GUITARHUBFind your level

Technique · Advanced · 6 min

String Skipping in Octaves

Jump over a string on every move: root, octave, third, octave through C, Am, F and G.

How to play it
  1. For each chord play the root, jump one string to its octave, then the third and its octave. Over F the third is A: open string 5, then string 3 fret 2.
  2. Mute the skipped string with the side of your fretting finger so a stray hit does not ring.
  3. Use strict alternate picking. The scorer hears pitch only, so a missed string shows up as a wrong note.

What the coach checks: Pitch of each note in order.

Goal100 BPM · 80% accuracy
Your bestNo result yet
Rating–

Tab player

Hear the line

eBGDAE12

Tap any number to hear it. Four clicks count you in.

100% is the goal tempo, 100 BPM. The speed presets climb from Learn to Goal about 10% at a time, and the practice slider below uses the same scale. Build a full ladder to your goal

Your practice room

Find each note

Single-note pitch feedback. Practice waits for each note; Play checks the sequence at your chosen tempo. This does not assess chord quality or fret buzz.

This checkpoint needs 100 BPM or faster and the required accuracy. Slower Play attempts still produce practice scores.

Exercise map · 16 targets
  1. 1. C3Bar 1 · beat 1 · string 5 · fret 3
  2. 2. C4Bar 1 · beat 1.5 · string 3 · fret 5
  3. 3. E3Bar 1 · beat 2 · string 4 · fret 2
  4. 4. E4Bar 1 · beat 2.5 · string 2 · fret 5
  5. 5. A2Bar 1 · beat 3 · string 6 · fret 5
  6. 6. A3Bar 1 · beat 3.5 · string 4 · fret 7
  7. 7. C3Bar 1 · beat 4 · string 5 · fret 3
  8. 8. C4Bar 1 · beat 4.5 · string 3 · fret 5
  9. 9. F2Bar 2 · beat 1 · string 6 · fret 1
  10. 10. F3Bar 2 · beat 1.5 · string 4 · fret 3
  11. 11. A2Bar 2 · beat 2 · string 5 · fret 0
  12. 12. A3Bar 2 · beat 2.5 · string 3 · fret 2
  13. 13. G2Bar 2 · beat 3 · string 6 · fret 3
  14. 14. G3Bar 2 · beat 3.5 · string 4 · fret 5
  15. 15. B2Bar 2 · beat 4 · string 5 · fret 2
  16. 16. B3Bar 2 · beat 4.5 · string 3 · fret 4

Chord names and stroke directions are visual guidance. Rhythm scoring measures attack timing.

Target 1 of 16C3String 5 · fret 3

Play one note at a time.

Tune first. Audio stays on this device.

Why this drill

Skipping strings puts picking accuracy under real pressure, because the pick has to clear a string it is not playing. Octave shapes make the jumps predictable so the right hand can learn them.

Common mistakes

  1. The skipped string rings

    Fix: Let the finger on the lower note lean just enough to touch the string above it, and rest the picking-hand palm near the bridge. Any stray hit is then a dead click instead of a wrong note.

  2. The up stroke misses the octave

    Fix: With strict alternate picking, every skip goes from a down stroke on the root to an up stroke on the octave, so the pick has to travel across the skipped string between strokes. Loop the first two notes, C on string 5 fret 3 to C on string 3 fret 5, until that travel is small and exact.

  3. The open A keeps ringing in the F group

    Fix: Over F the third is the open A string, followed by A on string 3 fret 2. Touch string 5 with the picking-hand palm or a fretting finger as you play string 3, so the two A notes do not blur together.

Tempo plan

100% is the goal tempo, 100 BPM. Each rung sits about 10% above the one before it, so every step up is one you can hold. The speed presets in the player above use the same rungs.

  1. Learn 75 BPM · 75%Say the chord name at the start of each group and listen for silence on every skipped string.
  2. Build 83 BPM · 83%Plan the next root during the last octave of each group: C on string 5 fret 3, A on string 6 fret 5, F on string 6 fret 1, G on string 6 fret 3.
  3. Push 91 BPM · 91%Switch to Play · full check here. Two clean passes in a row earn the next rung.
  4. Goal 100 BPM · 100%Sixteen eighth notes with no stray string noise, including the change into the F group. A pass at 80% accuracy or better clears the drill.
  5. Stretch 110 BPM · 110%Run a few passes here, then return to the goal. Time above the goal makes the goal feel settled.

Build a full ladder to your goal with holds and back-off sessions, starting from the tempo you can play today.

Make it music

C, Am, F and G are the I–vi–IV–V progression in C, so this drill is already a picked accompaniment part. Play it under a singer or over a strummed track, or keep only the roots and octaves for a bass-style figure.

Variation

Swap each third for the fifth and keep the same octave shapes. Over C that means G on string 4 fret 5 and its octave on string 2 fret 8, three frets up because the octave crosses from string 4 to string 2.

Drills

Guides