Developing Finger Independence for a Guitar

Professional guitarists often practice chromatic exercises to keep their fingers nimble and strong.

One of the main challenges of beginning guitar students is developing agility with the fingers of the left hand. For right-handed players, the left hand is where the notes are made. A beginner's fingers often stumble and bump into one another when he is trying to play individual notes on the guitar. Incorporating a few simple chromatic exercises into your practice regimen helps to develop finger independence and dexterity. Advanced guitarists practice these exercises to maintain their chops and help them play difficult passages with accuracy and speed. You don't need to spend hours with these exercises. Practice them five to 10 minutes a days along with your normal practice schedule.

Things You'll Need

• Metronnome

Instructions

1. Practice playing the chromatic scale in four-note sequences. This is the basic pattern guitarists use to develop finger dexterity, finesse and independence. It is a simple exercise to do on the guitar. Start on the first string. Play E (open), F (1st fret/ 1st finger), F# (2nd fret/2ndfinger), G (3rd fret/ 3rd finger), G# (4th fret/ 4th finger). Leave each finger on the fretboard after playing the note. This helps stretch and strengthen the finger. Repeat the exercise on the other five strings.

2. Move the chromatic pattern up the fretboard. After playing the G # on the 4th fret, play A (5th fret/ 1st finger), A# (6th fret/ 2ndfinger), B (7th fret/ 3rd finger) and C (8th fret/ 4th finger). Move the pattern one more time to reach the 12th fret. Play C# (9th fret/ 1st finger), D (10th fret/ 2nd finger), D# (11th fret/ 3rd finger) and E (12th fret/ 4th finger). The chromatic scale is played in three positions on the string. Repeat the exercise on each string.

3. Alter the pattern to increase finger independence. The above pattern is all played 1-2-3-4. Alter the order of the finger, such as 2-4-1-3, 1-3-2-4, 4-3-2-1 and so forth.

4. Practice chromatic exercises using adjacent strings. This exercise is more difficult but it helps develop the picking technique of your right hand and builds independence with the left-hand fingers. The pattern might seem complicated at first, but it isn't really. The names of the notes aren't important. They are being used here simply as a reference to make it easier to learn the pattern. Play G (6th string/3rd fret/ 1st finger), G# (6th string/ 4th fret/ 2nd finger), C (5th string/ 3rd fret/ 1st finger), A (6th string/ 5th fret/ 3rd finger) C# (5th string/4th fret/ 2nd finger), F (4th string/ 3rd fret / 1st finger), A# (6th string/ 4th fret/ 4th finger), D (5th string/ 5th fret/ 3rd finger), F# (4th string/ 4th fret/ 2nd finger), A# (3rd string/ 2nd fret / 1st finger). At this point you are finished with the 5th string. Play D# (5th string/ 6th fret/ 4th finger), G (4th string/ 5th fret/ 3rd finger), B (3rd string 4th fret/ 2nd finger), D (2nd string/ 3rd fret/ 1st finger). G# (4th string/ 6th fret' 4th finger), C (3rd string/ 5th fret/ 3rd finger), D# (2nd string/ 4th fret/ 2nd finger), and G (1st string, 3rd fret/ 1st finger).

5. Practice the exercises with a metronome. Set the metronome at a slow pace, such as 40 beats per minute, and play the exercises using quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes. Gradually increase the speed of the metronome and repeat the exercises.

References

• Guitar Messenger: Different Groupings And Finger Independence