Rock exercises

Root plus fifth, mute everything else, then lock the right hand. Power-chord gym plus rock-leaning pick (downstroke stamina, syncopated mute). Short wake-ups: Rock drills. Gallop and chug stamina: Metal exercises.

Technique path: Drills · Exercises · this page

Each card has pedagogy, TAB (high e on top — see Foundations · TAB), and Play. One model at a time; Play becomes Stop. Tempo follows the metronome.

Sources (two-check): conventional root-fifth voicings and palm-mute technique as taught in Hal Leonard rock method material · Berklee-style right-hand-to-click practice. Generic shapes — no copied riffs.

Suggested order

  1. E5 shape.
  2. E5→G5→A5.
  3. Across E5–A5–D5.
  4. Mute check.
  5. Downstroke stamina.
  6. Syncopated mute.
  7. Power-chord variants.

Beginner

E5 alone, clean and quiet. Then slide it to G5 and A5.

Intermediate

Across strings. Mute check. Downstroke stamina on E5.

Advanced

Syncopated mute. Power variants up the neck. Then Rock drills.

Power chords

Root plus fifth, mute everything else. Same shape, different fret or string. Rock drills · power chords deepens the set.

E5 shape

Open low E plus A string fret 2. Nothing else should ring. Strike once and listen — if you hear a high string, muting is not there yet.

e|-x-
B|-x-
G|-x-
D|-x-
A|-2-
E|-0-   E5

Index can lightly touch unused strings above the fretted notes.

E5 → G5 → A5

Same shape, different fret. One bar each. Move the whole hand as a block — do not rebuild the shape finger by finger.

E5      G5      A5
A|-2-    -5-     -7-
E|-0-    -3-     -5-

Deeper: Rock drills · moving powers.

Across E5–A5–D5

E5, then A5, then D5 (A-string root). Identical shape, different string. Keep the mute when the hand crosses.

E5      A5      D5
D|-x-    -x-     -7-
A|-2-    -7-     -5-
E|-0-    -5-     -x-

Deeper: Rock drills · across strings.

Mute check

Strike each power shape once and listen. Walk E5, G5, A5, D5 in order. Any ringing treble string means the mute needs work before you loop at tempo.

E5   G5   A5   D5
A|-2- -5- -7- -5-
E|-0- -3- -5- -x-

Silence between strikes is part of the drill — let the note die before the next shape.

Power-chord variants

Start on a root fret and cycle three shapes up the neck (two frets between each).

Rock pick

Core alternate pick and palm-mute eighths stay on the Exercises hub. Here: stamina and the off-beat mute that makes a riff breathe. Metal gallop: Metal exercises.

Downstroke stamina on E5

E5 on every click, all downstrokes, unmuted. Two minutes in real practice. Volume comes from the amp — keep the wrist small and the arm quiet.

A|-2-
E|-0-   all ↓

If the forearm burns, the pick grip is too tight. Deeper: Rock drills · downstroke stamina.

Syncopated mute

Hit on beat 1 and on the & of beats 2 and 4 — the off-beats speak while the downbeats breathe. Alternate E5 and G5 each bar. Generic rock rhythm, not a copied riff.

    1  &  2  &  3  &  4  &
E|-x--0--x--0--x--0--x--0-|  P.M. on x

Deeper: Rock drills · syncopated mute.

Practice note

How long: 8–10 minutes. Two on E5, four on moving powers, two on stamina or sync.

Listen for: leftover strings staying dead, and downs that do not rush the click.

Then deepen: Rock drills (octave shape, 12-bar powers, first pieces). Lead box 1: Solo exercises.

Exercises home Rock drills Metal exercises