Principals in My Daily Etudes

If you have questions, ask. I'm not selling anything. As an old man, I'm just trying to pass on what I've learned after 55 years of toil because I wish I had known it at age 15.     

• Start at 100mm. The first goal is thinking it faster, not playing faster.

• Mezzo forte throughout; a light touch forgives tentative attack.

• Play figure in all 7 forms (CAGED+2) with no shifts within form.

• Use the mechanism for all four chord types (Maj7, m7, 7, m7b5)

• Play straight 8ths; no time signature or implied downbeats.

• Play from highest to lowest available notes across all 6 strings.

• Start at the top, descending. The next figure begins at the bottom, ascending.

• Cycle in 4ths for six months, then 2nds. Then do m3rds.

• When transitioning between figures, don't pick one note twice consecutively.

• First 1,000 times, no accents. Next 100, accent only the root.

Diagram for Arps and Scales in PDF

Demo of +2 positions: