Rock and blues guitar exercises: shuffles, bends, pentatonic, funk and country

For the electric guitarist who plays clean or with a little crunch: classic and indie rock, blues, funk, soul and country, often on a guitar with single-coil pickups. With little distortion every note is heard as it is, so a bend has to reach its pitch, a muted scratch has to stay muted and a hammer-on has to be as clear as a picked note.

The exercises cover the blues shuffle and the 12-bar form, bends and vibrato, the pentatonic and blues scales with double stops, alternate picking and legato, funk rhythm on ninth chords, and country licks with slides, hybrid picking and chicken picking. Each opens in the player over drums in its style, counted in at 60 % of its goal tempo and speeding up a step every two loops.

Starting out? Play the boogie shuffle, the bends to pitch and the pentatonic box 1 first, then the blues scale and the 16ths on one string.

Start with Boogie shuffle in A

Where to start

Work down a list in order, and move on when an exercise is clean at its goal tempo. Each link has the exercise's tab and how to play it.

Guides

Blues rhythm: the shuffle and the 12-bar

The boogie shuffle is the rhythm part behind most blues and early rock and roll, and the 12-bar blues is the form it's played in. Both swing: the eighths are long and short, as the drums play them. Learn the form until you can feel the changes coming, and the turnarounds that lead back to the start.

Boogie shuffle in A

Beginner

The boogie: the open A string under a fifth, a sixth and a flat seventh on the D string, two of each in a swung rhythm, then the same shape on D and on E. It's the rhythm part behind a huge share of blues and early rock and roll, and it's where the shuffle feel lives: a long and a short eighth, never straight. The last bar stops on an E7, which leads back to A.

Leave the first finger on the 2nd fret and reach the 4th and 5th with the third and little fingers; the palm mute stays light.

Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
12-bar blues in A

Intermediate

The whole 12-bar blues form with the boogie shuffle: A for four bars with a quick change to D in the second, D for two, A for two, then E, D, A and a stop on E7. Twelve bars of three chords is the form of most blues and a lot of rock and roll, and knowing where you are in it without counting is what lets you play with other musicians and solo over it.

Feel the form in blocks of four bars: the first on A, the second starting on D, the third starting on E.

Goal 120 bpm · 12 bars

Tab and how to play it
Blues turnarounds

Intermediate

Two turnarounds, the licks at the end of a 12-bar that lead back to the start, each after a bar of boogie. The first holds a high A on the top string while a line on the G string falls a fret at a time to an E7; the second runs down the A minor pentatonic to an E7 on beat 4. Every blues player has a few of these, and they're the quickest way to sound like you know the form.

In the first, hold the high A with the little finger and walk the G string down with the others; let the E7 ring.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

Bends and vibrato

Bends and vibrato are what make a guitar sing, and what listeners notice first when they're out of tune. These exercises set each bend against the note it should reach, then add releases, pre-bends and vibrato of different widths. The take check hears the bent pitch, so it tells you when a bend falls short.

Bends to pitch

Beginner

A bent note after the fretted note it should reach, so you hear the target first: E at the G string's 9th fret, then D at the 7th bent a whole step up to it; A on the B string, then G bent up to A; C sharp, then C bent a half step to it. Bending in tune is what separates a singing blues or rock solo from a sour one, and the only way to learn it is to compare the bend with the real note.

Bend with three fingers on the string, the ring finger on the fret, and push from the wrist, not the fingertips.

Goal 80 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Bend and release

Intermediate

Bends that go up a whole step and come back down before the next note, then a pull-off to the note below: on the B string's G, the high E's C, and the G and D strings. Releasing a bend in time and in tune is as much a part of blues phrasing as the bend itself, and the pull-off right after only sounds if the string is back at its fret.

Keep the fingers pressing as the string comes back down, so the released note sounds as clearly as the bent one.

