This is a warm-up routine that I have used with both individual students and my high school
guitar classes. It covers the length of the guitar, from the open string, up to the octave and is a
way to learn how to shift from one position to another in a smooth manner, while keeping the
same hand position.
Ideally you would play this with a metronome set a comfortable tempo that allows you to stay
in time and not rush or drag behind the beat. You can use this too as a purely technical
exercise, as I demonstrate in the video, using first quarter notes, then eighth and finally
sixteenth notes. The PDF shows only quarter notes.
I have also had students use it as a way to become familiar with the notes along each guitar
string, having them call out the notes as they move from one fret to the other, being sure to
refer to the notes going up the fretboard, toward the twelfth or octave fret as sharps (where
appropriate) and when descending down to the lower string calling those same pitches flats.
Thus, on the way up, the frets 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 on the low E, sixth string are: F# (2), G# (4), A#(6),
C#(9), D# (11). Descending we would refer to these frets in their enharmonic terms (from high to
low): Eb (11), Db (9) , Bb (6), Ab (4), Gb (2)
Having a fretboard diagram as a reference with all the notes laid out from the open string up to
the octave at the twelfth fret should help in the memorization of the notes.
What is a position on the guitar?
When referring to a position on the guitar it is any four fret span, with each finger getting an
assigned fret.
Let’s say that we are in first position. Our index finger would play everything that is on the first
fret; our middle finger, the second fret; ring finger the third and pinkie, the fourth fret. This
exercise starts first with each open string and then moves into first position, spanning the first
through the fourth fret; moves to fifth:fifth through eighth and then ends up in ninth, which
covers the ninth through twelfth fret.
Hand position is important!
Just like correct piano technique, we play the guitar using the tips of our fingers and not our
pads. When playing this exercise, be sure and watch that your hand doesn’t start to fall so that
your knuckles are pointing toward the floor and instead are parallel with the the string itself.
When you move from one position to the next, your thumb should be directly behind your first
finger. Try to move your whole arm and hand as one unit and not as separate limbs.
Crawl before you can walk
This, like any other technical/warm-up exercise is not about speed but accuracy. If you want to
build up your tempo you must first start with a tempo that is manageable for you and allows
you to play comfortably in time. As you become more comfortable with one tempo, try moving
up the metronome five beats from your current tempo.
Chromatic Guitar String Walk-Up
