Originally Posted by: KasperowI'll give it a try. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 3rds and 4ths, though.

What you do is play the major scale in position, meaning play it across the neck. To make it simple to notate, I'll describe it in the C major scale. Using the pattern that goes from the 6th to 1st string, you would start on the 6th string 8th fret. You can move the shape to any place on the neck.

For thirds, you play the notes like this:
C, D, E,
D, E, F,
E, F, G,
F, G, A,
G, A, B,
A, B, C ...

You go through that through 2 octaves across the neck, and then reverse it to get back where you started. The key is to keep the timing fluid as you go through it. The spacing is only to clarify the pattern, don't pause at the spaces - keep it fluid and constant.

What you are doing is playing the first 3 notes in the scale in sequence, then you are back 2 notes in the scale and play the next 3 notes in the scale, and so on. It's harder to describe than do.

To do it in fourths, you play the first 4 notes in sequence, go back 3 notes and play the next 4 notes from there:
C, D, E, F,
D, E, F, G,
E, F, G, A,
F, G, A, B,
G, A, B, C ...

I hope that make sense. As you can see this will really exercise you accuracy and ability to play cleanly while alternate picking and switching strings.


haghj500 found some good tutorials. Chris S. describes and demos what I'm talking about above, though he doesn't do it across the entire neck. He also doesn't emphasize alternate picking. Since you are trying to develop speed and accuracy, I would recommend using alternate picking and use the 2 octave scale shape that starts on the 6th string.

Have fun!