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Left-Hand Finger Exercises for Guitar
Left-hand finger exercises are great for improving your speed, tone and
accuracy. I found that even after I had been playing guitar for years
that simple exercises had a dramatic effect on my playing when I
approached them the right way.
For Beginners: These exercises will help your fingers move in ways that
they are not used to. When you play them, take your time and use as
little left-hand motion as possible
Advanced/Intermediate Players: don’t skip these just because they seem simple. You would be missing a great opportunity. You just need to have the right mental focus. You should focus on playing each note as cleanly as possible with as much tone as you can muster.
By playing a simple exercise you are able to focus more on these important aspects of your playing because the notes are easy for you to play.
|--1-2-3-4-2-3-4-5-3-4-5-6-…etc…-|
|------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------|
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LH 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Notice that the left hand repeats this pattern: 1st finger, 2nd finger,
3rd, 4th, shift, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, shift….
Play the exercise as high up the neck as you can. Then do the same thing on the rest of the strings.
IMPORTANT: Do not rush through these exercises. That would be a waste of time and could actually result in doing more harm than good. Do notpractice bad habits over and over again. Always play your guitar with focus and intention.
Finger exercises can go a long way towards improving your playing. Play them a few minutes each day and you won’t be disappointed.
This is the first article in a series of guitar finger exercises.
