Progressive Workout 2: Arpeggios Part 3

Welcome to my new masterclass! This is the second main Progressive Workout masterclass, and there are three parts, focusing on different ways of playing triads and arpeggios.

Once again, this is ALL about technique, using a wide range of exercises to work on the primary aspects of your playing. Most importantly, the focus is on using these exercises as part of a longer workout. One cool exercise will not transform your playing; to make a real difference, you need to work extensively on a wide range of movements and combinations of movements

The basic principle behind these exercises is something I’ve done in other JTC masterclasses. Here’s how it works...

1. We take a short, simple pattern and loop it slowly.

2. We then start to increase the speed without interrupting the pattern.

3. Optionally, we can then decrease the speed back to where we started.

The important thing is HOW we change speed. The basic tempo (of the backing or metronome click) remains the same. We change speed by changing the subdivision of the beat. For example, let’s say we start the exercise in 8th notes (two notes per beat). After four bars, we switch to 8th- note triplets (three notes per beat). In the first Progressive Workout set, we covered quite a few speed shifts, but this time we’ll mostly work with two speeds.

The difficult part of this is that you have to keep looping the pattern. When you switch from 8th notes to triplets, that might happen in the middle of a six-note pattern, so the challenge is to continue that pattern into the new subdivision without losing your timing.

Grab your guitar, warm up your hands and we’ll get started. For a full warm- up routine, check out Vol 1 of the original Progressive Workout masterclass!