Ahead of his UK tour, which begins on March 18 in London, Polish percussive fingerstyle virtuoso Marcin Patrzałek took a few moments to share his backstage warm-up routine with Guitar World.
Marcin has a huge social media following and his skills have been showcased in mainstream TV talent shows. His latest album entitled Dragon In Harmony features stunning guitar arrangements of classic tunes such as Smooth Operator, Clair De Lune and even Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box. There are also collaborations with Polyphia’s Tim Henson, Ichika Nito and Delaney Bailey.
To bring his explosive guitar arrangements to life, Marcin uses pretty much every trick in the book including two-handed tapping, harmonics, fast strumming and percussive taps of the guitar body.
Marcin uses broad dynamic changes and large finger stretches so his strenuous guitar gymnastics require some warming up before a show to avoid injury and insure a consistent performance.
The first thing to note is Marcin is using D-A-D-F-A-D tuning. As the name suggests the sixth, third, second and first strings are tuned down a tone to provide the D-A-D-F-A-D tuning. This tuning creates a deep, resonant sounding D minor chord when the open strings are strummed.
You can play all these warm-ups in standard tuning, however. They will sound different, but the end goal of warming up with sequential note pattern will still be achieved.
Marcin delivers the examples at fast speeds, and this combined with the D-A-D-F-A-D tuning may make them sound more intimidating than they actually are. All five are pattern-based and fall nicely under the fingers so should prove fun to tackle.
Start very slowly with one small section of the pattern. Once perfected, you will then find it easier to extend the pattern all over the fretboard.
We’d also recommend using Marcin’s ideas as a springboard to create your own warm-up ideas. These could be tailored to help you work on a fingering permutation (eg, strengthening the fourth finger) or technique you find hard or inconsistent (eg, crossing strings).
In the video, Marcin is playing his signature Ibanez MRC10-NT guitar. This comes complete with a percussive scratch pad and extra bracing to deal with the rigours of percussive guitar. The guitar also has a low action (distance between the strings and the fretboard), which helps with the delivery of fast two-handed tapping runs.
- Marcin tours the UK in March 2025 – head to MarcinOfficial.com for tickets.
Tab examples
Example 1. Fretting hand tapping warm-up (first, second and fourth fingers)
This uses a repeating four note pattern, which is played exclusively with fretting hand tapping. Concentrate on tapping down just behind the fretwire to insure a clear and strong note is produced.
When you get to the descending portion the pattern is changed, but this is still played with fretting hand tapping (hammering-on). To see Marcin play this, watch the video at the top of the article.
Example 2. Fretting hand tapping warm-up (first, third and fourth fingers)
This uses the same ascending groups of four pattern shown in example one. To get more mileage out of this exercise change the fingering to the first, third and fourth fingers.
Example 3. Fretting hand tapping warm-up (second, third and fourth fingers)
Another fingering permutation for this pattern is the second, third and fourth fingers. This will feel awkward because the first finger – the most important pivot finger for many patterns and shapes – isn't used. However, with time and practice, you will develop greater finger independence for the fretting hand.
Example 4. Fingerpicking with alternate fingers
Now it's time to get the picking hand involved. This warm-up may seem complex, but it uses the same eight-note pattern played across a pair of strings and moves it around the fretboard.
The fretting hand fingering is one finger per fret and the picking is a strict alternating pattern played with the first (i) and second (m) fingers.
The start point is moved up one fret each time the pattern is completed so you can keep going until you run out of frets!
Example 5. Fretting hand stretching
This final warm-up idea provides a good finger stretch and is harder than it looks. First place the first and second fretting hand fingers on the 1st and 2nd frets of the first string.
Then the third and fourth fingers can play the descending pattern shown in the tab, keeping the first and second fingers planted. Marcin picks the strings using his fingernail as if it was a pick but you could fingerpick this instead (or use a pick).
Marcin playing examples
Marcin Patrzałek and Ichika Nito - I Don't Write About Girls
A stunning collaboration featuring Marcin's hammer-ons and tapping technique.
Marcin Patrzałek - Bite Your Nails
Marcin incorporates great fingerpicking and blistering pick-style playing in this rhythmic piece.
