# Exercises — build technique

> Interactive page: [`exercises.html`](exercises.html)

Once your hands are awake (the [Drills](drills.md)), these longer exercises build even fretting, a locked right hand, and the coordination that turns a four-minute drill into real playing. They are the daily gym for guitarists — the same role [Piano · Exercises](/piano/exercises.md) plays next door.

**Technique path:** [Drills](drills.md) (short wake-ups) · Exercises (this gym) · style pages ([Folk](exercises-folk.md) · [Classical](exercises-classical.md) · [Rock](exercises-rock.md) · [Metal](exercises-metal.md) · [Solo](exercises-solo.md)) · full picking lessons on [Alternate](alternate.md) · [Economy](economy.md) · [Sweep](sweep.md).

> **Golden rules:** (1) *Slow first* — only speed up when it is clean. (2) *Metronome on* — start near 60. (3) *One skill a day* — left hand, pick, fingerstyle, or lead — not all at once. (4) *Stay relaxed* — never play through pain.

**Sources (two-check):** Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1 · Berklee guitar-lab habit of locking the right hand to a click · Carcassi / Sor / Giuliani for *pima* · conventional rock power-chord and minor-pentatonic box-1 shapes. Jazz and CAGED stay out.

Each card on the HTML page has written pedagogy, TAB (high e on top — see [Foundations · TAB](foundations.md)), and Play buttons. Play becomes Stop on the same button. Tempo follows the metronome.

Style gyms (folk pulse, *pima*, powers, gallop, box 1) live on the five style exercise pages. Scale and mode maps live on [Scales](scales.md) and [Modes](modes.md).

## Suggested order

1. [Chromatic 1-2-3-4](#left-hand) and chromatic across strings.
2. Spider · Stretch 1–4 · Hammer-on / pull-off cell.
3. Alternate picking · String cross · Palm-mute eighths.
4. Hands together — eighths plus changing fretted note, then boom-chick through a change.
5. Pick *one* style gym: [Folk](exercises-folk.md) · [Classical](exercises-classical.md) · [Rock](exercises-rock.md) · [Metal](exercises-metal.md) · [Solo](exercises-solo.md).
6. Scale and mode maps: [Scales](scales.md) and [Modes](modes.md).
7. Pair one card with a short study from [Method books](#method-books--guitars-daily-gym).
8. When the gym is honest but stale: [Break rut](break-rut.md) — one loop cell.

### Three tracks

- **Beginner** — chromatic · boom-chick on G · open-string names. Capo off. Stay near 60.
- **Intermediate** — spider · i–m or palm mute · E5–G5–A5 or Travis seed. Click at 70–80 when even.
- **Advanced** — independence or gallop · box 1 with a rest · one first-piece map. Silence counts.

## Left hand

One finger per fret: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Unused fingers hover. Same primer as [Drills · Hands](drills.md).

### Chromatic 1-2-3-4

On one string: frets 1–2–3–4, then the next string. Reverse walks 4–3–2–1.

```
e|-----------------
B|-----------------
G|-----------------
D|-----------------
A|-----------------
E|-1-2-3-4---------   then A, D, G, B, e
```

Even volume on every note.

### Chromatic across strings

Continue 1-2-3-4 across all six strings without stopping, then reverse all the way back.

```
E|-1-2-3-4-
A|-1-2-3-4-
D|-1-2-3-4-
G|-1-2-3-4-
B|-1-2-3-4-
e|-1-2-3-4-   then reverse
```

### Spider

Finger 1 on high e fret 1, 2 on B fret 2, 3 on G fret 3, 4 on D fret 4 — then reverse.

```
e|-1---------------
B|---2-------------
G|-----3-----------
D|-------4---------
```

### Stretch 1–4 ladder

Index on fret 1, pinky on fret 4 — walk the pair across several strings. Move to frets 5–8 when 1–4 feels honest.

```
e|-1-----4---------
B|-1-----4---------
G|-1-----4---------
D|-1-----4---------   1 and 4 together
```

### Hammer-on / pull-off cell

Pick G fret 5, hammer 7, pull back to 5. Only the first note is picked.

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

Deeper: [Solo drills · hammer-on and pull-off](drills-solo.md).

### Left-hand variants

On the HTML page: pattern (1-2-3-4, 4-3-2-1, 1-3-2-4, 1-2-4-3, 1-4-3-2, groups of 3, spider shift) × start string × start fret.

## Right hand · pick

The click owns the right hand. Stamina and syncopated mute: [Rock exercises](exercises-rock.md). Gallop and muted chug: [Metal exercises](exercises-metal.md).

