Technique Exercises
A relaxed hand is one that is comfortable, if it's trying something beyond it's capacity it will tense up. The better you play the less tense you'll be and the less tension there is the better you'll play. The best way to kickstart this very productive little cycle is through the repetition of specific exercises. Those presented here will encourage new neuromuscular relationships, develop proprioceptive ability and focus on technical difficulties that are generally related to postural dysfunction.
Technique exercises for the left hand
The left hand exercises aim to:
- Get you rotating your shoulder, not lifting it, to reach high up the neck.
- Maximise your efficiency at the fretboard by not only reducing the the amount of movement in the hand but minimising the amount of energy required to make those movements.
- Get you around your fretboard without having to look down at it.
Parallel wrist
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Do this exercise slowly at first and gradually increase it until you notice any tension in your hand, arm or shoulder. Slow down just enough so that you can stay relaxed and do the exercise there.
On the third string put your fingers on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th frets and repeat the following combinations.
Do the same exercise in different positions and on different strings ensuring that the timing is spot on and that each note is as clean as all of the others.
Lateral wrist movement I
Play the D on the 7th fret third string with your first finger and then the C two semitones down on the same string with your second finger, moving from the 7th position to the 4th. There are a number of things to note here:
- Ensure that your shoulder doesn't lift at all, be aware of any tension at the top of your shoulder as you move up the neck and eliminate it completely. To do this your upper arm will need to rotate laterally at the shoulder joint and your elbow will stay in the same position, directly below the shoulder, at your waist.
- You don't want your wrist to lock with this movement, there should be at least a little flow with it, like in the tai chi exercises, except that it's a straight lateral movement.
- Keep your wrist parallel to the neck.
Once you're comfortable with this one, and it may take a while, play the C with your third finger so that your shuffling back into the 3rd position. When you've got that down play it in the 2nd position with your little finger. You'll notice the lateral roll in the wrist more now and also the importance of keeping all of the strings equally accessible to your little finger.
Lateral wrist movement II
The first exercise developed a clean relaxed position shift, this one takes advantage of that to get you comfortably changing position up and down the neck. In addition you'll build some muscle memory that will help you find the note with your left hand simply by referencing it proprioceptively. That is you're motor and sensory systems will remember the distances between notes so that you are less reliant on looking down at the fretboard.
So where the previous exercise used only two notes these will use scales/modes, firstly the major scale and secondly the mixolydian mode. The first one plays E major on the first string:
- Start in the open position by playing the E open and the F# with your second finger.
- Then, without looking at your guitar, move to the fourth position to play G# with your first finger, A with the second and B with the fourth.
- Finally move to the 9th position where C# is under your first finger, D# the third and the tonic again on the 12 fret with your fourth finger.
- Play back down the scale using the same fingering.
- Start with the Open E but this time play the F# in the second position with your first finger, the G# with your third and A with your fourth.
- Now, again without looking continue with the B, first finger 7th fret, the C# with the third finger and this time the flat 7 D with the fourth finger before changing position again to hit the octave with your first finger.
- Play back back down E mixolydian with the same fingering.
- Before we leave this exercise head back up to the 9th position to play the C# with your first finger, the D with your second and the tonic with the fourth, taking note particularly of the sound of the flat 7 D.
- Now do exactly the same thing but play the major seventh D# instead of the D, again aware of the change in the quality of the sound. As you compare the two you're training your fingers to fall according to your ears and not your eyes. This is something that you should be aware of every time you play a note, try to move to the sound you want, not the position.
As well as learning the distances between notes in terms of note names you're learning how far your hand needs to move to get a change in pitch. You are developing a connection between your proprioceptive mechanisms and what you hear. This exercise builds on this aural relationship by contrasting the major sound with a mixolydian.
Lateral wrist movement III
Play A minor pentatonic ascending in one octave from 4th string 7th fret to the 1st string 5th fret and back down again (5th position) and repeat a few times to get the sound and even rhythm into your head.
Now play the same scale but play the 5 note (E) in the 7th position and complete the scale from there to the tonic on the 2nd string 10th fret, then go back down.
- Do the same thing but move down to the 9th position to complete the scale.
- Do the same thing with A major from the 4th position to the 9th.
- Two octaves from the 4th to the 9th.
- Three octaves from the 4th to the 9th to the 14th.
- E Lydian (A major) from open to 9th.
- E major from open to 9th.
- Go around the cycle of 4ths from E major to A major to D major etc trying to cover the whole fretboard every time.
If you're not familiar with the major scale (this is a great way to become familiar with it) use one you are familiar with, if you don't know any then start with the pentatonic minor. If you're not up with the pentatonic minor remember, Google is your friend.
Lateral wrist movement IV
This exercise involves playing firstly an A major and then an A Lydian dominant scale in the 9th and 14th positions. Again we're working on smooth position shifts that start with gentle rotation of a neutral shoulder and progress to very slight lateral deviation, or rolling, of the wrist.