Goal 90 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Vibrato control

Intermediate

A slow blues phrase with a long note at the end of each bar: a narrow vibrato on D, a wide one on A, vibrato on a note bent up a whole step, and a wide one to finish. Vibrato is the player's voice on the instrument, the thing listeners recognise first, and controlling its width and speed, rather than shaking the note, is what makes it sound intended.

Rock the note from the wrist, as if turning a door handle, with the thumb over the neck as an anchor; keep the speed even.

Goal 70 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Pre-bends and releases

Advanced

Notes bent up before they're picked, then let down: the pick sounds the bent pitch and the release falls a whole step, a crying sound you can't get any other way. The third and fourth bars check the pre-bend's pitch against the fretted note it should match, E at the 9th fret then a D pre-bent to E, and A at the 10th then a G pre-bent to A.

Bend the string silently, then pick: the first time, check the pitch by plucking it softly before the beat.

Goal 80 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

The pentatonic and blues scales

The minor pentatonic's five notes are where most rock and blues solos come from. Adding the flat fifth makes it the blues scale; moving it down three frets gives the major pentatonic, and mixing the two is the sound of a major blues. Double stops take the same boxes two notes at a time.

A minor pentatonic, box 1

Beginner

The first shape of the A minor pentatonic from the 5th fret, up and down in eighths, with a whole-step bend at the top and a held E at the bottom that leads back to A. It's the scale most rock, blues and metal solos are built from, and box 1 is where most players start improvising. Once the fingering is automatic, your attention is free for phrasing when you start making up licks over it.

Fingers 1 and 4 for the three-fret gaps, 1 and 3 for the two-fret ones; bend the 8th fret of the B string with the 3rd finger, helped by the 2nd.

Goal 140 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
The blues scale in A

Beginner

The A blues scale, the minor pentatonic with one note added, the flat fifth E flat, played as licks rather than straight up and down: up through the E flat on the A string and back, up to C on the G string, then over the high E flat and down to a held A. The flat fifth is a passing note: it's the blues sound when it moves on, and a wrong note when you stop on it.

Use one finger a fret around the 5th position: the E flats are the second finger, on the A and G strings.

Goal 110 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Pentatonic in 3s

Intermediate

Box 1 in groups of three notes, as triplets up to a bend at the top and back down to the A it started on. Sequences break the habit of running a scale straight up and down, so the notes come out as melodic patterns you can lift straight into a solo. It trains your time as well: the groups have to stay even against the beat.

The first note of each group lands on the beat; count the threes in your head.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Major and minor pentatonic

Intermediate

Two bars of the A major pentatonic around the 2nd fret, sweet and bright, then two of the minor pentatonic at the 5th, with the move from C to C sharp, the minor third to the major, that blues players use to blend the two. Over a major blues both scales work, and mixing them in one phrase is the sound of B.B. King and countless players after him.

Shift between the boxes on a held note; in bar 3 hammer the C at the G string's 5th fret up to C sharp at the 6th.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Rock and roll double stops

Intermediate

Two notes at once on neighbouring strings, two eighths each, down through the A minor pentatonic box from the B and E strings' 8th fret, then C and E rising to C sharp and E and an A with C sharp on top. Double stops are the sound of rock and roll guitar intros and blues fills, fuller than single notes and still clear with some crunch.

Barre each pair with one finger flat across both strings, and mute the strings around them with the other fingers and the picking hand.

Goal 130 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

Alternate picking and string crossing

Down, up, down, up: alternate picking is the base of fast single-note lines, and on a clean or lightly driven guitar every uneven stroke is audible. The hard part isn't one string but moving between them, so the crossing exercises take the two ways the pick can go around a pair of strings one at a time.

16ths on one string

Beginner

A melody in 16ths on the B string, every note alternate picked: a downstroke on every beat, an upstroke in between. The tune is made of four-note turns that climb and fall through A minor, so it sings rather than drills. Alternate picking is the base of nearly all fast single-note playing, and keeping it on one string lets you make the motion small, even and steady before string changes come in.

Keep the strokes strictly alternating, small and even; the hand slides to each new position on the beat.

