Etudes for Electric Guitar

Etude #2 - "Giuliani's Andante" is at 90bpm and is my own lead guitar arrangement of Mauro Giuliani's Andante in C. It features sustained 1-note-per-string crosspicking and instances of custom sweeping and economy picking to make the parts practical and playable.

Etude #3 - "Baroque" is at 105bpm and is a tricky cocktail of challenging maneuvers and fingerings. As always, be extra careful with those 1-note-per-string crosspicking parts, and keep an eye out for that one particular instance of upward sweeping. I came up with this many years ago, and am so pleased to be using it for something at last.

Etude #4 - "Fritz Kreisler" is at 95bpm and is my own arrangement of a section from Fritz Kreisler's Prelude and Allegro (what I consider to be the best piece of classical music ever made). This is probably the hardest etude from the entire course - the fingering challenges are insane! It serves as a reminder that this piece of music was never meant to be played on guitar (Fritz Kreisler wrote it for violin), and our situation is made even harder by the fact that guitar was not designed to be played with a pick. Nevertheless, stick with this and you'll have a truly beautiful etude at your fingertips.

Etude #5 - "Double Picking" is at 125bpm and stands out because every single note is picked twice. Double picking isn't just a valuable practice tool for developing 1-way pickslanting, it can also be used to lengthen and bolster picking passages like shown here.

Etude #6 - "Classical Sophistication" is at 100bpm and is fully alternate picked. Carefully weave through this passage as you navigate the tricky downstroke escapes, upstrokes escapes, crosspicking, and 1-note-per-string changes. This is one of my favorites!

Etude #7 - "Canon Pedal Tones" is at 100bpm and uses sustained crosspicking to outline the chord progression of the admittedly now-cliché/overused "Pachelbel's Canon". I arranged these pedal tone patterns to switch between 3-string and 4-string versions, and to make sure they connect in a pleasing way, ensuring good flow.

Etude #8 - "A Guitarist's Triumph" is at 100bpm and takes you on an extended journey through crosspicked pedal tones. As always, pay careful attention to the fingering instructions to make sure you're playing in the most ergonomic and practical way possible.

Etude #9 - "Michael Romeo Style" is at 130bpm and is inspired by the playing of Michael Romeo of Symphony X. This is very fast considering its complexity, so really take your time with this one. It's loaded with challenges! The rapidfire 1-note-per-string crosspicking at these speeds is really tough, as is the changing between stacked sweeping and scalar play.

Etude #10 - "Solfeggietto" is at 120bpm and is my own arrangement of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Solfeggietto. It blends sweep picking, 2-way pickslanting alternate picking, 2-way pickslanting economy picking, slides, and large jumps to create a truly formidable feat indeed.