Arpeggio study in C: p-i-m-i for the right hand
The index and middle fingers take turns on the G and B strings after each bass note, p-i-m-i, through C and G7, then A minor, D minor and back. Alternating i and m on two neighbouring strings is the most common arpeggio in classical guitar accompaniment, and the first of Giuliani's right-hand patterns.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 80 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 80 bpm
- Starts at
- 48 bpm
- Length
- 8 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Beginner
- Plays with
- A metronome
How to play it
i stays on the G string and m on the B: the fingers don't move across, they only take turns.
Each beat is four 16ths: the thumb on a bass string, then the index on the G string, the middle on the B, and the index on the G again. The fingers never cross strings; they only take turns, so the whole study is about making i and m sound alike.
The thumb alternates between two bass strings: the A and D strings on C and A minor, the low E and D on G7, and the open D throughout D minor. Bars 1 to 4 swing between C and G7, bars 5 to 8 go A minor, D minor, G7 and back to C.
Keep the right hand still over the soundhole with the thumb a little ahead of the fingers, so it plucks forward and never collides with i.
Mistakes to watch for
- The middle finger's note louder than the index's two, because it plays only once a beat and gets more effort.
- The thumb crowding the 16th after it. Each of the four notes gets the same time.
- Letting the G7 bass on the low E stop short when the thumb moves to the D string: hold the chord for the whole bar.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 48
- 52
- 56
- 60
- 64
- 68
- 72
- 76
- 80
That's 16 loops and about 9 minutes before you're playing at 80 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 Arpeggio study: p-i-m-i?
The goal is 80 bpm in 16th notes, which is 5.3 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 48 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
Why practise the same arpeggio over and over?
Because the right hand learns by repetition: once p-i-m-i runs without thought, the attention can go to tone and evenness, and the pattern turns up in countless pieces. Giuliani wrote 120 such studies for exactly that reason.
Should I use rest strokes here?
No. Arpeggios are played with free strokes, the fingers clearing the strings below, so that every note keeps ringing.
More classical exercises
All 12 classical exercises · Fretboard notes trainer · All 107 exercises