Goal 110 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
String crossing, outside

Intermediate

Two strings, one note on each in turn, the pick going down on the lower and up on the higher, so it moves around the outside of the pair. The pairs are thirds that climb and fall through C major, so the crossing plays a little two-voice melody. Riffs and licks cross strings all the time, and crossing cleanly, without missing a string or catching an extra one, is what makes picking sound tidy. Outside is the easier direction for most players: learn it first, then the inside one.

Down on the lower string, up on the higher one: the pick passes outside the two strings.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
String crossing, inside

Advanced

The same melody in thirds as the outside version, but down on the higher string and up on the lower, so the pick has to jump in between the two. This is the crossing that trips most players up, and fast lines force it on you whenever a string change falls on the other stroke. Practising it on its own turns your weak direction into one you don't have to think about.

Down on the higher string, up on the lower one: the pick stays between the two strings.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

Legato: hammer-ons and pull-offs

Legato notes are sounded by the fretting hand alone, which gives a line a smooth, vocal quality and saves the picking hand work. They only work when a hammered or pulled note is as loud and as well timed as a picked one, which takes strength and a precise snap.

Trills 1-2, 1-3, 1-4

Intermediate

Hammer-ons and pull-offs between the 1st finger and each of the others in turn, four notes to a beat, each trill on its own string so they all sit in A minor, then a falling legato line to finish. Legato builds fretting-hand strength and lets you play smooth, fast lines without picking every note; the 1-4 trill works the little finger, usually the weakest. Aim for every slurred note to be as loud as the picked one.

Pick only the first note of each beat; hammer from above the fret, pull off slightly downwards.

Goal 90 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Pull-offs to open strings

Intermediate

Pull-offs from fretted notes to the open high E and B strings, in E minor, the fretted notes falling as a melody down each string. It's the move behind many fast-sounding riffs and solos, getting several notes out of one stroke, and it builds the snap a pull-off needs to sound the next note clearly. Keeping the strings you don't play quiet trains muting too.

Pull off slightly downwards so the open string rings, and keep the other strings quiet.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Three-note legato runs

Advanced

The A minor three-notes-per-string shape again, but only the first note on each string is picked and the other two are hammered on or pulled off, ending on a singing bend from G up to A. This is the core of flowing legato soloing: fewer pick strokes, a smoother line and more speed for less effort. It also trains muting the strings you aren't playing, which matters more the less you pick.

Only the first note on each string is picked; rest the picking hand's palm on the strings below.

Goal 90 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

Funk and soul rhythm

Funk rhythm guitar keeps the picking hand moving in 16ths and makes the groove from which strokes ring, which are muted and which miss the strings. Ninth-chord stabs, cut off the moment they sound, and small triad shapes with hammer-ons are how funk and soul guitarists play rhythm without crowding the band.

16th-note funk scratching

Beginner

The picking hand moving down and up in 16ths the whole time over an E9, most strokes muted to a percussive scratch and a few let out as the chord: on 1, on the and of 2 and on the and of 3, with more of them at the end of the second and fourth bars. This is the engine of funk rhythm guitar: the hand never stops, and the groove comes from which strokes you let ring. It trains a loose, steady wrist and a fretting hand that mutes and frets in a split second.

Keep the fretting fingers on the chord but lift them off the frets for the scratches; press only for the accents.

Goal 95 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Ninth-chord stabs

Intermediate

Short, syncopated stabs on E9 and D9, with silence between them, then B9 and a slide from E flat 9 up a fret into E9 to lead back. The ninth chord is funk's chord, and stabs, chords cut off the moment they're played, are how funk and soul guitar leaves space for the bass and drums. The skill is the cutting off: the silence has to be as exact as the stab.

Release the pressure of the fretting hand right after each stab, keeping the fingers on the strings so the chord stops dead.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Soul chord fills

Intermediate

Small chord shapes on the top three strings, A, D and E, each reached by hammering on from the note below and followed by a little melody on the top strings. This is how soul and R&B guitarists play rhythm, and how many rock players fill between vocal lines: chord and melody at once, in one hand position, instead of strumming full chords.

