Guitar exercises
Learn guitar and improve every day with free guitar exercises in tab, sorted by type (warm-up, scale, arpeggio, lick), style (rock, blues, jazz, shred) and level, to practise with the built-in metronome.
Two free tools complete the exercises: the interactive fretboard, to display scales, chords, arpeggios and triads across the whole neck, and Perfect Pitch, an ear training game (notes, intervals, note reading in treble and alto clef). And to stay focused, the "Today's practice session" card suggests a daily session from your favourites (or at random).
How to use it: filter the exercises below with the Type and Style tiles (click to enable a filter, click the cross to remove it), sort them by popularity, date or difficulty, then click an exercise to open it and use it with the built-in metronome.
Minor pentatonic - Eric Johnson
A little lick from the great Eric Johnson to work on, to learn a different way of playing the pentatonic scale.
Jazz lick in C major + augmented fifth
Jazz lick in C major + augmented fifthHere's a lick in C major that will let you work on slides, sweep picking, and string skipping.You can also try playing it over a Cmaj7 or G11/13 chord.
Rock lick - G minor pentatonic (speed)
Here's a short rock lick based on the G minor pentatonic scale, to build speed that you can later add to your solos.
Riff - Crossroads - Eric Clapton
Crossroads is one of those songs you wouldn't expect to be technically demanding, because it sounds simple and is played to perfection by its creators. Yet the string skips, the rhythm and Eric Clapton's minor blues run deserve some attention. Learning this bundle of technique makes for an excellent exercise to progress on - and it sounds so good too.The start of the main riff begins with a series of hammer-ons/pull-offs, some well-placed bends and a couple of fun string skips (exercise 1).Then comes a run down the A minor blues scale (exercise 2) in which Eric Clapton adds a major third (C# - 6th fret of the G string) for a typical major/minor blues blend.
Joy Spring (Clifford Brown)
Although there's a version of this standard played by Joe Pass, the licks transcribed here are taken from Clifford Brown's solo on the Clifford Brown & Max Roach album (1954).Don't hesitate to borrow ideas from other instrumentalists rather than sticking only to guitarists. In this passage, Clifford plays small, simple licks that move very little but follow the chart very closely.
Hardwired solo - Metallica
A Metallica song to work on for fun, but also to pick up some typical thrash/metal licks featured in this solo from Hardwired... to Self-Destruct.As with every solo, work with the metronome at a slow tempo at first to learn the fingerings and find the rhythm, then go for speed (180 to the quarter note!). Also use the video to hear how the different passages should sound.
Funk rhythm - Get Up - James Brown
Here's an exercise to work on rhythm and get into funk with a really fun tune.Watch the video to understand how to play it if you're not comfortable reading rhythm.Practice each exercise separately, then chain 4 bars of each.The target tempo to play it like the original is 103bpm.
Seventh chord progression - chords/dexterity
Here's a study based on a very interesting seventh-chord progression. Practicing it regularly will help you learn these chords, but also improve finger independence, work on rhythm, build strength in the left hand, etc.The target tempo is 80bpm to the quarter note.
Dorian lick
Here's a lick based on the Dorian mode in the key of B. This is a good exercise for soaking up the sound of the Dorian mode and breaking your playing habits.No particular difficulty except for the third part (bars 5 and 6), where you'll need to find the most logical fingering.
Dorian lick and sweep picking
Here's a Dorian lick taken from the site http://www.craigbassett.co.nzThe video shows how to play the different parts.This is a great exercise for soaking up the sound of the Dorian mode and practicing sweep picking, finger dexterity and left/right hand synchronization.
Riff - Joe Bonamassa - Just Got Paid
Here's a really interesting riff to work on to improve your rhythm and practice string skipping.It's the main riff from the Joe Bonamassa version of Just Got Paid. The target speed is 96 bpm, but start at 60 bpm to get the movements under your fingers.
