Guitar Trill Exercises
How To Trill
- Fret the note at the IIIrd fret of the 1st string.
- Slowly, hammer on to the IVth fret and then pull off
- Repeat, slowly increasing speed
How Do Guitar Trills Work?
Couched in the simple terms that a guitar teacher with no qualifications in exercise science might use, we can say that there are “speed” muscles which benefit from practicing short bursts of high speed followed by a rest, and “endurance” muscles which are better developed by a long, continuous exercise at a slower pace.
In either case, the trill should exist in real measurable time. Even if notated simply, it must be sixteenth, thirty-second or some other note. It cannot exist out of the dimensions of musical time.
Guitar Trill Exercises
Speed-Burst Trill
Practice trills in this melodic manner to practice the burst of speed followed by recovery.
![Guitar trill speed burst exercise.](https://hubguitar.com//images/trill-exercises-1.png)
Endurance Trill
Practice this trill to develop the endurance to make use of the fret-hand more fluid and effortless.
![Guitar trill speed burst exercise.](https://hubguitar.com//images/trill-exercises-2.png)
Multi-Finger Practice
This combines the speed-burst and the endurance trill. It is a constant series of trills, but the finger responsible for articulating the trill changes once per measure. Fret the note indicated in the tab with the index finger. Trill a diatonicStrictly speaking, any structure comprised of seventh notes. But almost always used to describe 7-note scale structures, usually the major scale or the minor scale, but sometimes other modes as well. step above that note. Trill half-steps with the middle finger and whole steps with the ring finger.
![Guitar trill exercise.](https://hubguitar.com//images/trill-exercises-3.png)
Key Points
- Practicing trills is a great form of conditioning. Don’t assume it is only a special effect.
- Divide your practice between speed bursts and endurance practice.
- Let every finger have a chance to develop fully and independently.
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