Hold the whole triad shape before you hammer, and play the fill notes from that shape rather than moving the hand.

Goal 90 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

Country licks and hybrid picking

Country guitar is clean and bright, so its techniques are about tone and snap: slides into notes, the pick and fingers together for bass lines and chords, and chicken picking's muted cluck and snapped pop. The same moves turn up in rockabilly, southern rock and a lot of modern pop.

Slides into notes

Beginner

A country lick in A major pentatonic with slides of every kind: from one note to the next on the G string, into a note from a fret or two below without picking where you start, and shifts that move the hand up the G string to the 9th fret and back. Slides give a line a vocal glide and take the hand to a new position without a gap.

Keep the finger pressing as it slides, just enough that the note keeps ringing; ease off and it dies on the way.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Hybrid picking

Intermediate

The pick plays an alternating bass line on A, D and E chords while the middle and ring fingers pluck two higher strings together, like a piano's left and right hands, with a walk up the low string back to A. Hybrid picking, pick and fingers at once, is how country and rockabilly players get a bass and a chord from one guitar, and it reaches string combinations a pick alone can't.

Hold the pick between thumb and first finger as usual and curl the middle and ring fingers just under the strings they pluck.

Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it
Chicken picking

Advanced

Each note twice in 16ths: first picked with the string muted, a dull click, then snapped with the middle finger so it pops. Through A, D and E major pentatonic licks, ending each half on a double stop. That cluck-and-pop is chicken picking, the sound of country lead guitar on a Telecaster, and it trains the pick and a finger to work in turn.

For the snap, hook the string with the middle finger and let it slap back against the frets; the muted note is the fretting hand barely touching.

Goal 90 bpm · 4 bars

Tab and how to play it

Also useful

Exercises from the other divisions that train what this style needs too.

Practice routines

Ready-made sessions: play each exercise for the minutes given, at the tempo where it's clean. Play routine opens them in the player one after another and counts the minutes while you play.

A short session: 15 minutes

Play routine

A full session: 30 minutes

Play routine

Setting up for practice

The blues and bending exercises play with a crunch sound, the funk, soul and country ones clean. Practise the same way: clean, or with just enough crunch that a hard-picked note breaks up a little. That's how you hear whether a bend reached its note, whether the hammer-ons match the picked notes, and whether a string you crossed rang on when it shouldn't have.

On a guitar with single coils, the neck or middle pickup is the kindest for practice. The bridge pickup is bright enough to show every pick noise, which is useful once the notes are even.

Questions

What's the best exercise for blues guitar beginners?

The boogie shuffle, for rhythm, and the bends to pitch, for lead. Between them they cover the swing feel and the in-tune bend that blues is built on. Then the pentatonic box 1 and the blues scale give you the notes for your first solos.

How do I learn to bend in tune?

Play the note you're aiming for first, then bend up to it and compare, as the bends to pitch exercise does. Bend with two or three fingers on the string and push from the wrist. The take check hears the bend's pitch, so it will tell you when a bend falls short.

Why do my hammer-ons sound quieter than my picked notes?

Usually the finger starts too close to the string or lands too far from the fret. Hammer from a little higher, right behind the fret wire, with the fingertip. For pull-offs, pull slightly sideways, down towards the floor, so the string is plucked rather than just let go.

Do I need to learn all five pentatonic boxes?

Not at first. Box 1 alone covers a lot of rock and blues soloing. Once it's automatic, learning the boxes on either side lets you move along the neck, and the five link up across the whole fretboard.

What's the difference between funk and rock rhythm guitar?

Rock rhythm is mostly power chords and open chords on the beat; funk keeps the hand moving in 16ths and plays short, muted, syncopated hits on smaller chords, leaving space for the bass and drums. The funk exercises here start with the scratching motion and add the stabs.