weekly workout_ how to build speed & flexibility – acoustic guitar
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acoustic guitar ecercisesTRANSCRIPT
Home (http://acousticguitar.com) Lessons (http://acousticguitar.com/category/lessons/)
By Ron Jackson
When I started playing acoustic guitar at age 11, my fret-hand ngers jumped off the ngerboard like grasshoppers, as
speed and clarity evaded me. Then, when I was in high school, I saw the acoustic-guitar trio of Paco de Lucía, Al Di
Meola, and John McLaughlin, and my mind was blown by how fast and awlessly they played. I knew I needed to work on
my fret hand, so I developed some exercises that took my playing to the next level.
In this lesson, I’ll share the fret-hand exercises that have helped both me and my students. Whatever your style, if you
work on these etudes diligently, you’ll develop speed, nger independence, and exibility. By the fourth section of this
Weekly Workout, your fret-hand ngers should feel less like grasshoppers and more like tiny dancers on the fretboard.
Weekly Workout: How to Build Speed &FlexibilityFEBRUARY 10, 2016
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Week One
Ex. 1 depicts the 1-2-3-4 exercise—your rst, second, third, and fourth fret-hand ngers are assigned to frets 1, 2, 3, and
4 respectively. Like all of these etudes, it requires that you keep your ngers as close to the fretboard as possible, in the
interest of ef ciency. After you play the rst-fret note on each string, keep your rst nger held in place when you play
the second-fret note, and so on.
As for the pick hand, if you’re a plectrum player, try alternate picking, and if you’re a ngerstyle player, alternate
between your index and middle ngers using either rest strokes or free strokes. You could also use your thumb and index
or thumb and middle ngers.
Ex. 2 is the opposite of Ex. 1. Start each four-note grouping with all four fret-hand ngers in place, removing them one
at a time until you’re left with your rst nger on fret 1. In Ex. 3, switch things up a little with a 1-3-2-4 ngering
pattern. On each string, after you play the notes on frets 1 and 3, have your second nger close to the string and ready to
grab the second-fret note; and keep your second nger in place while you add the fourth-fret note to the pattern.
Ex. 4 shows yet another variation: 4–2–3–1. As with Ex. 2, start each four-note grouping by placing all four ngers on
frets 1–4 of a given string. After you pick each fourth-fret note, lift your fourth and third ngers to play the second-fret
note, then add the third fret note with your third nger before removing your third and second ngers to play the rst-
fret note.
Once you’ve worked through Ex. 1–4, try coming up with some of your own nger variations. Also, be sure to not just
play these exercises in rst position as demonstrated, but in as many positions as your guitar will allow.
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Week Two
Start working with four-note groupings that cover four different strings, as opposed to falling on the same string.
Though these might not be chords per se, the exercises involve switching between discrete shapes and are therefore
good training for chord switching.
Just like in the previous examples, play the notes on fret 1 with your rst nger, those on fret 2 with your second, and so
on. For each four-note grouping in Ex. 5–7, fret all four ngers at the same time. In other words, each measure will have
two different fret-hand grips. If you’re using a plectrum, try sweep-picking—play each four-note group with a
continuous downstroke or upstroke.
As before, play the exercises in all positions—try moving each one up the neck in half steps, for example, and feel free to
experiment with other ngering combinations to create your own exercises.
Week Three
Take on some exercises that involve nger independence—exercises inspired by classical-guitar etudes. In Ex. 8 and 9,
play the rst- and third-fret notes on beats 1 and 3 with your rst and third ngers. Keeping them held in place while on
beats 2 and 4, you play the second- and fourth-fret notes with your second and fourth ngers. These ngerings apply to
the entirety of both examples. Use hybrid picking (pick and ngers) with your pick and middle nger. If you’re a
ngerpicker, use a combination of your thumb and index nger or your thumb and middle nger.
Ex. 10, in which a sixth-string-rooted add 9 chord shape is moved up the neck, will give your fretting ngers a good
four-fret stretch. Whether you’re using a pick or your thumb, strum this example entirely in downstrokes. Be sure to
extend the pattern, ascending in half steps, as high on the neck as you can go. Do the same for Ex. 11, with a fth-
string-rooted grip.
In a similar vein, Ex. 12 involves a major-seventh shape with a two-fret stretch between the third and fourth ngers. If
you ever encounter any pain when doing these stretches, stop before you injure yourself. Let your fret-hand ngers
gradually acclimate to wider stretches.
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Week Four
Getting back to the discipline of nger independence, work on holding down a note with one nger while you use your
other ngers to play melodies. This type of exercise is great for chord melodies—especially in jazz, where you really want
to play the melody louder over each chord.
6:26
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In Ex. 13, keep your rst nger on the rst-fret F while you play notes from the F major scale. Use alternate picking,
starting with down- and upstrokes, or hydrid picking, switching between the pick and middle nger. Fingerpickers: Use a
thumb-index or thumb-middle nger combo.
Use the same picking approach in Ex. 14, in E major, where your fourth nger is stationed at the fourth-fret G#. Close
things out with Ex. 15, applying the concept to a longer etude. For good measure, try playing this last set of examples in
closed positions—for instance, moving each note of Ex. 13 one fret higher to access the key of Gb major.
Years after I rst started doing these exercises, I still use them as a quick warm-up before practicing, gigging, or
recording. Doing the same will help keep your fretting ngers in tip-top shape.
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Gary McnaughtonThanks Ron thatz realy Great thanks for a very professional presentation
Like · Reply · 1 · Feb 24, 2016 9:09am
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