Chromatic Scale
Chromatic scale finger exercise for guitar. Example is shown in fifth position, but this can and should be played at any position as a daily finger warmup exercise. This exercise also aids in building ear-to-hand coordination.
Important Note: On many other sites and forums you may see similar exercises which consist of a 1-2-3-4 fingering pattern from string to string. These are WRONG as that fingering scheme does not produce a complete chromatic scale. There is no need to explain here; try it yourself and your ears will tell you why the 1-2-3-4 pattern is wrong. Though that particular exercise may have some relevance to a particular specialized lesson in some specialized course, it will not offer the same finger and ear training benefits as the complete chromatic scale fingering scheme we present for you here.
It is also important to note that this chromatic scale should be played differently when descending than when ascending. The reason for this will become apparent when you play it.
Ascending Chromatic Guitar Scale
Here is a diagram of the chromatic scale in the fifth position. But hey! Wait a minute! We are starting on the fourth fret on most strings! Yep. It's fifth position alright. Hold the guitar with your hand in the fifth position and stretch your index finger back to reach the notes on the fourth fret. Be very careful to avoid the natural inclination to move your hands between positions. This may take some time to get used to but for sake of proper technique it is imperative that this be played this way. We are working on a video to offer visual demonstration of the natural (wrong) way as compared to the proper way of playing this. We will post the video here as soon as it is ready.
Start on the fourth fret of the low E string:
E-4-5-6-7-8-------------------------------
B---5-6-7-8-------------------------------
G-4-5-6-7-8-------------------------------
D-4-5-6-7-8-------------------------------
A-4-5-6-7-8-------------------------------
E-4-5-6-7-8-------------------------------
Descending Chromatic Guitar Scale
As mentioned earlier, it is necessary and proper to use a different fingering scheme when playing a descending chromatic scale than when ascending. In this case, instead of using the first finger stretch to play the lowest note on each string at the fourth fret, we use a pinky stretch to play the unison note at the ninth fret of the next string down.
Start at the ninth fret of the high E string:
E-9-8-7-6-5--------------------------------------
B-9-8-7-6-5--------------------------------------
G---8-7-6-5--------------------------------------
D-9-8-7-6-5--------------------------------------
A-9-8-7-6-5--------------------------------------
E-9-8-7-6-5--------------------------------------
PRACTICE TIP: This is shown in fifth position here for sake of example only. You can and should play it on other parts of the guitar neck. In fact, you will get better stretching exercise for your fingers in the lower positions.
|
