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Warm-up 2: Chromatic Insanity

This exercise is for intermediate to advanced players. This is your classic set of kaleidoscope runs.  If you find yourself stumbling on some of the phrasing here, that's ok. Most guitarists (myself included) are not used to playing 4 and 5 notes per string. Through most of our playing, we're usually playing 2 or 3 notes per string, so this exercise can definitely seem daunting at first, especially when used as a warm-up.

The idea, similar to the first warm-up exercise, is to start off slow, and gradually increase to the maximum speed you can play. Now this one will be harder than the harmonic minor warm-up, mainly because the fingering patterns change on almost every line.

Technique-wise, have fun varying this pattern. Play through it a few times with alternate picking, then try some legato (slurring notes) through it as well.

The trick to this pattern is to stay within the first 4 frets on the guitar. The frets are further apart here than anywhere else on the neck, so your fingers will be stretching as you run through the exercise.

Get this up to speed, and not only does it sound sick as hell, it'll really help you get the rust off your fingers.