Total Guitar Workout: Exercises for Speed, Strength & Stamina (Book + Online Bonus)

By Luke Zecchin

YOUR STEP-BY-STEP, NO-NONSENSE GUIDE TO RESULTS

Would you play an entire baseball game just to practice batting? Of course not! Practice is about isolating specific skills that need work. Yet on guitar we get stuck doing the same old stuff, with no real plan, and wonder why we're not improving. The issue isn't finding things to try—there are thousands of exercises out there! The problem is making sense of it all. Where to start? What to focus on? And how to know what works?

Total Guitar Workout is the complete, start-to-finish workout system for guitar! This book demystifies the key mechanics in building stamina, coordination, dexterity, and speed. These exercises are bite-sized, easy to understand, and perfect for all skill levels. Beyond building good habits long-term, you'll achieve results in just a few pages. Want an exercise book that works? Discover the skill-builders you'll wish you'd found years ago!

ONLINE BONUS: This book is complete with free online bonus material. It comes bundled with a companion website to enhance your learning experience. Extras include audio examples, backing tracks, bonus downloads, and more.

Join thousands of students worldwide! Like easy-to-follow lessons, pro playing tips, and jam-packed value? You'll love learning from this international bestselling instructor.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: GuitarIQ.com
• Release date: Jul 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780995380585

Luke Zecchin

Having played for over 20 years, Luke Zecchin is an accomplished guitarist with a wealth of studio and live experience. Outside his work teaching music, Luke has toured extensively alongside renowned national and international acts, performing at everything from clubs, theaters, and festivals to various appearances on commercial radio and national television. Playing lead guitar, Luke has worked on projects with established international producers and engineers. He has been fortunate enough to see these collaborations break into both the Top 50 ARIA Album and Singles charts, having also received nationwide airplay and notable debuts on the Australian iTunes Rock charts. As the founder of GuitarIQ.com, Luke is dedicated to the education and coaching of guitar players all over the globe. With books available in over 100 countries worldwide, he has emerged as an international chart-topping author in his field. Luke continues to work as an author, educator, and musician from his project studio based in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. ​ Find him online at LukeZecchin.com.

Book preview

Total Guitar Workout

Total Guitar Workout

Exercises for Speed, Strength & Stamina

Luke Zecchin

GuitarIQ.com

Copyright © 2019 Luke Zecchin

ISBN: 978-0-9953805-8-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without express written consent from the author.

Published by GuitarIQ.com

Copyedited by Allister Thompson

Proofread by Dan Foster

Illustrated by Jasmin Zecchin

The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the information contained in this book is both relevant and accurate at the time of release. They accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by any person using this book or the information provided within it.

Please Note: This guide was written to help improve your guitar playing technique. It isn’t intended as a substitute for any form of medical diagnosis, treatment, or therapy. The information provided in this handbook in no way constitutes professional medical advice. If you experience consistent pain or regular discomfort when playing guitar, please seek the advice of a qualified medical professional who can assist you personally with this issue.

This book is dedicated to my brother, Aaron. Sorry I skipped recorder and went straight to guitar—it worked out.

Getting lost on the guitar? Finally, fretboard memorization made easy!

If you like this book, you’ll love our Fretboard Memorization Workshop! This online master class is your shortcut to demystifying the fretboard puzzle. Here you’ll be guided step-by-step through the key concepts, techniques, and exercises needed to master your entire fretboard—quickly and easily. These insights have helped thousands of guitar students worldwide!

To learn more, head to LearnYourFretboard.com.

Contents

Preface

Online Bonus Material

Introduction

The Ground Rules

1. RIGHT-HAND PERCUSSION

Overview

The (Not So) Basics

Beyond the (Not So) Basics

Skipping the (Not So) Basics

2. RIGHT-HAND PRECISION

Overview

Attack Those Notes

Express Those Notes

Control Those Notes

3. LEFT-HAND FINGER GYM

Overview

The Big Squeeze

The Big Bend

The Big Slide

4. LEFT-HAND FINGER YOGA

Overview

The Big Bounce

The Really Big Bounce

The Really Big Switch

5. FRETBOARD BRAINTEASERS

Overview

The Old Faithful

The Old Unfaithful

The Super Old Unfaithful

6. FRETBOARD FINGER-TWISTERS

Overview

The First Steps

The Next Steps

Forget the Steps

7. CROSSING BOUNDARIES

Overview

Stepping-Stones

Rolling Stones

Sweeping Stones

8. BREAKING BOUNDARIES

Overview

Octave Frenzy

Chord Frenzy

Zig-Zag Frenzy

Final Thoughts

Liked This Book?

Additional Resources

About the Author

Books by Luke Zecchin

Special Offer

Preface

Welcome, and thank you for choosing Total Guitar Workout.

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So, why a workout book for guitar? After all, we learn guitar to play music, not exercises! Admittedly, this is a (not entirely unwarranted) criticism of many exercise books. Effective practice requires a healthy balance. It should explore new ideas, engage with things creatively, and never be reduced to a string of disconnected technical drills with no system or agenda.

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That said, it would be foolish to dismiss the notion of exercises altogether. Just because something isn’t the complete picture doesn’t mean it’s not a crucial part of the puzzle. Would you play an entire basketball game just to practice your free throws, or a complete tennis match just to work on your serve? Of course not! It would only waste time and distract you from those specific skills needing attention.

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Ultimately, playing music is the culmination of many parts working together. The better we can isolate and develop these individual mechanics, the better our performance as a whole. Used properly, practice drills are the best tool available for enhancing and refining the core elements of our guitar playing.

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To that end, this book explores step-by-step the key mechanics for building stamina, coordination, dexterity, and speed. These exercises are bite-sized, simple to learn, and easy to incorporate into practice sessions of any length. They can be adapted into quick warm-ups, expanded into intense workouts, and even used to inspire new creative ideas. All this from the comfort of your couch!

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I sincerely hope this book will help you discover your untapped potential and breach new levels of axe-wielding wizardry!

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—Luke Zecchin

Get your free online bonus now!

This book comes complete with free online bonus material. We’ve compiled a companion website to enhance your reading experience. Extras include audio examples, backing tracks, bonus downloads, and more!

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To get your free bonus content, head to: www.guitariq.com/tgw-bonus

Introduction

Great performance is a byproduct of great practice. A well-rounded routine might involve warm-ups, skill development, learning songs, writing music, and experimenting with new ideas (not to mention a healthy dose of jamming!). While exercises shouldn’t dominate your entire practice, they’re a vital part of it.

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The question is: Where do you start? (Let alone what to do next and how to know what works.) Finding things to try isn’t the issue; the guitar world is filled with a myriad of warm-ups and exercises. The problem is organizing and making sense of it all. An abundance of random, disjointed practice drills will likely produce more confusion than anything useful.

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Total Guitar Workout is the product of equal parts passion and necessity. Here you’ll discover a complete, start-to-finish workout system for guitar. This book was carefully designed to drill down on the most important mechanics for the widest impact on your playing. It provides enough structure for clear guidance and direction but enough flexibility for experimentation and creativity. In short, this is your step-by-step, jam-packed, no-nonsense guide for achieving results!

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How does it work? This book is organized into eight chapters. The sections within each chapter are designed to flow methodically through the numerous topics covered. As