This exercise is from the Core Skills section on developing Speed Techniques. As usual, check out the normal speed audio first.

This is a brilliant little practice exercise. It sounds great and is useful for developing speed & technique. We're just using 4 notes throughout this exercise. It is the 4 prime notes of the B dim7 chord : B D F Ab. We're using them in a couple of scale runs. Remember, everything here uses just these 4 notes!

First we ascend through these 4 notes across each pair of strings.

Notice that this scale pattern is actually very easy. Play the same intervals on each string (1st and 4th fingers). Just make sure that you shift up by 1 fret per string each time - except for the G string which requires 2 frets because it's always the awkward one (due to the string tuning).

Practice this first scale until you get the hang of it. Don't worry about the speed at first, worry about getting it even and clean. Once you have that nailed, then work on building speed.

Next we descend through these 4 notes, but this time using a step pattern. You can hear the effect of the step pattern very clearly. It is more musical than the first scale, and not too difficult once you have the hang of it.

The step pattern is as follows:

Triplet 1: Pick the F then hammer / pull off the Ab (upon release this will sound the F again).

Triplet 2: Then pick D - F - D.

Practice these 2 triplets until they are seamless. Then just continue down the strings applying the same pattern! So shift your first finger to the next string down and repeat the pattern again. But remember that the 'shift' is 2 frets for the G string, not 1 (which all the rest are). This requires using different fingers and a bit of practice!