String skipping trainer
String skipping trainer drills the picking hand on jumps over strings. You pick a fixed string pattern like 6-4-5-3 or interval jumps on a scale in your chosen tuning. The tab shows every note and the tool can raise the tempo in steps.
How to use it
- Pick an exercise: a fixed string pattern or interval jumps on a scale.
- Set the fret, the shift toward higher strings and the note value. For interval jumps pick the scale, root, position and how many strings to skip.
- Follow the tab. Downstrokes and upstrokes keep alternating, even when the strings jump.
- Pick a training mode and tempo. Start slowly, since the jumps are hard to play cleanly.
- The session is saved in the practice log and personal bests apply per pattern and tuning.
What is string skipping?
String skipping is jumping over one or more strings between two notes. The technique gives open, leaping lines that sound different from scales played string by string, and it trains the accuracy of the picking hand.
- Keep alternate picking going even when the strings jump.
- Watch the path of the pick: it should move as little as possible.
- Start slowly, since the jumps are hard to play cleanly.
How do I read a string pattern such as 6-4-5-3?
The numbers are string numbers, where 1 is the thinnest string and 6 the thickest. The pattern 6-4-5-3 means you play string 6, jump to 4, go back to 5 and jump to 3. The pattern then repeats at the tempo you chose.
Frequently asked questions
What are interval skips on a scale?
Each note in the scale is played together with the note a few strings higher up. You choose the scale, root, position and how many strings are skipped. This gives skipping lines made of the scale's notes. The intervals get larger the more strings you skip.
Which string patterns can I choose?
Fixed patterns such as 6-4-5-3 and 1-3-2-4. The numbers are the strings in the order they are played, and string 1 is the highest string. Start with one of the fixed patterns before you move on to scales.
Why do the skips come out uneven?
The picking hand has to change height between the strings but keep alternating. Lower the tempo and watch the path of the pick: it should move as little as possible. Raise the tempo only when the skips are as even as notes on adjacent strings. Also listen for the skips sounding as loud and clear as the neighboring notes.
Can I practice in a tuning other than standard?
Yes. You choose the tuning in the tool, and the personal best applies per pattern and tuning. A session in drop D is then not compared with one in standard tuning.
Related tools
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- Tremolo trainer: Practise tremolo picking with eighth notes, triplets or sixteenth notes on one or more strings.
- Speed trainer: Raise the tempo step by step, with timed rounds or clean repetitions.
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- Gallop trainer: Practice typical metal rhythms: gallop, reverse gallop, triplets and syncopation, at your own tempo.
- Timing analyzer: Measure how close to the click your notes land, using a microphone or audio interface. The audio never leaves your device.