A minor scale, three notes per string, for alternate picking
The A minor scale from the 5th fret, three notes on every string, in triplets up and down the neck. With an odd number of notes per string each string starts on the other stroke, so one musical line works both kinds of string crossing. It's the standard workout for fast scale runs, and you learn a scale shape you'll use in solos at the same time.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 100 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 100 bpm
- Starts at
- 60 bpm
- Length
- 3 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
Each string starts on the other stroke from the last; accent the first note of every beat.
The scale starts on the A at the 5th fret of the low E string and goes up three notes on every string to the high E, then comes back down, in triplets: one note of the scale for each third of a beat.
With three notes per string and strict alternate picking, the first note on each string is a downstroke on one string and an upstroke on the next. Accent the first note of each triplet: it keeps the beat clear while the stroke direction keeps changing.
Mistakes to watch for
- The fretting hand shifting position for the stretches. On the D and G strings the notes span the 5th to the 9th fret: let the fingers reach rather than moving the hand.
- Losing the triplet feel and drifting into groups of four.
- Picking harder on downstrokes, so every other string sounds louder than the rest.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 60
- 65
- 70
- 75
- 80
- 85
- 90
- 95
- 100
That's 16 loops and about 3 minutes before you're playing at 100 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play A minor, three notes per string?
The goal is 100 bpm in eighth-note triplets, which is 5 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 60 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
Why three notes per string?
Three notes per string covers a scale evenly and gives the same picking pattern on every string, so speed builds faster. It's how many players learn fast scale runs.
Is this the same as the A minor pentatonic?
No. Pentatonic means five notes; this is the full seven-note natural minor scale. Practise A minor pentatonic, box 1 for the pentatonic shape.