The Quasi-Chromatic Scale
What's a few missing notes between friends?
The quasi-chromatic scale is not really a scale - it's the 1-2-3-4 pattern on all strings, so it's the chromatic scale with some notes missing. The fretboard diagram shows all the notes that should be played in this exercise along with fingerings (each finger on each fret).
The whole point of this exercise (apart from warming up) is to synchronize your hands while gradually increasing the speed.
1-2-3-4 down, 4-3-2-1 up (with the pinky stretch)
Instead of playing the regular quasi-chromatic pattern, let's introduce a so-called pinky stretch. Here's the new fret diagram you should refer to when playing this exercise:
And as the title suggests, in this exercise you should play (alternate picking) the 1-2-3-4 pattern while going down and the 4-3-2-1 pattern while going up. Here are the tabs to remove any confusion:
- Start off at a low speed and gradually increase it only when you are completely comfortable with the current speed and playing comes with ease.
- Increase the tempo by small amounts - 8 bpms at a time should be enough.
- Don't be afraid to lower the tempo if it gets too fast at some point.