# Learn Guitar — Hands > Interactive page: [`drills.html`](drills.html) Short loops for the two hands before any music: one finger per fret, a pick locked to the click, then the two together. These are not songs. Evenness beats speed — start the metronome near 60. Which of these to play today, and for how long, is on [Today](routine.md). Where a drill is a shape or a picking pattern, **TAB** sits next to the explanation (high e on top). How to read it: [Foundations · TAB](foundations.md). Naming the notes under your fingers is its own lesson: [Notes on the neck](notes.md). **Golden rules:** (1) *Slow first* — only speed up when it is clean. (2) *Metronome on.* (3) *One new motion a day* — not all of them. (4) *Stay relaxed* — shake out tension; never play through pain. ## Wake-ups — four minutes One fret per finger: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Under each TAB: **LH** finger, **RH** D/U, then the note name. A moving bar on the TAB follows the sounding note. **Chromatic 1-2-3-4** — frets 1-2-3-4 on every string, low E up to high e. Reverse is 4-3-2-1, high e down to low E. Low E → high e: ``` e|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1---2---3---4 B|-------------------------------------------------------------------1---2---3---4---------------- G|---------------------------------------------------1---2---3---4-------------------------------- D|-----------------------------------1---2---3---4------------------------------------------------ A|-------------------1---2---3---4---------------------------------------------------------------- E|---1---2---3---4-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LH 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 RH D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U F F# G G# A# B C C# D# E F F# G# A A# B C C# D D# F F# G G# ``` High e → low E: ``` e|---4---3---2---1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B|-------------------4---3---2---1---------------------------------------------------------------- G|-----------------------------------4---3---2---1------------------------------------------------ D|---------------------------------------------------4---3---2---1-------------------------------- A|-------------------------------------------------------------------4---3---2---1---------------- E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------4---3---2---1 LH 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 RH D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U G# G F# F D# D C# C B A# A G# F# F E D# C# C B A# G# G F# F ``` **Spider** — one finger per fret on four adjacent strings, then reverse (1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1). Walk that shape down the neck: e–B–G–D, then B–G–D–A, then G–D–A–E. ``` e|---1---------------------------1---------------------------------------------------------------- B|-------2-------------------2-------1---------------------------1-------------------------------- G|-----------3-----------3---------------2-------------------2-------1---------------------------1 D|---------------4---4-----------------------3-----------3---------------2-------------------2---- A|-----------------------------------------------4---4-----------------------3-----------3-------- E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------4---4------------ LH 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 RH D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U F C# A# F# F# A# C# F C A F C# C# F A C G# E C G# G# C E G# ``` **Stretch** — index on fret 1, pinky on fret 4 of the same string, low E to high e. Move it to 5–8 when 1–4 feels honest. ``` e|-------------------------------------------1---4 B|-----------------------------------1---4-------- G|---------------------------1---4---------------- D|-------------------1---4------------------------ A|-----------1---4-------------------------------- E|---1---4---------------------------------------- LH 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 RH D U D U D U D U D U D U F G# A# C# D# F# G# B C D# F G# ``` **Alternate picking** — open low E, down-up eighths locked to the click. Then **string cross**: low E → D → high e → back. ``` e|-------------------------------- B|-------------------------------- G|-------------------------------- D|-------------------------------- A|-------------------------------- E|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0 LH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RH D U D U D U D U E E E E E E E E ``` ``` e|-----------0-------- B|-------------------- G|-------------------- D|-------0-------0---- A|-------------------- E|---0---------------0 LH 0 0 0 0 0 RH D U D U D E D E D E ``` ## Left hand — legato and variants One finger per fret: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Unused fingers hover. Once the wake-ups are even, keep the fingers honest with unpicked notes and with orders they do not expect. ### 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: [Lead · 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 — mute and feel The click owns the right hand. Stamina and syncopated mute: [Rock](drills-rock.md#right). Gallop and muted chug: [Metal](drills-metal.md#gallop). ### 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](drills-metal.md#gallop). ## Hands together Guitar twin of piano syncing. See [Piano · hand syncing](/sangeet-yatra/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 · G → C → D → G](drills-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 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](drills-classical.md). ## By style Once the hands are awake, each style has its own gym page: a suggested order, the drills, variants on any chord or root, and a practice note. Pick *one* per session — four focused minutes beats a tour of all five. | Page | What is on it | |------|---------------| | [Folk](drills-folk.md) | Boom-chick through Travis, walk-downs, lok with a change, first-pieces map (PD folk, Nepali lok, chords only) | | [Classical](drills-classical.md) | Full *pima* method plus first pieces and concert-hall names (Vivaldi to Wagner — IMSLP, no printed notes) | | [Rock](drills-rock.md) | Powers through 12-bar and syncopated mute, first-pieces map (I–IV–V / four-chord — no copied riffs) | | [Metal](drills-metal.md) | Chug through gallop-with-a-change, first-pieces map — an 8-bar rhythm you write, no transcribed riffs | | [Lead](drills-solo.md) | Box 1 to a phrase: articulations, arpeggios, harmonics, first pieces over a loop |