Here is a warm-up sequence that I used to do every morning. It is useful for building right-hand endurance, finger alternation, speed, pulse, rhythm, and legato. The idea behind it is simple. Set the metronome to a very slow beat, somewhere between 50 and 70. Throughout the whole sequence, the beat remains constant, but with very slight and precise increments, we increase the number of notes between the beats.

I would go through all 13 steps (using free stroke) and then go through the whole thing two more times using different right-hand fingerings, am and ai. So, that’s 39 steps. I actually would go all the way up to fret 12 (3 cycles) and often would use a diminished 7th chord or some left-hand variation to keep it engaging. Vary what you need. As you will notice, I’ve been more detailed in the first 3 steps, and little by little, I have resorted to shorthand as the basic sequence becomes evident.

Try it out and share your thoughts with me.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Phew! Go back for more. You know it’s good for you.