BeginnerAlternate Picking 60→120 BPM

Spider Exercise — 4-Finger Independence

Builds independence between all four fretting fingers.

Start BPM

60

Target BPM

120

Tab Notation
e|--1--2--3--4--|
B|--1--2--3--4--|
G|--1--2--3--4--|
D|--1--2--3--4--|
A|--1--2--3--4--|
E|--1--2--3--4--|

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The spider exercise is the foundation of left-hand independence. Place each finger on consecutive frets (index=1, middle=2, ring=3, pinky=4) and play through all 6 strings.

How to Practice

  1. Start at 60 BPM with a metronome
  2. Use strict alternate picking (down-up-down-up)
  3. Keep all unused fingers hovering close to the strings
  4. Move to the next string only when the current one is clean
  5. Increase BPM by 5 when you can play 3 clean repetitions