chromatic scale

[schematics]

According to the original forum intention, I added a few examples of chromatic exercises that I found useful for warm up/left hand "wake up", but also as a tool to connect between two target tones into an improvisation. The goal is to be able to play the ex. without making it noticable that you're skipping strings, i.e. to play it as "clean" as possible.

All ex. are based on the key of E-Major and you'll find the tab-files below.

Sound-files:

1st ex. slow

1st ex. faster

2nd ex. slow

2nd ex. faster


PS Since it's my axe directly into the mic imput of the PC sorry about the sound quality.

[schematics]

Since I'm more from the jazz/funk corner, I've added a typical bop-lick using chromatic passing tones. In Jazz/Funk, there's a lot of use of the chromatic scale and not that much of 3NPS patterns, which definitely sound better over Rock/Metal type of stuff.

It's always the same lick/notes, but starting form different positions.

The first ex. is starting on the low E string, 12th fret, the second ex. on the D string, 14th fret, and last but not least on the G string, 9th fret. Everytime, the shape/fingerings of the lick change a little bit, so it's a good idea to be able to play it in all the different positions, thus later avoiding a situation where you basically "can hear" what you want to play, but are not able to because you're not familiar with the fingerings/shape of the phrase.

Tell me what you think, if there's some interest, I'll try to post some other
examples from time to time.

[KirkLorange]

I certainly use the chromatic scale all the time. Strangely enough, I incorporated a neat semitone lick into a lesson I'm putting the finishing touches on at my site Guitar for Beginners and Beyond . It's at http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/smrtime/ if you're interested. It's a real Django line, half way through the lesson ... there's a little movie you can watch. All feedback is welcome.

Kirk

[Los Boleros]

Nice web site Kirk. You know that you can make money online with a website like this. Just make it password protected and sell passwords on Ebay for a few bucks. The Cromatic line is a great example.

[KirkLorange]

Thanks, Los Boleros. I have put countless hours into that site.

It started out free, then became a members-only site when I started making the little videos; I needed some income to pay for hosting/bandwidth. I charged 12 bucks US to get in and I used to get a handful of signups per week... then, when Google AdSense came along, I found that I could make about the same amount through the ads. I much prefer to have it as a free site. It gets about 1500 unique visits per day now, closer to 2000 on my lesson day, mostly due to its number 1 Google ranking for 'guitar for beginners'.

The site is really only there because years ago I found that the domain name guitarforbeginners.com was available, and I registered it. I figured I should do something with it and the site has grown over the years. I really enjoy trying to de-mystify music and playing the guitar. I recently turned it into a php site ... makes it much easier to update and maintain.

It also drives traffic to my other site where I sell my book PlaneTalk, so my motives in setting it up were not totally altruistic, and my girlfriend Clancy is into affiliate marketing, and she set up and miantains the shopping section of the site. It keeps us busy!

http://www.guitarforbeginners.com if anyone else is interested.

Kirk

[Los Boleros]

Originally Posted by schematics

I added a few examples of chromatic exercises that I found useful for warm up/left hand "wake up", but also as a tool to connect between two target tones into an improvisation. .

I have a warm up routine that is very similar to that but is more mechanical and less musical.

Use yourn index finger to bar the fifth fret while running through the excercise. I find that it helps me warm up for chords more than solos.

I----------------------------------------------5-6-7-8
I-------------------------------------5-6-7-8---------
I-----------------------------5-6-7-8-----------------
I--------------------5-6-7-8--------------------------
I-----------5-6-7-8-----------------------------------
I---5-6-7-8-------------------------------------------