Mike Nelson Guitar Lessons

Picking and Finger Exercises

Skill Level: Beginner – Advanced

Master finger independence, string navigation, and alternate picking with focused chromatic exercises. These exercises target non-sequential finger patterns, string skipping, and precise fret-hand coordination—essential skills for advanced guitar technique.

Why Practice Chromatic Finger Exercises?

Most guitarists practice finger exercises in predictable patterns: 1-2-3-4 or 4-3-2-1. While these are valuable, real music demands more complex finger combinations and string movements. These chromatic exercises break you out of sequential patterns and develop true finger independence.

Key Benefits:

  • Finger Independence: Use all fingers in non-sequential patterns (1-4-2-3, 2-4-1-3, etc.)
  • String Navigation: Practice moving between adjacent strings and string skipping
  • Alternate Picking: Develop consistent down-up picking patterns across all strings
  • Fret-Hand Coordination: Improve synchronization between fretting and picking hands
  • Musical Application: Build technique that translates directly to real songs and solos

Chromatic Finger Exercise Tab Player

Use the dropdown below to select and practice each of the 10 chromatic finger exercises.
Start slow and focus on clean fretting, consistent picking, and smooth string transitions. Each exercise targets different finger combinations and string patterns.

Important: These exercises use strict alternate picking (down-up-down-up). Start at slow tempos to ensure clean execution. You can also practice these exercises using hammer-ons and pull-offs for legato technique - just pick the first note and each time you change strings. However, the main focus is developing picking precision and finger independence.

Note: Each exercise repeats twice in the tab.

Guitar
Tip: Rotate for better viewing on mobile device.

How to Read This Tab

  • Standard Notation: The top staff shows traditional music notation for rhythm and pitch.
  • Tablature (TAB): The lower staff shows fret numbers for each string—play the indicated fret on the matching string.
  • Picking Symbols: ⊓ = Downstroke, ∨ = Upstroke.
  • Slides: A diagonal line or "sl." between notes means slide your finger from the first note to the next without lifting.
  • Fingering: Numbers above the top staff suggest which left-hand finger to use (1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring, 4 = pinky).

Chromatic Exercise Practice Guidelines

Start at 60 BPM. Focus on accuracy before speed. See Essential Practice Tips for more strategies.

  • • Strict alternate picking (down-up-down-up)
  • • Clean fretting with no buzzing
  • • Keep unused fingers relaxed
  • • Target strings precisely during skips

Next Steps

  • • Practice at different positions up and down the neck
  • • Apply patterns to scales and arpeggios
  • • Use in real musical contexts

Continue with Arpeggio Exercises and Pentatonic Scale Exercises to apply these skills.