Wes Hauch - Scales and Arpeggios
Here are a few licks from The Faceless guitarist Wes Hauch that will get you working on arpeggios and the harmonic minor scale.
Blues lick - Start of the La Grange solo (ZZ Top)
Here's the start of the La Grange solo by ZZ Top. Treat it as a few-second lick to work on to pick up some less mechanical fingerings - it starts at 1:10.Work with the metronome, and don't hesitate to check out the full solo, which is a genuine blues/rock classic.
5 essential blues turnarounds
Here are a few examples of turnarounds that will help spice up your blues with a more musical, professional touch.As a reminder, turnarounds are sequences played over the last bars of a blues chart (typically 12 bars) to close it out and allow it to repeat.Turnarounds are often built starting from the minor seventh down to the fifth, usually passing through chromatic notes, but there's no fixed rule.My advice is to practice and learn them, then try to place them while improvising over a backing track like this one, to get a feel for when to play them:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnRaRpZi4
Blues in E and turnaround
Here's a simple standard blues ending with a turnaround, which beginners will definitely benefit from practicing to start internalizing blues rhythm and turnaround placement.
Blues solo (1)
Here's a really fun blues lick to learn that will let you add new licks to your bluesman's toolbox. Once again, practicing with the metronome is recommended and will be especially useful for working on rhythmic reading, particularly when playing slowly, i.e. at 60bpm as in the second part of the video.https://guitar-trainer.fr/tablatures/Solo-blues-pentatonique-1.pdf
Blues solo (2)
Here's the second blues lick in the series to learn, to add new licks to your bluesman's toolbox. Once again, practicing with the metronome is recommended and will be especially useful for working on rhythmic reading, particularly when playing slowly, i.e. at 65 bpm as in the second part of the video.The tab is downloadable as a PDF here:https://guitar-trainer.fr/tablatures/Solo-blues-pentatonique-2.pdf
Blues solo (3)
A really interesting 12-bar blues to work on and learn.Once again, practicing with the metronome is recommended and will be especially useful for working on rhythmic reading, particularly when playing slowly, i.e. at 60bpm as in the second part of the video.https://guitar-trainer.fr/tablatures/Solo-blues-pentatonique-3.pdf
Rhythmic work on ii V I
Here are 4 licks for practicing jazz guitar comping. Useful for rhythmic work and learning seventh chords.
Funk Fusion lick - target notes
Here's a really interesting lick from Josh Smith. A great transition to place between the V and I chords of a blues in D minor (Dm / Gm / Am).
Improvisation exercise - Pentatonic: target notes
Goal Here is a short exercise to learn the notes on the fretboard and get used to aiming for target notes when the chords change. How it works Over each chord, aim for its root: it is the note that always sounds right and makes the chord change audible in your solo. Once you feel comfortable, try to anticipate: play the root of the next chord slightly before it arrives, to "announce" the change. The backing track chords G – F – B♭ – C Good news: all four roots belong to the G minor pentatonic scale (G – B♭ – C – D – F). You stay in the same scale from start to finish: only the note you aim for changes with each chord. The diagram Each target note has the color of its chord. Start with position 1 (frets 3 to 6), then look for the same notes higher up the neck. Your turn Start the backing track and play only the roots, one per chord. Add a few pentatonic notes in between, landing on the root at each chord change. Anticipate: aim for the next root just before the chord changes. 🎵 Backing track in G minor Your browser can't play audio: download the backing track. 🎸 See the G minor pentatonic in the scale generator
Guitar exercise - Blues Licks - Phrasing and Silence
Here's a great exercise that will get you working on rhythmic reading and help you understand - in part - how to open up your solos.You can use the linked score to get the accompaniment. Use MuseScore to open it.Link to the score (right-click - save as): Blues Licks Phrasé et Silence.mscz
- 1Warm-up
- 2Scale or arpeggio
- 3Lick / riff / rhythm
Picked from your favourites when you have some, otherwise at random. The selected style is respected.