Diagonal chromatic: a warm-up that shifts up the neck
One finger a fret, four notes on each string, with the whole hand shifting a fret higher on every new string, so the pattern climbs the neck from the 1st fret to the 9th as it crosses it, then comes back down the same way and runs down the low E string. It adds the one thing the chromatic warm-up leaves out: moving the hand along the neck in time, which every scale run and solo needs.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 90 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 90 bpm
- Starts at
- 54 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Beginner
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Shift with the 1st finger as a guide: it moves up one fret as the pick moves to the next string.
Start with the 1st finger on the 1st fret of the low E string and play frets 1, 2, 3 and 4 with fingers 1 to 4. On the A string the whole hand moves up a fret: frets 2 to 5. On the D string, 3 to 6, and so on, until the high E string is played on frets 6 to 9.
Coming back, the high E is played from the 9th fret down to the 6th, then each lower string a fret lower, until the low E is played 4, 3, 2, 1. The last bar runs down the low E string from the 8th fret to the open string.
The shift is the point: slide the 1st finger up a fret as the pick moves to the next string, keeping the hand's shape, so the first note of each string is in time.
Mistakes to watch for
- Stretching to the next fret instead of moving the whole hand, which makes the frets drift out of one-finger-a-fret.
- A gap at each string change while the hand moves.
- Pressing too hard at the first frets, where the stretch is widest and the hand tires fastest.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 54
- 59
- 63
- 68
- 72
- 77
- 81
- 86
- 90
That's 16 loops and about 4 minutes before you're playing at 90 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 Diagonal chromatic?
The goal is 90 bpm in 16th notes, which is 6 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 54 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
Why start at the 1st fret?
The frets are widest there, so it's the hardest place for the stretch; climbing as you go makes the frets narrower each string, and coming back makes them wider again. If the 1st fret hurts, start the whole pattern at the 5th.
What's the shift training?
Moving the hand along the neck in time, without a gap or a glance. Every scale that changes position and every solo that moves up the neck uses it.
More fundamentals exercises
All 22 fundamentals exercises · Fretboard notes trainer · Scales on the neck · All 107 exercises