Twelve sequences that move by 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, and mixtures of them. Every run lives in the same three-note-per-string shape you already know, so the only thing that changes from run to run is the order your fingers visit the notes.
root A3rd C5th EB D F G
A run "moves by 3rds" when each note is followed by the note two scale steps away. That's all an interval sequence is: a rule for which hole to jump to next. The rule is what the ear hears — the notes are just the scale.
Method is the same as always. Loop the first cell or two until they play themselves, then add a cell. Start at 60. Four clean cycles earns you 5 bpm; one fluff costs you 5. Pick as little as possible — hammer and pull inside a string, pick the string changes.
Single intervals
R1
Stepwise in fours
2nds
The control run. Groups of four adjacent scale notes, each group starting one note higher. Every other run in this pack is this run with holes punched in it — get this one clean first so the others have something to be measured against.
CueOne pick per group of four where possible: pick, hammer, hammer, pick the string change. Loop the first two bars until the string crossings are silent.
R2
Broken 3rds, ascending
3rds
Every note followed by the scale note two steps above it. Diatonic 3rds alternate major and minor, so the run breathes — some pairs are bright, some are dark, and the ear tracks the change.
CuePick every note at first, then try economy: down-down when the pair crosses a string. Keep the second note of each pair slightly softer.
R3
Broken 3rds, descending
3rds
The same 3rds coming down. Descending 3rds are harder for the fretting hand because the finger that lands on the lower note is often the one that just left.
CueStart slow — 55 bpm. The pull-offs want to be even, not accented.
R4
Broken 4ths, ascending
4ths
Every note followed by the note three scale steps above it. This is the Henderson sound — quartal, hollow, neither major nor minor until the tritone (B–F) pops out of the line. Listen for it.
CueThese skip a string. Practise the picking hand alone on muted strings first: the motion is inside–outside, never a sweep.
Mixtures
R6
Step then skip
2nds + 3rds
Three-note cells: up a 2nd, then up a 3rd, then the cell starts again one note higher. The triplet feel comes free; the 3rd lands you on a note the ear doesn't predict.
CueCount in triplets. Accent the first note of each cell — that accent is what makes the sequence audible as a shape rather than a scale.
R7
Expanding from the root
2nds → 3rds → 4ths → 5ths → 6ths → 7ths → 8ve
Pivot on A and reach further each time: A–B, A–C, A–D, A–E, A–F, A–G, A–A. Then the same from the next A up. Every interval in the pack, in order, against one fixed note.
CueLet the A ring as a reference. The point is to hear each interval as a distance from home, not as two notes.
R8
3rd then 4th, stacked
3rds + 4ths
Three-note cells: up a 3rd, then up a 4th from there. Each cell spans a 6th, so the line climbs fast and the top note of every cell is a colour tone against the bottom one.
CueThis is a string-skip cell most of the time. Fret all three notes before you pick the first if you can — think in shapes, not notes.
R9
4th then 3rd, stacked
4ths + 3rds
The mirror of the last run: 4th first, then a 3rd on top. Same span, completely different feel — the wide leap comes first and the line settles instead of opening.
CuePlay R8 and R9 back to back and notice which one your hand prefers. Practise the other one.
R10
Pentatonic in 4ths
4ths (pentatonic)
A minor pentatonic with every note followed by the note three pentatonic steps up. Because the pentatonic already skips, some of these "4ths" are really 5ths and 6ths — which is why it sounds like a fusion line and not an exercise.
CueThis one goes straight into your soloing. Stop on any pair and it sounds like a phrase ending.
R11
Widening cell
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Five-note cells: from the start note go up a 2nd, then a 3rd, then a 4th, then a 5th. The cell fans open as it goes, then the next cell starts one note higher and does it again.
CueFive notes per cell in a four-feel pushes the accent around the beat — good. Let it. Or play it in 5/4 as written.
R12
Up a 4th, down a 3rd
4ths + 3rds (zig-zag)
Three notes: leap up a 4th, fall back a 3rd, and the next cell starts a 2nd above that. The classic fusion "sawtooth" — it climbs the neck while never sounding like a scale.