https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/pick-hand-exercise-guitar-beginner
Use this exercise to start your practice session! It’s great to calibrate both tone and technique, & it’s fun!
Discuss the Guitar lesson: Pick Hand Exercise
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This looks like good stuff. I haven’t done similar for years. I look forward to giving it a go!
Good lesson, Ben, but since it is in 4/4 time, each measure should be counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &, instead of 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4. as you did. Just trying to help.
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Thanks Ben. I really enjoyed this lesson. Very methodical approach to developing pick hand accuracy and speed. This will be a great warm up exercise that I’ll incorporate into my daily practice.
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Charles, welcome to the forum!
It can be counted either way.
IIRC Ben’s counting of only the downbeats helped to emphasize the syncopated feeling in the picking pattern.
Great lesson Ben! Refreshing to know that professionals need a reset every now and then 
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Sneaky 
I remember first practicing this type of right hand work 40+ years ago, but haven’t in recent years. THANK YOU for reminding me how important this work is to cleaning up your technique. After just a few minutes of this, my hands felt happy and relaxed. I hope to retire at the beginning of next year and I want my technique clean, clear and precise. These exercises will go a long way to getting me there, especially the 3, 4, 5, and 6 string jumps. Thanks again!
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Welcome to the forum. I think its OK to count 1,2,3,4 but if it helps you on the upstroke definitely do the up pick on &. I have been working on swinging the beat by playing on the ah and the number count on a 1 & ah 2 & ah 3 & ah 4 & ah. that is played like triplets except you don’t play the &. All are 4/4 time. But that is more of a timing thing, not covered in the practice lesson.
Ben, Thanks for the great exercise. I have been getting a lot out of just doing exercises for a short while every day. I try to do it when no one is home though because repeating excercises can be a bit annoying to just play the same roll or cross picking or this exercise over and over but that is how it starts becoming natural
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Sometimes in Church, the Preacher seems to know what is going on in your life and the Sermon Is focused on YOU. Well Hallelujah! Ben must be watching me play because this Sermon……. I mean lesson, was focused on ME.
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After trying, I come to realize I’m not as clean, accurate and smooth with the reverse strokes as with the forward strokes. Also, I realize the need to adjust the hand movements a bit with the reverse strokes. I expect this exercise to correct such techniques to solve problems in other lessons in improving and picking up speed. A vital basic lesson!
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This is lesson is awesome! exactly the kind of nitty gritty details i was looking for as a practice tool, especially how you added the cross picking ideas to build on!
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