! ! !

Tremolo Exercises I
by Christopher Davis

www.christopherguitar.net www.classicalguitarblog.net

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Exercises
5 &4 .. .. F
p a m i p a m i p a m i

1a.

1b.

3 &4 .. F
p a m

a i

i a m i

p a m i

..

2a.

5 &4 .. .. F
p p a m i p

2b.

3 &4 .. F
a m i

i a m

i p

a m i

..

3a.

5 &4 .. .. F
p a m i p a

3b.

3 &4 .. F
m i p

i a

m i

a p a

m i

p a

..

4a.

5 &4 .. .. F
m i p a m

4b.
www.christopherguitar.net www.classicalguitarblog.net

3 &4 .. F
i

p a m

..
1

Development
Move the Thumb Move the thumb to different strings. Be sure to use the four variations shown on the rst page: -p a m i -a m i p (shown) -m i p a -i p a m
a m i p

3 &4 ..
a

.. .. ..

3 &4 .. 3 &4 ..

Q. Why alternate slow and fast versions of the same pattern?

& .. ..

A. Like almost anything, what works slow doesn't always work fast. Alternating a speed burst with slower material lets you work on playing quickly from the start. Just don't get too ambitious. Keep your speed bursts right inside the upper edge of your control. Play the bursts roughly twice as fast as the slow, or use a metronome and keep it at a constant tempo will playing these exercises.

Dynamics Incoporate block dynamics and graduated dynamics into each nger pattern (m i p a shown).

4 &4 .. .. f
m i p a m i p a

4 &4 .. .. p f
m i p a

4 &4 .. .. p

4 &4 .. ..
m i p a

www.christopherguitar.net www.classicalguitarblog.net

Add a Chromatic Line Add a chromatic line in the treble or bass. Use all the nger patterns.
i p a m

.. 2 .. & # # n b 3 4 2
1

2 4 4 .. # 3 # .. &4

p a m

Q. Why do all these exercises have tremolo on the second string? A. It's very easy to do tremolo on the first string: the right hand fingers don't have to be as precise. Tremolo on the second string requires more control.

Add a Moveable Shape Add a standard, moveable shape. A diminished chord is used here along with the p a m i pattern

The Diminished Chord Shape

&

4 1 3 2

bw w w w
5

4 1 3 2

bw w w w
5

&

b b b ! b

Keep moving the pattern up.

At seventh position, head back down the neck.

&

b etc. b

Q. Do I have to do all of these practice methods every day? A. Nope. Pick a few and try them out. Most are more geared towards developing control and coordination. If you feel any of finger patterns on the first page are a bit out of control, use the various practice methods on it. Don't over do it. The exercises on page one work well: they are the foundational material, and should be your primary practice material

www.christopherguitar.net www.classicalguitarblog.net