Tremolo Exercises

Exercises 1-2-3

Hints: All three exercises can each be repeated in a continuous loop. Be very relaxed as you perform these exercises, and go very slow at first. Have an evenness in tone, volume, and spacing in the tremolo, even at a slow speed. Only after you can perform these exercises with total evenness should you attempt to speed up the tremolo a bit. Remember, developing a tremolo is a long process, and attempting to skip steps will result in a bad and sloppy tremolo.

slurs hammer/pull off

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Hints: You should first see the video “Slurs technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest you do these exercises in order. This lesson encompasses both the Hammer on and Pull off technique’s, so you must have practiced each individually before you seriously attempt to do these exercises. Fatique will easily set in with this exercise, which may affect your strength and form. Take many mini breaks if you have to, but don’t sacrifice correct form and sound just to get through them. The pinky finger is by far the hardest to built up strength and accuracy in, so pay close attention to it and look at it’s development as a long term goal, but definitely don’t skip it just because it is “inconvenient”.

slurs pull off

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Hints: You should first see the video “Slurs technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest you do these exercises in order. Remember, simply lifting your finger to pull off isn’t enough to get a clear sound; you have to “pull” on the string and actually pluck it again with your left hand finger. Make sure that the pulled off note isn’t any louder than the first note, and watch that you produce a clean sound.

slurs hammer on

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Hints: You should first see the video “Slurs technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest you do them in order. Like any new technique you learn, you should start out slow to really grasp all the correct movements needed to do the technique correctly. Speed comes only after correct form and sound.

thumb excercise2 tab

Exercise 7

Exercise 8

Exercise 9

Hints: You should first see the video lesson “Thumb technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest doing all these exercises in order. You must be able to do “Thumb exercise 1″ well before you do these exercises because it includes more difficult freestroke parts. Don’t try to do these exercises fast. Speed will come with time, just focus on correct form and always be aware of all your movements.

thumb excercise1 tab

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Hints: You should first see the video lesson “Thumb technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest doing all these exercises in order if you are new to using your thumb. You should also have practiced freestroke before doing these thumb exercises because many of the exercises incorporate freestroke parts. Go to the “Exercises” section of this site to look for freestroke exercises.

reststroke excercise2 tab

Exercise 6

Exercise 7

Exercise 8

Hints: You should first see the video lesson “Reststroke technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest doing all these exercises in order. All these exercises can be done up to the fifth string A, so work on doing them on the first string E first, and when you think you have gotten the hang of it, go to the second string B, and so on. Reststroke cannot be done on the sixth string E because there are no strings below it in which to “rest” upon.

reststroke excercise1 tab

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Hints: You should first see the video lesson “Reststroke technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest doing all these exercises in order if you are new to reststroke. Take your time with each one, start out slow if you have to. Speed will come with time, now you are focusing on correct form.

freestroke excercise2 tab

Exercise 7

Exercise 8

Exercise 9

Exercise 10

Hints: You should first see the video lesson “Freestroke technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest doing all these exercises in order. All these exercises can be done on all six strings, so work on doing them on the first string E first, and when you think you have gotten the hang of it, go to the second string B, and so on.

freestroke excercise1 tab

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Hints: You should first see the video lesson “Freestroke technique” in the “Technique” section of this site before attempting to do any of these exercises. I suggest doing all these exercises in order if you are new to freestroke. Take your time with each one, start out slow if you have to. Speed will come with time, now you are focusing on correct form.