Extreme Makeover: Guitarists Edition Volume II

Hey champ! Welcome back. Now, the last article I wrote may have been a little harsh, and maybe you cried a little bit. Its no big deal, I happen to cry myself to sleep every night. Don’t worry though; my only intention was to get you ready to take guitar playing seriously.

So the first thing I want you to do is condition your fingers so you develop finger strength and independence. I am going to show you a few basic exercises involving the use of all of your fingers. The stronger your fingers are, the longer you will be able to play, and less your hand will cramp up into a gnarled claw (like it does every lonely Friday night).

To be perfectly honest with you, I used to hate these exercises when I was starting out because they didn’t seem relevant to actual guitar playing, and they were kinda boring. How naive I was. My opinion quickly changed when I noticed vast improvements in my playing in mere days.

You need to have faith and be patient with these exercises! Pay special attention and focus on your playing to ensure that each note is articulated clearly. A good philosophy to remember is that ‘Speed is the byproduct of accuracy’. If you try and blaze through these exercises just to finish them, then you are short changing yourself.

When you pick through these exercises you need to utilize Alternate Picking. This type of picking is very efficient and will help coordinate both of your hands to work together in synchronicity. Pick the first note with a down stroke, the second followed by an up stroke, then a down stroke and finally an up stroke.

Lets start by alternate picking one note over and over again:

e|---------|
b|---------|
g|---------| Repeat
d|---------|
a|---------|
E|-5-5-5-5-|
   D U D U

For anyone riding the short bus to school D = Down Stroke and U = Up Stroke

Got that? Cool.

Next we will try an exercise that involves assigning one finger to each fret. Index finger for the 5th fret, middle finger for the 6th fret, ring finger for the 7th fret, and your pinky for the 8th fret.

Now try this:

e|---------|
b|---------|
g|---------| Repeat
d|---------|
a|---------|
E|-5-6-7-8-|
   D U D U

Side note: Your thumb should not be wrapped around the neck of the guitar. This is bad practice, and will hinder your development. Make sure your thumb it is pushing on the back of the neck. Yes there are some techniques that REQUIRE you to wrap your thumb around the neck, but we aren’t there yet Hendrix.

Now try this pattern:

e|-----------------|
b|-----------------|
g|-----------------| Repeat
d|-----------------|
a|-----------------|
E|-5-6-7-8-8-7-6-5-|
   D U D U D U D U

Now remember go slow at first! This isn’t a race here. Make sure that every finger is fretting each note clearly. And yes, I am aware of the indentations in your fingers and how your fingertips are starting to hurt. This is normal. If you find they are really hurting, then take a break. Sissy. When you have this under your belt try it on all strings:

e|-----------------------------------------5-6-7-8-|
b|---------------------------------5-6-7-8---------|
g|-------------------------5-6-7-8-----------------| Repeat
d|-----------------5-6-7-8-------------------------|
a|---------5-6-7-8---------------------------------|
E|-5-6-7-8-----------------------------------------|
   D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U

Now play the above forward and backwards like this:

e|-----------------------------------------5-6-7-8-|
b|---------------------------------5-6-7-8---------|
g|-------------------------5-6-7-8-----------------|
d|-----------------5-6-7-8-------------------------|
a|---------5-6-7-8---------------------------------|
E|-5-6-7-8-----------------------------------------|
   D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U

e|-8-7-6-5-----------------------------------------|
b|---------8-7-6-5---------------------------------|
g|-----------------8-7-6-5-------------------------| Repeat
d|-------------------------8-7-6-5-----------------|
a|---------------------------------8-7-6-5---------|
E|-----------------------------------------8-7-6-5-|
   D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U

The above is an excellent way to warm up your hands before you start playing. I recommend practicing it for about 2 minutes (minimum) every time you pick up your axe. This is the exercise that improved my co-ordination dramatically. Oh yea, and as a side note, try and use a stiff pick that doesn’t flex too much (if at all). It will help you play more accurately. If you have been coddled with a flimsy pick and cling to it like your blankey, I recommend that you step up your game and go splurge on a less flexible pick.

Now if all of these exercises seem non-musical and boring, then the following may be more interesting to your ear. The following is an A Major scales pattern for your playing pleasure:

A Major

e|---------------------------4-5-|
b|-----------------------5-7-----|
g|-----------------4-6-7---------|
d|-----------4-6-7---------------|
a|-----4-5-7---------------------|
E|-5-7---------------------------|
   D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D

*Use your index finger for any notes on the 4th fret, middle for any note on the 5th fret, ring finger for notes on the 6th fret, and your pinky for notes on the 7th fret. This major scale pattern is a little tricky since you start the scale with your middle finger.

Note: If you found all of these exercises boring and made you want to put down the guitar or hindered your enthusiasm to play, then don’t practice them. Seriously. Your top priority should be to stay interested and enthusiastic for the guitar. You don’t NEED to know these exercises in order to play guitar. They are merely here to assist you and make you a stronger player in less time.

Well, that’s it for now buddy. Practice the above exercises as much as you possible can. Don’t skimp out, because my next articles are just going to keep building on the ideas I have presented here.