Do this exercise slowly at first and gradually increase it until you notice any tension in your hand, arm or shoulder. Slow down just enough so that you can stay relaxed and do the exercise there.

On the third string put your fingers on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th frets and repeat the following combinations.

• 5678
• 8765
• 5768
• 8675
• 5867
• 8576

Do the same exercise in different positions and on different strings ensuring that the timing is spot on and that each note is as clean as all of the others.

Play the D on the 7th fret third string with your first finger and then the C two semitones down on the same string with your second finger, moving from the 7th position to the 4th. There are a number of things to note here:

• Ensure that your shoulder doesn't lift at all, be aware of any tension at the top of your shoulder as you move up the neck and eliminate it completely. To do this your upper arm will need to rotate laterally at the shoulder joint and your elbow will stay in the same position, directly below the shoulder, at your waist.
• You don't want your wrist to lock with this movement, there should be at least a little flow with it, like in the tai chi exercises, except that it's a straight lateral movement.
• Keep your wrist parallel to the neck.

Once you're comfortable with this one, and it may take a while, play the C with your third finger so that your shuffling back into the 3rd position. When you've got that down play it in the 2nd position with your little finger. You'll notice the lateral roll in the wrist more now and also the importance of keeping all of the strings equally accessible to your little finger.

So where the previous exercise used only two notes these will use scales/modes, firstly the major scale and secondly the mixolydian mode. The first one plays E major on the first string:

• Start in the open position by playing the E open and the F# with your second finger.
• Then, without looking at your guitar, move to the fourth position to play G# with your first finger, A with the second and B with the fourth.
• Finally move to the 9th position where C# is under your first finger, D# the third and the tonic again on the 12 fret with your fourth finger.
• Play back down the scale using the same fingering.

As well as learning the distances between notes in terms of note names you're learning how far your hand needs to move to get a change in pitch. You are developing a connection between your proprioceptive mechanisms and what you hear. This exercise builds on this aural relationship by contrasting the major sound with a mixolydian.

• Start with the Open E but this time play the F# in the second position with your first finger, the G# with your third and A with your fourth.
• Now, again without looking continue with the B, first finger 7th fret, the C# with the third finger and this time the flat 7 D with the fourth finger before changing position again to hit the octave with your first finger.
• Play back back down E mixolydian with the same fingering.
• Before we leave this exercise head back up to the 9th position to play the C# with your first finger, the D with your second and the tonic with the fourth, taking note particularly of the sound of the flat 7 D.
• Now do exactly the same thing but play the major seventh D# instead of the D, again aware of the change in the quality of the sound. As you compare the two you're training your fingers to fall according to your ears and not your eyes. This is something that you should be aware of every time you play a note, try to move to the sound you want, not the position.