Warm Up Exercises

Don't skip these exercises just because you think they are boring or not flashy enough, it is important to loosen fingers before each playing session.

Exercise One.

The most basic warm up exercise. This one is based on an assending pattern known as the 1-2-3-4. This pattern is excellent for building up speed and picking fluency. So not only will it loosen the fingers, in time it will increase your speed.

Play this....1 - 2 - 3 - 4 on the low E string ( the numbers are fret numbers ) using all fingers then move up a string and so on until you meet the high E. Then move the whole lot up 1 fret and play back down to the low E, move up a fret and continue right up the neck.

Practice slowly at first with a metronome using strict alternate (up/down) picking. You can also change the fingering to other more challenging patterns such as 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 or 3 - 1 -2 - 4. Think of some of your own and keep pickin'!

Exercise Two.

The following exercises are stretching exercises aiming at gradually increasing the fretting hands reach.

Play this.... Low E string fret 1 first finger, fret 4 3rd finger. Up and down the fretboard as in exercise one. then play the same exercise with fingers 2 and 4. If you find the stretches to much, move the whole exercise up a few frets where the frets are closer together. You DO NOT want to try stretches that are to big or you will damage your hand. These exercise are made easier by NOT hooking your finger over the top of the fretboard, but the thumb must be at the back of the neck classical style.

As before practice with a metronome grradually increading speed.

Well that should have tired your fingers out a bit. Keep at these exercises and in a few months you should be able to see the difference and impress your mates. After all impressing people is why you took up the guitar and not the Trumpet, yes?