These new Scale Acceleration Exercises from Online Beginner Course A will help you to drill in your scale patterns in G, D and A major.

Once you've mastered the basic pattern, play through each scale using a long rhythm value (the exercise starts with a 4-beat semiquaver/whole note).

Then, play it again, but halve the note value to a 2-beat minim/half note. It'll feel like you're playing the scale much faster! And you'll be having to place the fingers in just half the time.

(Intermediate and Advanced players can do exactly the same thing with bigger scales that go into different octaves!).

We recommend using a metronome to help you maintain a secure pulse. Only change note on a metronome beat, to be sure that you are playing in time.

Before long, you'll find that you reach the limit of what you can currently do, and you'll find it hard to keep up with the metronome. When this happens, just go back a step, and practise the previous exercise (longer note values) a bit more.

At this point, you can also slow down your metronome beat and repeat the exercise at a slower speed. This will give you more time to clearly visualise your finger placement action.

Do this a few extra times to drill the pattern deeper into your muscle memory, and then try it again at a higher speed!