Solo drills

One note per click, low E to high e and back. No speed. The only goal is that the last note of the descent is as clean as the first note of the ascent.

e|---------------------5-8-
B|-----------------5-8-----
G|-------------5-7---------
D|---------5-7-------------
A|-----5-7-----------------
E|-5-8---------------------

Play notes 1-2, then 2-3, then 3-4, and so on up the box. Sequencing is how a scale starts sounding like music instead of an exercise — and it forces the picking hand to keep working while the left hand overlaps.

E|-5-8-8-5-   then A 5-7, 7-5, …

G string 5, G string 7, B string 5 — then wait a full beat. Repeat. That silence is not a gap in the drill; it is the drill. Say the cell out loud in the rest.

e|-----------------
B|--------5--------
G|-5--7------------
D|-----------------   then a full beat rest

Pick the G string at fret 5, then hammer the ring finger onto 7 — hard and straight down, no pick. Pull off by flicking the ring finger sideways off the string while the index still holds fret 5. Only the first note is picked.

G|-5h7p5-|   pick, hammer, pull

The same hammer-pull, four per click, on one pick attack per beat. Left-hand strength, and the first thing that sounds like a real solo. Keep the index anchored.

G|-5h7p5h7p5h7p5-|   one pick per beat

Pick fret 5 on the G string and slide to 7 without lifting the finger or re-picking. Then the other direction, 7 back to 5. Keep the pressure constant — most slides die halfway because the hand relaxes.

G|-5/7-|   then  |-7\5-|

B string fret 8, ring finger, with index and middle behind it for support. Pick, then push the string toward the ceiling until the pitch matches fret 9. The model plays the start note, then the target — match it by ear, not by how far your hand moved.

B|-8b9-|   match fret 9

Run four notes of the box and stop on an A — low E fret 5, D string fret 7, or high e fret 5. Ending on the root is why a phrase sounds finished. Try the same four notes ending somewhere else and hear the difference.

e|-5-                 A
D|----7-              A
E|-------5-           A

The model plays two bars, then leaves two bars for you. Answer with something similar but not identical — same rhythm, different ending note is a good first answer. Keep the metronome running through your turn.

| model  | model  | you    | you    |

A minor pentatonic plus E♭ — the blues note. In box 1 that is G-string fret 8 (or D-string fret 6). Use it as a passing tone, then resolve to D or E. Not a jazz altered scale.

e|-----------------
B|-----------------
G|-5--8--7--------   A  Eb  D
D|-----------------
A|-----------------
E|-----------------

Notes 1–2–3–4, then 2–3–4–5, up the box. Heavier sequencing than pairs. Still one shape; the ear starts to hear groups instead of a ladder.

E|-5-8-5-7-|   then shift the four-note window

Two strings at once — G and B at fret 5, then 7 and 8. Fourths and a pentatonic dyad. Hold them; they are the start of a rhythm-lead fill, not a chord.

B|-5----8-
G|-5----7-

B string fret 8 bent to match fret 10 (A to B). Same support fingers as the half-step. The model plays start, then target. Do not go past it.

B|-8b10-|   match fret 10

Four notes of the box, then land on a tone of Am, G, or Em in turn. The last note is the sentence. Same idea as drill 8, now moving with a three-chord map.

land A (Am) · G (G) · E (Em)

The loop plays Am for two bars, then leaves two bars. Improvise only in box 1. Land on A. Play-along twins: Am folk, Em–C–G–D, 12-bar.

| Am     | Am     | you    | you    |

Down-up-down-up, never two downs in a row. First on one string (G fret 5), then crossing to B fret 5. Outside picking: the pick comes from outside the pair of strings. Inside: it comes from between them. Both should sound identical.

one string          crossing (G → B)
G|-5-5-5-5-5-5-    G|-5---5---5-
B|----------------  B|---5---5---5-   ↓ ↑

Alternate until you change strings, then keep the same direction across the change so the pick does not reverse in the gap. Three notes on D (5–7–9), then three on G starting with another down. Two downs in a row at the string change is the point, not a mistake.

