Originally, I thought I could keep up with my Exercise of the Week lesson, but I just don't have the time to be doing that on a weekly basis. So here is a toned down version - the Exercise of the Month. You can expect to see quite a wide variety of exercises here that will help you in many areas of your playing.

I have often said that I love the sound of Dominant 7th chords and arpeggios. I also love the sound of wide intervals in general. So with this exercise, I am combining both and showing you a typical riff that I might come up with for a song of my own.

In the medium and fast audio versions, I have added some backing chords and percussion to put this exercise in a musical context. I think you'll agree it is pretty cool and unique sounding (damn - I am giving away one of my greatest secrets!).

Here we see an Eb Dominant 7th arpeggio, which is the basis for this exercise. The diagram may look scary, and at first it may be scary, but after a while you will have the coodination needed to get your fingers where they need to be!

This exercise has a couple technical aspects that warrant attention. First, we are using purely legato. Believe me, with alternate picking, this would sound not even as close to as good as it does with legato. This type of riff demands smoothness and fluidity, and that can only be achieved with legato.

Things to watch out for: The position shifting needed to execute this can cause all sorts of problems. You may not find your fingers going to the right notes. All I can say is that this exercise may seem very difficult at first for that reason. But after a while, your fingers will develop 'memory', and they will suddenly be effortlessly coordinated. Also, to play this lick really fast, you need to have your legato technique in super shape.