[Shadow-X-]

Hey, do any of you happen to play the geetar? I've had my acoustic guitar for almost a year now, and I know that practice is pretty much the word of the day, but I still can't seem to advance to more advanced level.

Now, as my "Guitar For Dummies" says, people often tend to get a guitar for the first time, go on the net or a bookstore, get some tabs, and learn how to play songs they like, but they don't finish learning how to play it comepletely, and in my case, that is true. I am skipping the really easy essential practice of simple songs like Mary Had A Little lamb (etc.), and honestly, I really despite practicing with them songs.

But, anyhoo, I am in search for methods as to how to use my pinky finger more effectively, since it seems to be the most fingerly-challenged of em all when it comes to jumping onto the neck.

For any guitarists out there, are there any practicing methods I can use to implement using my pinky more often, or get it into shape or to condition it? What about little finger "excercises" i can do when not playing my guitar (such as when Im in class or on a bus, watching TV or driving down the highway....)?

Any help is appreciated!
Thanks in Advance.

- Monkey Pox Victim #1, population....me.
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Just remember, when in doubt, even monkeys fall from trees sometimes.

[Lunatique]

Practice your scales, and vary the order that you play your scales in.(This works out all of your fingers--but you can be creative and use more of your pinky.)

For example:

Play a scale run up and down using all four fingers in a row(for example: fret #5,6,7,8 on 6th string, the the same frets on 5th strings...etc)

Play the same scale, but start on each string moving one note down(Fret #6,7,8,5).

The next variation, do 7,8,5,6,.

And so on.

Then, you can reverse it by going 8,7,6,5, or any other variation that seems difficult for your fingers. You can do something like, 7,5,8,6, or any other crazy combination. The key is, to exercise your fingers and get them to be able to play in anything formation easily.

You can adopt this system to work out just your pinky--or buy one of those finger work out grip things. I'm sure if you go to a music instrument store and ask for one, you'll find it.

[Impaler]

A QUICK GUITAR TUTORIAL

STRETCHING
First of all, make sure you stretch your hand before playing for more than 3 minutes at a time. First, I hold my left hand straight out, fingers up. I pull the fingers back towards me with my right hand and count to ten. Do the same for the right. Then, make a fist and pull it downwards with the other hand, count to ten. Do it for both hands. Then, mesh your fingers together, palm out, and stretch outwards. It's like cracking your knuckles, without actually doing it.

Stretching is the equivalent of calisthenics before running a mile. If you don't loosen up your hand before you play, you will end up with arthritis after about 10 years. The key to stretching, however, is to loosen up your hand, not strengthen it. Don't pull your fingers back until they hurt, and don't crack your knuckles. Shake out your hand between each exercise.

DEXTERITY (without a guitar)
Most people are born without any real finger independence. Remember trying to do the Vulcan wave? I borrowed this exercise from cardsharks and pen spinners. Holding your hand out, fingers up, bend each finger at the first knuckle, keeping the rest of the finger straight. THE MOST IMPORTANT part is to not move any of your other fingers. It is mindnumbing and frustating at first, so go slow. After about two weeks, you should be able to bend your ring finger without moving any of your other fingers. A few weeks after that, you should be able to bend your pinky and your middle finger without the other two even twitching. Once again, the key to this exercise is to not overdo it. Bending your fingers for an hour will do much more harm than good. At most, I would try this for one minute at a time, with a large period of rest in between. The best thing about this exercise is that you can do it whereever or whenever. I do it when I'm watching tv, talking on the phone, in the bathroom, etc.

STRENGTH
The simplest way I can think of to build strength in your left hand is to simply not use your right hand. Play a scale or an entire song by just fretting the notes with as much strength as you can. The point is to try and get as clear and as resonant a sound as you can. Try just walking up and down the fretboard with your third and fourth fingers, especially since they will be your weakest fingers. Keep your fingers close to the string, also. You shouldn't have to vault your fingers 2 inches just to get the speed to make a sound. At most, your fingers should move an inch, and preferably less than an inch. The less distance your fingers have to move, the better.

Lunatique's method also works great. You will see guitarrists warming up before a concert by just going up the first four frets and back down as quickly as they can. It's a great way to build up speed, and a fine way to build up strength.

DEXTERITY (with a guitar)
I picked up this exercise from a banjo player. He calls it the spider. Starting on the Low E, play a fret with your first finger, then play a fret a whole step away with your third. Keeping those fingers down (this is critical!), play a the next fret up from your first finger on the A with your second finger, and a note a whole step higher with your forth. Then play the same fret that your first finger is on, on the A. Repeat all the way up. Here is a crude tab:

[Drew]

Many of these exercises are pretty boring if you sit and do them for long periods every day. The great thing about an instrument the size of a guitar is that you can sit with it in your lap while you do other things, like watch TV. Now, I'm not advising you to do serious practice while not really paying attention, but for finger exercises it's ok once you've got your timing down and making funky buzzing noises is rare.

When I had a working guitar, it was usually in my lap while I was surfing the net. A slow loading page is a great time to get a little bit of practice in. Also, it was something to do while giving my eyes a break.

[Shadow-X-]

Thanks for the reply guys. I'm enjoying my guitar so much lately, and feel so frustrated by the inept abilities of my pinky, hehe. I will certainly try to practice more often as a personal goal, and keep in mind to stretch for a few minutes before playing.

Impaler - I seriously don't hope you just wrote that up as a reply on the spot. I would feel so guilty knowing you took what seems like a while to write up that hefty pocket book. Im hoping that it's something you copy/pasted from another page, but if not, I'm feeling the love here (well, I feel that anyways from the responses I've gotten so far in this post). Just a quick question from reading your reply, the finger stretching exercises, did you grab those from a web-page with tons of ergonomic stretches for the regular joe who works in an office to get rid of strains from sittin at a desk for a long period of time? I remember visiting a page with such exercises with pictures, but I can't remember whether I found that link in this forum, or the guitar forum I frequently visit. I have searched for the link and have come up empty handed. Oie.

Despite that, thanks a whole lot for the replies guys! Now to go warm-up, then practice, then........ go mow the lawn.....oie.
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Just remember, when in doubt, even monkeys fall from trees sometimes.

[elam]

Practice is boring no matter what. No way around it.
Buy one of the Guitar Grimoire books, preferably on scales, to strengthen your fingers and your chops. And use a metronome when you can. Those things are unbelievably helpful.

Check out the Gripmaster when your not at the guitar. I always dick around on my guit in between games of AA , so anything helps. Just takes time.

[Impaler]

I was enormously bored, shadow.

oh yeah! learn all the major chords, and then just play each of them consecutively as fast as you can. THAT is difficult.
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QED, sort of.