G|-------------5--7--9-
D|-5--7--9-------------
    ↓  ↑  ↓  ↓  ↑  ↓     two downs at the change

One continuous stroke across adjacent strings — a rake, not six separate alternate picks. Left hand plants one note at a time and mutes the last, or the strings smear. Am triad, fret 5 neighbourhood. Slow. Pick path first on Sweep picking · lesson 1. Metal rhythm stays on Metal drills; the sweep lives here.

up                          down
e|-------------5-           e|-5-------------
B|----------5----           B|----5----------
G|-------5-------           G|-------5-------
D|----7----------           D|----------7----
A|-7-------------           A|-------------7-
E|----------------          E|----------------

Alternate sixteenths on one pitch (G fret 5). Not a metal chug — the note rings, the pick is small. Add bpm only when a full minute is even.

G|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-   ↓↑  ringing

Pick plays a bass note; middle finger (or ring) plucks a treble string. Country and southern-rock lead use this more than metal. On Am: pick A-string fret 7, finger high e fret 5.

e|-----5-     finger
A|-7--------- pick

Play G fret 5, skip B, play high e fret 5. The gap is the drill — the pick travels past a string without hitting it. Then skip two: D fret 7 to high e fret 5.

e|-----5-        e|-----5-
B|-------        B|-------
G|-5-----        G|-------
D|-------        D|-7-----

A C E across the neck at fret 5–7. Alternate pick, one note per click, then eighths. This is the slow version of the sweep above.

e|----------------5-
B|-------------5----
G|----------5-------
D|-------7----------
A|----7-------------
E|-5----------------   A  E  A  C  E  A

Same neighbourhood. C: C E G. Em: E G B. Play them as slowly as Am. When a backing chord changes, land on a tone of that triad — drill 14 with names.

C                   Em
e|-------------8-   e|-------------7-
B|----------5----   B|----------8----
G|-------5-------   G|-------4-------
D|----5----------   D|----5----------
A|-3-------------   A|-7-------------

One triad per bar, eighths. The left hand shifts a little; the right hand does not panic. This is how arpeggios become music instead of a shape exam.

| Am arp | C arp | Em arp | Em arp |

Pick the first note on a string; hammer (and pull) the rest. D string 5–7–5, then G 5–7–5. The unpicked notes must be as loud as the picked one or it is just a smear.

G|----------5h7p5-
D|-5h7p5----------

Same as rock mute, on a single-note line. G 5–7–5–7, short. Staccato lead, not a chord chug. Release the palm on the last note so it sings.

G|-5-7-5-7-|   P.M. then last note open

Touch the string lightly over the fretwire (do not press to the fretboard), pick, then lift. Twelfth fret is the octave; seventh is a fifth above that; fifth is two octaves. High e: 12, 7, 5. The model plays the sounding pitches — your hand supplies the harmonic trick.

e|-<12>--<7>--<5>-   harmonics

Left hand holds G fret 5. Right-hand index taps fret 12, then pulls off to 8 (or 7), then to 5. One string. Generic motion — not a transcribed solo. Keep it slow enough that all three notes speak.

G|-5-t12-p8-p5-|   LH  RH tap  pull  pull

High e fret 8 rings A. B string fret 8 bends up to A (fret 10). Two strings, one pitch. The unbent note is the target the bend must match.

e|-8------
B|-8b10---   both sound A

Bend and release: pick, bend to the target, come back without picking again. Pre-bend: bend first, then pick, then release — the note starts already high. Two different sentences.

B|-8b10r8-|   then  |-(b10)8r8-|  pre-bend

Root and the same letter an octave higher: A on low E fret 5 with A on D-string fret 7. Mute the A string in between. Move the shape — two notes, one letter.

D|-7-
A|-x-
E|-5-   A + A

High e fret 5 (A) repeats while the G string moves 5–7–5–8. The repeated A is the drone; the moving notes are the line. Classical independence with a pick.

e|-5---5---5---5-
G|---5---7---5---8-

Repeating three adjacent strings, usually D–G–B, with a rolling pick. Country and mandolin colour. Pattern: D5, G5, B5, G5. Not a strum — one string at a time.

B|--------5-----5-
G|-----5-----5----
D|-5--------------

Walk into a chord tone from a fret below (or above). G 4–5, then G 6–5, landing on A (G-string fret 5 is C actually — use G 7 as D, approach 6–7). Approach D: fret 6 then 7. Generic Berklee-style approach, not a jazz enclosure study.

G|-6-7-|   then  |-8-7-|   into D