a finger exercise
 
 

Here is the first thing I share with each of my students. First let me explain the picture you are looking at. Tablature is a series of six lines, intended to represent the six strings on a guitar. The highest line on your screen is the first string, the lowest is the sixth. The numbers you see are simply telling you what fret to play on that string. It really is a remarkably easy system of notation, albeit an incomplete one. In a later lesson I will cover the importance, and mechanics of actual music notation.

This may look familiar. It is a very common exercise, given to guitar students the world over every day by well-meaning instructors, but unfortunately it's not always adequately explained. First of all, be aware that it is not very musical. Don't expect anyone to run into your practice room upon hearing you play this and say "Wow! That sounds awesome!!" Exercising one's hands, however is essential if you want to constantly improve, and be able to play the music that exists inside of you without clumsy fingers getting in the way.

Begin by placing the first finger (index finger) of your fretting hand on the first fret of the sixth string, which is the string farthest from the floor. Place your fingertip directly behind the fret! Otherwise you will get a very unpleasant buzzing sound. Also, don't press any harder than necessary, as this will make your notes go out of tune. Pluck the note with your picking hand. Then do the same thing on the second, third and fourth frets, with the respective fingers. Be sure to keep your fretting hand fingers down on the way up. In other words, after you pick the note on the first fret, put your second finger down WITHOUT LIFTING YOUR FIRST FINGER!! When you put your third finger down keep both your first and second fingers down. When you put your fourth finger down, keep all three down. Lift them only when you change from one string to the next. Repeat this on every string, then go backwards. When you're going backwards (4-3-2-1) you don't need to keep your fingers down. Simply put your fourth finger down on each string first and attempt to keep it rolling along smoothly. Don't let your fingers fly out too far though. They should never come more than one inch away from the string. Make sure that your picking and fretting hands are perfectly synchronized. Your pick should go through the string at the precise instant your fretting finger touches the string. Here are just a few benefits of this exercise::

• BEGINNERS: This exercise will get the beginning hand in shape to play the guitar. Prior to picking up a musical instrument, you probably didn't require a lot of individual finger strength. Your fingers are used to doing everything together, picking something up, putting something down. Now that's gonna change.....

• WARM-UP: Once you've been playing for awhile, this will serve as a great warm-up. Anytime you're doing any sort of physical activity, it is crucial to warm-up first.....

• DISCOVER YOUR WEAKNESSES: Also, it is a great locator of flaws. It is essential to pay close attention to this exercise as you are doing it, and to always try to find ways to make it better. The clarity of each individual note is your highest priority. Always keep your fingers AGAINST THE FRET! Don't play it faster than you can execute it perfectly.  On the way up, KEEP YOUR FINGERS DOWN. Use a metronome, start slowly, gradually increase speed.....

• CONCENTRATION: If you make this exercise the first thing you do every day you will increase your progress drastically. It gets the mind focused on your guitar, where it belongs!

"if you're watching tv, its better to have a guitar strapped around your neck than not."-jeff beck