Fingerstyle Exercises - Backward Rolls
Reverse Roll Technique
- Position each finger (thumb, index, middle, ring) over a string. The thumb gets the bass or root note.
- Pluck each string slowly, in succession, from high to low.
- Use the fingertips to pluck; the function of the fingernail is to provide a smooth surface for the string to slide away from.
- Repeat slowly and work up speed.
The below exercises will help you develop fingerstyle technique. These exercises emphasize the backwards roll which is often used to play four consecutive strings. The roll can take place on four adjacent strings or be spread out across all six. For this technique, be sure to use ring, middle, index, finger fingers, in that order, very strictly.
Fingerstyle Backwards Roll Exercise 1
Fingerstyle Backwards Roll Exercise 2
This exercise also implies a bit of metric modulationA technique used in composition to change the meter and/or tempo of a piece of music. The change is created by finding a way to connect two meters. . The result is that the roll gets faster and faster. This requires a delicate touch. At sufficient speed, this pattern can have a very fluttering and dreamy effect.
Key Tasks
- Practice the fingerstyle backwards roll until you can produce it smoothly.
- Use a metronome at least half of the time with this exercise, but spend some time without it.
As the creator of Hub Guitar, Grey has compiled hundreds of guitar lessons, written several books, and filmed hundreds of video lessons. He teaches private lessons in his Boston studio, as well as via video chat through TakeLessons.