Electric Guitar: Nonmusical Sounding Exercises and Licks

One of the things I greatly dislike about finger exercises for the electric guitar is that most of them do not sound particularly musical, which may have a negative effect upon one's ears and/or their musical career if they are played too often. Nevertheless, atonal melodies also have a place in music so long as they are not used too much - (perhaps they aren't as debilitating as I think).

Below is one of the first finger exercises I ever learned on the electric guitar. I remember sitting in my garage when I was 14 playing this exercise for hours on a cheapo Silvertone electric with thick 0.12 guage strings. I didn't like the sound of it then and I surely don't like how it sounds now, but I believe it still has significance for improving one's finger dexterity and agility. Here is the exercise:

|-0-2-1-3-2-4-3-2-0-3-2-4-3-5-4-3-|-0-4-3-5-4-6-5-4-0-5-4-6-5-7-6-5-|
|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|

Of course you can tell this exercise is very chromatic in nature. Use all four fingers for the notes (the fingering pattern should be: 2 1 3 2 4 3 2; 2 1 3 2 4 3 2; ... where: 1 - index, 2 - middle, 3 - ring, 4 - pinky), then shift up one fret after the next "open" note is played. Continue the pattern up the neck, stopping around the 12th fret or so, then you can descend again. After completing that, continue the pattern on the next lower string. This exercise can and should be played on all 6 strings. Remember to keep the open string note ringing out clearly and don't mush the notes that are played with your pinky and ring fingers (as I have a tendency to do when playing this exercise fast).

You really shouldn't play this exercise too ofen as I feel it is very unmusical. When I first began playing guitar and trying to write solos, I actually used this exercise to BEGIN one of my SOLOS in a band. That was a very BAD idea. Don't do it.

Now onto a tapping exercise, or lick. This one is slightly chromatic, but not as bad as the first one. Sometimes playing patterns that do not correspond to any particular scale can generate compelling effects in solos. Buckethead is one player who uses pattern-based techniques to produce weird sound effects, such as making robotic or computer-sounding phrases, etc. The lick below reminds me of something that could be heard coming from some type of robot.
This tapping exercise or lick will be a little more adventurous than the others used in this book because with it we are going to be using two fingers on our picking hand to execute the tapped notes, since it involves string-skipping, and the use of the middle finger to tap will help improve our speed and articulation. Tapping with two fingers however, is not that difficult to do. If you can tap well with one finger, you shouldn't have any trouble playing the following lick.

|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------13t-5-6-9-|
|--------------13t-5-6-9---------------------------|
|---------------------------12t-5-6-9--------------|
|-12t-5-6-9----------------------------------------|

|-----------------------------------------13t-5-6-9-13--|
|--------------13t-5-6-9----------------------------------|
|---------------------------12t-5-6-9---------------------|
|-12t-5-6-9-----------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------|

The taps on the 12th fret should be executed with the index finger of your picking hand, and the taps on the 13th frets should be performed with your middle finger, which makes the string skipping involved easier. (You probably shouldn't hold your pick for this lick; you can put it down or hold it in your mouth, if you like.) The rest of the notes are hammered-on. The stretch between the 6th and 9th frets with the middle and pinky fingers may be difficult for some people. If need be, simply transpose the lick up the neck where the frets are closer together. This lick does sound slightly robotic when played quickly.

As I said before, atonal or chromatic-based patterns do have a place in music. But most of these nonmusical exercises are best left confined to the bedroom. However you may find yourself performing in a small funky night club on some lonely afternoon, and performing a few chromatic or pattern-based atonal licks may be perfect for expressing the feelings in your soul, which an audience member may be able to identify with, and you will move them with your improvisation. You never know.

Reference:

"Finger Exercises," How to Become a Guitar Player from Hell, Jason Earls, Pleroma Publications, 2007.