Choose your level and length, then start the session: the exercises follow one another on their own, with the tab, the fingers on the neck and the metronome. You just play.
Five minutes is enough. A short session every day does more than a long one now and then.
Start slowly, at the suggested tempo or below. Once an exercise is clean three times in a row, press “That was clean”: your tempo is kept, and the end of the session offers you 4 bpm more for next time.
Stay relaxed: shoulders down, thumb behind the neck, fingers close to the frets. If your hand tenses up, slow down.
Pain is a signal to stop. Fingertips that sting at first are normal; pain in your wrist or forearm is not.
Cold hands first, demanding moves last. The session starts without the guitar and ends, at the levels that have them, with bends, vibrato and sweep picking: they load the tendons and need warm hands.
0:00
High E at the top, just like in tab.Neck seen from the front, headstock at the top: low E on the left, just like a chord diagram.
On the neck, the numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky, 0 open string.
0
Keyboard: Space play or pause, → next, ← previous, + and − tempo, M metronome, V “That was clean”.
Session complete
Your hands are ready. Here are today’s tempos.
Exercise
Tempo played
Clean
+4 bpm next time (0 bpm)
All the exercises
Pick a specific exercise: it plays on loop, with no timer, at the tempo you choose.
Level
Guitar
Getting started
Without the guitar, one to two minutes: gentle movements, nothing painful.
Getting started
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
What it works on: Get the blood flowing in your hands and forearms before you touch the guitar.
Put the guitar down and follow the movements, slowly, without forcing.
Common mistake: Pulling hard on cold fingers to “stretch” them. These are movements, not forced stretches: the tension stays light and never hurts.
When to stop: Pain, tingling or numbness: stop, and don’t play today.
Rub your hands15 s Rub your palms briskly against each other, then the backs of your hands.
Circle your wrists25 s Loose fists, make big slow circles with your wrists: ten one way, ten the other.
Open and close your hands20 s Close your fists without squeezing, then spread your fingers wide. Ten times, smoothly.
Thumb to each finger25 s Touch the tip of your thumb to your index, middle, ring and pinky, then back. Both hands at once.
Relax your forearms30 s Arm straight in front of you, palm forward, fingers up; with your other hand, gently draw the fingers towards you. Fifteen seconds, then the other arm. Just a light tension, never pain.
Shake your hands10 s Let your arms hang and shake your relaxed hands, as if drying them.
The picking hand
Pick or fingers, on open strings: tempo first.
Open strings, picking hand only
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
What it works on: Lock your picking hand into the tempo and change strings smoothly.
Four eighth notes per string, from low E to high E and back. The first stroke on each string is accented.
Fingering: Pick: down, up, down, up, without exception. Your fretting hand rests.
Common mistake: Rushing on string changes, or playing two downstrokes in a row. Keep your wrist loose and the motion small: the pick goes no more than a centimetre past the string.
Beginner : start at 60 bpm, aim for 90 bpmIntermediate : start at 80 bpm, aim for 120 bpmAdvanced : start at 100 bpm, aim for 140 bpm
Common mistake: Changing pick direction to play the accent as a downstroke. The direction never changes: the accent is played louder, not differently. On the 2nd and 4th notes it lands on an upstroke.
Intermediate : start at 60 bpm, aim for 90 bpmAdvanced : start at 70 bpm, aim for 110 bpm
What it works on: Make your thumb independent of your other fingers.
The thumb plays the beats, alternating two bass notes; the index then the middle answer between the beats. C, then G.
Fingering: Picking hand: p i p m. Fretting hand: the C and G shapes.
Common mistake: The thumb follows the fingers and loses the beat. Start with the thumb alone against the metronome, then add the index, then the middle.
Intermediate : start at 60 bpm, aim for 90 bpmAdvanced : start at 70 bpm, aim for 110 bpm
What it works on: Control the sustain with the palm of your picking hand.
Six muted eighth notes (PM), then two that ring freely: on low E, then on A.
Fingering: The edge of your palm rests on the strings, just in front of the bridge.
Common mistake: Palm too far from the bridge: the note disappears or goes out of tune. Move your hand back until you hear a dull but in-tune note, then lift it at once for the two open eighth notes.
Beginner : start at 70 bpm, aim for 110 bpmIntermediate : start at 90 bpm, aim for 140 bpmAdvanced : start at 110 bpm, aim for 160 bpm
What it works on: Strum wide without the unused strings ringing.
Strum all six strings: only the three notes of the power chord should ring. G5, C5, D5, C5.
Fingering: Index on the root, ring and pinky two frets up. The tip of the index touches the next lower string; the underside of your fingers lies across the higher strings.
Common mistake: An open string rings between two chords. Release the pressure between chords without leaving the strings: your fingers lying flat keep them quiet.
Intermediate : start at 70 bpm, aim for 110 bpmAdvanced : start at 90 bpm, aim for 140 bpm
One finger per fret, every note: the basic exercise at every level, from the middle of the neck towards the nut.
Chromatic 1-2-3-4
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
What it works on: Free up all four fingers, one finger per fret.
Frets 5 to 8 on all six strings, up and back; then the same one fret lower, down to frets 1 to 4. The wide frets near the nut come once your hand is warm.
