Elephant Walk .. The art of alternate picking

Level : Beginner
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You'll need a ----> Metronome
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This one is a fundamental exercise to synchronize ur left and right hands. Ppl have a lot of difficulty synchronizing their strumming and picking hands when moving up and down the fretboard. I used to have this problem when i started out sometime back. This exercise helped a lot. Try to do this exercise as a warmup routine before going for a jam or a practice session.

here's how you do it : ( I assume you can read tabs !)

Set your metronome to a comfortable level ..idealy 60 bpm (beats per minute) on 4/4 .


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---------------------------------------------------------------
__ d u d u
___I M R P


Legends:
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d--> down Stroke.
u --> up stroke.

I --> Index Finger
M--> Middle Finga
R ---> Ring Finger
P ----> Pinky!


This is one-half cycle of the Elephant walk.

Your picking hand should go down-up-down-up on each picking .For example : when u hit the first fret on the E string , ur picking hand should down pick and on the second beat , when you hit the 2nd fret on the E string , your picking hand should go up i.e up pick the E string.

Each stroke should be matched with the beat of the metronome. Timing is important. Yous shouldnt play a couple of strokes fast and other couple slow just to compensate. Time it!

In the first cycle , u went from the 6th string to the 1st. Now, u have to come up in a similar way :



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
__u d u d
__P R M I


While comming up , you dont have to hit the 4th on e string twice...just start comming back from where you ended...thats y.. in the above tab ,the first stroke is an up stroke.

This completes one full cycle of the elephant walk. What you have to do now is to shift this entire patter one fret down i.e instead of starting from the 1st fret ..start from the 2nd. Move down the neck of your guitar in the same manner.

Make Sure that :

i)your are in sync with the metronome at all times.

ii) you dont mess up the finger numbering.Make sure that you hit every third fret ONLY with ur ring finger i.e be it the 3rd fret on E or the 7th on B or the 11th on any other string , u HAVE to hit with ur ring finger. This sort of makes a law as to which frets have to hit by which fingers.

iii) whenever u start making mistakes i.e skipping a beat or missing a fret .. start all over again , try to slow down the metronome.

Increase the bpm on the metronome ONLY when ur thoroughly comfortable with the immediate lower setting.

DONT BE TEMPTED TO PLAY FAST.
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Eventual Benefit : Your picking and fretting hands get nice synchronized. Its easier for you to play faster licks because alternate picking is kids play for you!
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Strengthen your fingers NOW!!!

Level : Beginner
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This is a simple exercise for strengthening the four fingers of your left hand. This also increases the independence of the individual fingers so that they are no more sticky i.e. your 2nd and 3rd dont HAVE to move together (always).

Put all four of your fingers on the first four consecutive frets on the 6th string. Make sure ur thumb is positioned as mentioned in the last post.

Now,Lift your index finger (1st finger) from the fretboard and place it on 1st fret 5th String. Make sure None of the other 3 fingers move or leave the fretboard.

Now , Lift your 2nd finger and place it on 2nd fret ,5th String WITHOUT moving or lifting the other fingers.

Repeat this exercise for all the four fingers and gradually move down the strings in the same fashion.

If u havnt dont this before then this will be a really frustrating exercise for you. Make sure that when ur shifting a finger from one string to the other , NO OTHER FINGER LEAVES THE FRETBOARD. This is the essence of the entire exercise.

Do it couple of times a day up and down the strings.

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Benefits :: Strengthens all fingers and improves individual finger movement.
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Your Left hand and the fretboard.

Level : Beginner , Fundamentals
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I have seen a lot of ppl who have been playing for more than 2 years but still you wont see them very comfortable on the fretboard. The reason behind this is that their left hand is never placed the correct way on the fretboard. Although , there is no "correct" way to hold the fretboard per se but yes there are optimum ways that will help you a lot in being comfortable with speed and dexterity as you progress in ur guitar playing career.

Put your guitar on. Now, put your four fingers on the first four frets of the guitar. Each finger should be on one fret only , ideally , evenly spaced. Now , try to place ur thumb behind the fretboard such that its almost in the middle of the four fingers i.e between your 2 and 3rd fingers.

Practice playing with this kind of thumb placement. I'm sure it will make u a lot comfortable while shifting frets up and down the neck as well as when shifting between the strings.

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Eventual Benefit : Your thumb is in the ideal position now. Left hand motion is smooth now.
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