7 the last note in each group is a third lower than the previous note.
Speed Drill 8: Major Seventh Permutations:

Shifting focus from scalar exercises to arpeggio content, drill 8 (Figure 14) will present
a unique challenge to most. These drills are based on the concept of permutation which
is a notion in mathematics that deals with arranging all members in a set into a
sequence or order. By applying this principle to an arpeggio, we are able to realize all
possible note orders of the given group of notes, in this case 4­notes which have 24
possible note orders.

The permutation­based speed drills are all written in 6/4 time to illustrate the six note
orders that are possible from each inversion of the arpeggio. Each permutation begins
with a “parent” arpeggio which is arranged in its natural order and fits within one octave.
For example, the first arpeggio given is in root position for a C major 7th chord
(C­E­G­B) then is followed by all of the consecutive permutations with “C” as the starting
note within one octave.

The second arpeggio is the first inversion of the Cmaj7 beginning on the 3rd of the
chord (E­G­B­C) and continuing through the consecutive permutations from “E”. The
third arpeggio is the chord in second inversion beginning on its 5th (G­B­C­E) and
continuing through the consecutive permutations from “G”. Finally, the third inversion is
given and begins on the chordal 7th (B­C­E­G) and continues through all permutations
from “B”.

Notice that each set of six permutations has the same starting note; this is to clarify the
different options that are available when playing only 4 notes. If practiced diligently,
these permutation examples will prove to be an excellent improvisational vehicle.

Be sure to have the notation when you play these permutation­based speed drills. You
may also have to begin at a slower tempo due to the increased complexity in note order.
It is advisable to isolate each measure (group of 1 parent and 5 permutations) slowly
practicing until they feel more familiar. Do this until the first octave can be completed
flawlessly at a moderate tempo (80 bpm). Repeat the isolation process while working in
the second octave and continue until both octaves can be played seamlessly. Only at
this point should a tempo increase be made.
Figure 14: Speed Drill 8 provides a challenge by permuting the notes of a major 7th arpeggio.
Speed Drill 9: Minor Seventh Permutations:

Adding to the common chords that an improvising musician plays over, Speed Drill 9
(Figure 15) uses the minor seventh chord as a platform for the permutation concept.
The fret­hand shape used here will present a stretch for most players in sub­fifth
positions.
Figure 15: Permuting the minor 7th chord to expand improvisational abilities while building speed.
Speed Drill 10: Dominant Seventh Permutations:

The final Speed Drill (Figure 16) extends the permutation speed­building concept to the
ever present dominant seventh chord. As with the minor seventh arpeggios used
previously, the dominant seventh arpeggios should present a good stretch.
Figure 16: Speed Drill 10 uses dominant 7th arpeggios to further extend the permutation concept.
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Continual Development

The development of speed is a continual process that once acquired must be

maintained. This is best done in the same way that the speed was acquired; to push the
limits of fastest possible tempo one can flawlessly play. Isolation techniques are useful
in targeting the “problem” sections of any given passage and these Speed Drills target
the most important areas of study for alternate picking.

Once these exercises are mastered, one may choose to apply these note­grouping
concepts to other scales and the permutation exercises to other arpeggios. This can be
done to aim for a complete mastery of the instrument or simply for the sake of variety. In
any case, the development of speed will bring us one step closer toward the goal of an
uninhibited performance where a lack of speed is no longer a restriction.

Jesse Allain is a guitarist and educator from Massachusetts, U.S.A. He holds a B.A. in
Music and an M.M. in Music Education. He is the author of the guitar instructional books
the Working Guitarist Series and Pick Control.