Fingering: Index on fret 5, middle on 6, ring on 7, pinky on 8; then everything moves down a fret.
Common mistake: Lifting every finger on every note. Going up, leave the fingers down behind the one that plays. A finger that isn’t playing stays a millimetre or two above its fret.
When to stop: Discomfort in the wrist or at the base of the thumb: go back to frets 5 to 8 and slow down.
Beginner : start at 50 bpm, aim for 80 bpmIntermediate : start at 70 bpm, aim for 110 bpmAdvanced : start at 90 bpm, aim for 140 bpm
What it works on: Prepare for pull-offs: fingers placed in advance lift one at a time.
Place all four fingers in advance, then play from the pinky to the index, picking every note: after each note, lift the finger that has just sounded. String after string, on the way up and on the way back, then the same thing one fret lower.
What it works on: Make your fingers independent by changing string on every note.
Index and ring on the lower string (frets 5 and 7), middle and pinky on the higher one (frets 6 and 8): 1-2-3-4 alternating strings, then the next pair of strings.
Fingering: One finger per fret, from 5 to 8.
Common mistake: Every finger lifts to change string. Only the fingers that change string move; the others stay down until their turn.
Chord changes, scales, slurs: both hands together, at your level.
Change: E minor ↔ C
Beginner
What it works on: Move from one chord to the other without stopping your strumming hand.
Four strums on E minor, four on C, in quarter notes. Put your ring finger down first, on the A string: it’s the bass of C.
Fingering: E minor: middle and ring on fret 2. C: ring on fret 3, middle on fret 2, index on fret 1.
Common mistake: Your strumming hand waits for your fretting hand to be ready. On the last strum before the change, lift your fingers already: that open strum goes unnoticed, and your strumming hand never stops.
What it works on: Move from one chord to the other without stopping your strumming hand.
Four strums on G, four on D. Your ring finger stays on fret 3 and only moves from the high E to the B string: let it lead the hand.
Fingering: G: middle on low E, index on A, ring on high E. D: index on fret 2 of the G string, ring on fret 3 of the B, middle on fret 2 of the high E.
Common mistake: Strumming all six strings on D. D starts on the D string: aim for it with the pick and leave out the two low strings.
What it works on: Move from one chord to the other without stopping your strumming hand.
Four strums on A minor, four on E. Both chords have the same shape, moved one string over: the three fingers move together, in one motion.
Fingering: A minor: index on fret 1 of the B string, middle and ring on fret 2 of the D and G. E: each finger moves to the next string towards the bass.
Common mistake: Placing the fingers one at a time. Form the shape in the air, then put it down in one go. On E all six strings ring; on A minor, avoid low E.
What it works on: Turn the scale into soloing vocabulary, in sixteenth notes.
The same idea in fours: 1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5… going up, then coming down. The position changes every day.
Fingering: One finger per fret within the position; strict alternate picking.
Common mistake: The pick follows the strings instead of the beats. The first note of each group falls on a downstroke: if it doesn’t, a stroke was skipped.
Intermediate : start at 50 bpm, aim for 80 bpmAdvanced : start at 70 bpm, aim for 100 bpm
What it works on: Sound two notes with a single pick attack.
On each string: hammer-on from fret 5 to 7, pull-off, hammer-on to 8, pull-off.
Fingering: Index on fret 5, ring on 7, pinky on 8.
Common mistake: The second note is much quieter than the first. Hammer-on: strike with your fingertip, just behind the fret. Pull-off: as you lift the finger, catch the string slightly towards the floor.
When to stop: Your fingertips burn: take a break; calluses build up over the days.
What it works on: Hold a barre and change shape without letting everything go.
Four strums on F (E shape), four on B♭ (A shape), both barred at fret 1.
Fingering: Your index barres fret 1 in both chords; only the other three fingers change.
Common mistake: Squeezing as hard as you can. Press just enough for every note to ring, and relax between chords without leaving the strings. The weight of your arm helps more than the strength of your thumb.
When to stop: Pain at the base of the thumb or in the wrist: stop, and do less tomorrow.
What it works on: Speed with strict alternate picking, across the whole neck.
The notes of G major, three on each string, across all six strings (two and a half octaves) up and back down, one string per beat. Today’s mode sets the starting note.
Fingering: Index on the first note of each string, then 1-2-4 or 1-3-4 depending on the gaps.
Common mistake: Your wrist tightens as the tempo goes up. Drop 8 bpm: speed comes from being relaxed, not from force.
What it works on: Play a whole scale picking only one note per string.
The A minor pentatonic, position 1: hammer-ons going up, pull-offs coming down.
Fingering: Index on fret 5; ring on 7, pinky on 8.
Common mistake: The slurred notes die away. Your fingers fall like hammers and leave by catching the string slightly; your picking hand mutes the low strings.
A on the D string, then E on the B string, one bar each. The vibrato goes up and back down evenly.
Fingering: Ring finger for the A, index for the E.
Common mistake: A nervous vibrato, too fast. Lock it to the tempo: two waves per beat, then four. The motion comes from the wrist, like turning a door handle.
Intermediate : start at 60 bpm, aim for 80 bpmAdvanced : start at 60 bpm, aim for 80 bpm