Guitar Rolling Technique


I had a viewer ask for a lesson concentrating on guitar rolls a couple weeks back, so I thought I would do a little close-up lesson on how they are performed.

Rolling can be a little difficult to get your head around at first because it seems that if we collapse the tip joint of a fret hand finger, it goes against everything we have been told before. But this collapsing, no matter how unnatural it may feel at first, is essential to be able to play notes within the same fret on an adjacent string quickly.

There isn't any PDF download for this lesson, since I assume that you can follow along with the beginning of the video. Then, if you need to refresh on your pentatonic scale forms that I use to create some exercises for you to practice with, just download the pentatonic scales PDF from the Intermediate Scales Section on the Lessons Archive page. 🙂

Have Fun Everyone!!

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Rolling Technique

3 Comments

  1. Glenn on March 5, 2010 at 3:05 am

    Good lesson, I’m going to learn this.

  2. Çağla on June 27, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    Firstly, thank you for these amazing lessons.
    I wanna ask a question. They sound like different between using this technique and without using this.
    So, when I read a guitar tab, how can I understand it? Are there any symbol about this technique in tabs?
    (Sorry for my language mistakes.)
    Thank you again and again.

    • Carl Brown on June 27, 2012 at 8:05 pm

      Hey great question! Guitar TAB is still being developed and there is no set way to write it. Especially for all the little symbols demonstrating certain techniques.

      After you play enough stuff, you will find the comfortable way to play it and stick with that. Guitar fingering is such a personal thing I wouldn’t want to tell you to do it one way or another. Try practicing it both ways and stick with the one you like the best. 🙂

      Cheers! Carl..

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