If you’re here, it’s because you’re struggling with trying to get your fingers moving. This lesson has a couple of tips that will really help you relax your stiff fingers. If you practice these faithfully, you will see an improvement.
The first one has nothing to do with the guitar – just your hands. Playing guitar requires you to always use the outside tendons on your wrist, and never your inside tendons. The inside tendons are the ones that tighten up from not being used. This exercise is not only for guitar players, but is also good for someone who has tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Place your hands palms together, and spread your fingers out as far as you can. You can do this sitting or standing. Raise your arms, elbows out, and rotate your hands so the fingers are pointing towards your face. Now push out, keeping your fingers touching. Don’t hold it for longer than five seconds. Be careful that you don’t strain your hands. You’ll probably feel it up in your shoulders as well, but the most important thing is that you feel it in your inner tendons. Do three of those, three times a day. This alone will feel better.
The second exercise is to simply do the cheater chromatic scale. Don’t worry about speed – just use it to exercise your fingers. It will train your muscles and loosen them up. Use your first finger to cover all the notes on the first fret, your second for the second fret, third on the third fret, and pinkie for the fourth fret. Move up and down the whole fretboard – one note at a time. If you want to increase your ability with your right hand, practice alternate picking – down up down up at all times. When you get to the highest note, don’t repeat – just come back down. Not only are you learning the chromatic scale, you are learning the basis for soloing in jazz music.
These two simple exercises work extremely well at increasing the strength in your fingers. But give it time – the results aren’t instantaneous.
Good luck, and if you like this lesson, checkout the other courses we have to offer!
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