Lesson 2: Warm Ups I can't stress enough the importance of working with a metronome. When doing scale warm ups start out slowly enough that you can play the entire passage cleanly and precisely. Over time you should increase the tempo of the metronome. It might not be a bad idea to use a notebook to keep track of your tempo markings as you progress. This exercise, based on the diminished scale is great for developing a good jazz swing feel. To get the most out of it, exaggerate the accented notes, and pick all the others very lightly. Follow the fingerings carefully, and use strict alternate picking, as indicated: Ex. 1 Practice the above exercise reversing the picking direction by starting with an upstroke. The next example is a variation of the above. In this version all notes fretted with the 1st finger will be accented. Ex. 2 Again, practice the above exercise reversing the picking direction by starting with an upstroke. <<Back to Lesson Index

Scott Sorkin plays Ribbecke and Chapin guitars, and Breedlove mandolins. © 2005, Scott Sorkin. All rights reserved. email: scott@scottsorkin.com