### Alternate picking

One open string, down-up-down-up locked to the click. Full path: [Alternate picking](alternate.md) · [Alternate lab](alternate-lab.md). After alternate is honest: [Economy picking](economy.md).

```
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-   ↓ ↑
```

### String cross

Low E → D → high e and back.

```
e|-----------0---0-
D|-----0-----------0-
E|-0-------------------
```

### Palm-mute eighths

Palm on the bridge, open low E, two hits per click. Pitch stays; ring dies.

```
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-   P.M.
```

### Pick variants

Feel (eighths / triplets / sixteenths / gallop) × string (E A D G) × open or palm mute. Dedicated gallop gym: [Metal exercises](exercises-metal.md).

## Hands together

Guitar twin of piano syncing. See [Piano · hand syncing](/piano/exercises.md).

### Eighths plus changing fretted note

Right hand alternate eighths on open low E. Left hand holds A-string frets 2, 3, 5, 7 — changing every two beats.

```
RH  E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|   ↓ ↑
LH  A|-2-------3-------5-------7---|
```

### Boom-chick through G→C→D

Keep boom-chick running while the left hand moves. The right hand must not pause for the change. Same loop as [Folk exercises · G–C–D](exercises-folk.md).

### Thumb bass + i–m treble

Thumb steady on open D while i and m alternate on high e.

```
    1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
e|----0-------0---   i / m
D|-0---0---0---0-   p
```

## Method books — guitar's daily gym

Piano has Hanon. Guitar has public-domain studies on [IMSLP](https://imslp.org/) — titles only; we do not print the notes. Pair one exercise card with one short study:

- **Sor Op. 60** nos. 1–3 — [Classical · first pieces](drills-classical.md)
- **Carcassi Op. 60** nos. 1–3 — melodious etudes; No. 1 in C is the usual door
- **Giuliani Op. 51** nos. 1–3 — same right-hand family as the pattern library
- **Giuliani's 120** (1812) — the pattern *family*, not numbered studies copied here

Hal Leonard Book 1 and Berklee lab practice cover the pick / chromatic spine. See [Resources](resources.md). *pima* gym: [Classical exercises](exercises-classical.md).

## Quick replay lab

On the HTML page, pick a **family** and **exercise** to hear the model again or jump to the full lesson card. Shared families only: left hand, pick, hands together.

## A 10-minute daily routine

1. **2 min — wake-up** — chromatic or spider ([Drills · Hands](drills.md) or Left hand cards).
2. **2 min — right hand** — alternate pick or palm mute at 60. Stay loose.
3. **3 min — one skill** — pick *one* style gym ([Folk](exercises-folk.md) · [Classical](exercises-classical.md) · [Rock](exercises-rock.md) · [Metal](exercises-metal.md) · [Solo](exercises-solo.md)), or one [Break rut](break-rut.md) cell if the gym feels stale.
4. **2 min — deepen** — the matching [style drills](drills-folk.md) page.
5. **1 min — music** — one loop on [Play along](songs.md).

## Break rut

When the gym is honest but the hands still play yesterday’s shapes, loop *one* cell until the motion is a twitch. Break the habit. No target tempo. Full lab with note-for-note TAB and slow Play models (4 loops): [Break rut](break-rut.md).

Original gym cells — not transcribed licks. Jobs: cascade a scale, loop a sweep, economy in fives, selective picking, hybrid with an open string, mix three techniques, pedal doubles, octave tap, pick-jump.

1. [Cascade threes](break-rut.html#cascade)
2. [Sweep chain](break-rut.html#sweep-chain)
3. [Pentatonic roll](break-rut.html#pent-roll)
4. [Economy fives](break-rut.html#econ-fives)
5. [Selective cell](break-rut.html#selective)
6. [Hybrid open](break-rut.html#hybrid)
7. [Triple mix](break-rut.html#triple)
8. [Pedal doubles](break-rut.html#pedal)
9. [Octave tap](break-rut.html#octap)
10. [Sweep jump](break-rut.html#sweep-jump)

## By style

- [Folk exercises](exercises-folk.md) — boom-chick, Travis, G–C–D. Drills: [Folk](drills-folk.md).
- [Classical exercises](exercises-classical.md) — *pima*. Drills: [Classical](drills-classical.md).
- [Rock exercises](exercises-rock.md) — powers, stamina, syncopated mute. Drills: [Rock](drills-rock.md).
- [Metal exercises](exercises-metal.md) — chug, gallop. Drills: [Metal](drills-metal.md).
- [Solo exercises](exercises-solo.md) — box 1. Drills: [Solo](drills-solo.md).
- [Break rut](break-rut.md) — ten loop cells when the gym is stale.

Scale and mode labs: [Scales](scales.md) · [Modes](modes.md).

Continue: [Drills](drills.md) · [Play along](songs.md) · [Resources](resources.md)