This is something I started consciously working on last night. I’ve used the box method for the past 6 years, since that was the first method I learned, and the more I watch these guys on video the more I want to improve on my left hand technique.
As a result, I spent about 30 minutes doing the traditional warm up exercise which include: the major scale (5 positions), pentatonic minor scale (5 positions), chromatic scale (12 positions), and arpeggios (Major, minor, 7th, and diminished)
After that I launched straight into 2 and 3 octave legato runs up and down the neck. This involved using nothing but hammer-ons and pull-offs for all possible major scale positions in the keys of C, A, G, E, and D.
I did this for 1 hour. Non-Stop. After an hour my left hand was throbbing…. I’m talking nothing but trills, triplets, and sextuplets sliding up and down the neck for a solid hour to a metronome clicking away at something around 100 bpm. Never used a pick at all
After that insanity I slowed the pace down to 65 bpm and did this:
(1) Pick any one of the 12 notes
(2) Play that note on each string at all possible locations to the click
That is A LOT more difficult than it sounds (especially when you don’t know where the notes are) …. Doing it on the click and NOT FUDGING the time.
In other news, yesterday was a good day. Played phone tag with some friends and then ended up going to the gym late with Lee. I did legs, and I can feel it today. One of Jeff’s ex-girlfriends was up there last night. Or just a girl he admired from afar. Whichever. LOL
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