Positioning
Play a simple progression, I'm playing a 12 bar in E in the 5th and 7th positions, and at the end of every bar or 2 bars reorient your left hand by taking it right away from the neck or at least from that position. Don't look at your guitar, start with chords you're comfortable with and then try more challenging ones, different tunes etc.
Technique exercises for the right hand
This section contains exercises for fingerpickers and flatpickers.
Fingerpicking exercises
A relaxed hand is one that is comfortable, if it's trying something beyond it's capacity it will tense up. The better you play the less tense you'll be and the less tension there is the better you'll play. The best way to kickstart this very productive little cycle is through the repetition of specific exercises. Those presented here will encourage new neuromuscular relationships, develop proprioceptive ability and focus on technical difficulties that are generally related to postural dysfunction.
- The tendency to look down at your hands, driven by the need to place them accurately at the strings.
- The common practice of locking your hand in position by resting a part of it on the guitar, usually the wrist or the little finger. (This is certainly restrictive of the right hand but it is arguable how much extra tension it will create, it depends on what you're playing)
Make sure, as always, that as soon as you notice any muscular tension you slow down and reassess your approach. These exercises are not for beginners, if you are looking to learn fingerstyle I'd strongly suggest that you find your self a competent teacher, there are simply too many ways to get it wrong.
Exercise 1
This one will develop independence of the thumb and fingers. If you want to comfortably play independent bass and rhythm parts, or bass and melody parts, you'll need your thumb to imitate the piano players left hand while your fingers take on the role of the right hand.
This exercise is in common time, accent the bass notes with the thumb
This is the same exercise written in 6/8. Accent the melody notes on the 1 and the 4.
Exercise 2
These exercises move your right hand up and down the strings. You need to be able to locate the string you're after without looking at it. It's essential for your posture and once you've got it you're speed and accuracy will improve markedly.
Exercise 3
This is exercise both moves your hand up and down on the strings and requires some independence of the thumb.
Flatpicking exercises
We are concerned here, as has been mentioned, with our relationship to our instrument. The plectrum introduces a new element into this equation: a small, flat triangular piece of plastic. To use it well it has to become a part of your hand.
Up until now you've been concentrating your focused awareness skills on various parts of your body. With these simple exercises you'll learn to extend that focus to the part of the plectrum that strikes the string. Make sure, as always, that as soon as you notice any muscular tension you slow down and reassess your approach.
Exercise 3
Because we're introducing this third element into our playing it's worth taking some time to work it into the mix. Firstly be aware of how you hold your pick. This is one way that works well, curling your third, fourth and fifth fingers into a light fist is also common a good way to go. Most competent players will have developed a technique that suits them and presents little problems, if you're not sure go to the forums, or get in touch for a consultation.
how to hold a flatpick
- Point your right hand in front of you with your palm facing to the left like a karate chop and flex your index finger at the middle joint so it makes an L shape.
- Place the pick on the tip of your index finger, pointing to the left, overlapping the tip of your finger by 5-10mm.
- Put your thumb straight down on the pick to secure it.
Now that you've got that sorted take your guitar and play consecutive down and upstrokes, on the same string at a slow even tempo. The great advantage of using a flatpick is the volume and the attack that you get on a note through the sharp impact on the string. This impact is not only audible, it's tangible as well, you can feel the plectrum's response.
Now extend your focus to the plectrum itself, particularly that part of the plectrum that impacts the string. Don't try and do anything else, simply keep playing that one note, ensure that you're shoulders and arm are relaxed and keep playing at a slow and even tempo. Keep focused on the edge of the plectrum and treat the exercise like you're playing a drone.
You should warm up with this exercise every time you play. It may seem rudimentary because it is. It's fundamental if you're flatpicker and the more you are in tune with this essential movement the better you'll be able to approach the rest of the exercises and eventually the way you play your guitar.
Exercise 4
All of these exercises can be played using the above approach. They progress from the simple one note, one string to more complicated cross-picking patterns that will improve your proprioception. They all use consecutive eighth notes so you need to alternate between down and upstrokes in every exercise, I've only notated the first 2 bars of the first exercise, keep the same picking pattern for all of them.
Scales and arpeggios are also great for developing your picking technique, and more useful musically, it will take some time to extend this sort of approach to picking to more complicated phrases so just take your time.
Exercise 5
The next few exercises are in 9/8. They are useful because they are (probably) foreign and if you can get them right you'll have added considerably to your neuromuscular memory banks. What makes them challenging is that you have to start each bar on a downbeat having just finished the previous bar on a downbeat.
Exercise 6
Your right hand more than your left will dictate timing and the following exercises will help you develop your inner sense of timing and importantly extend your focused awareness skills to new aspects of your playing.
Play these simple rhythms in time with the backing track. After a few bars the backing track will take a one bar rest. You need to keep playing and make sure that you come in spot on the first beat of the bar after rest precisely in time. The first one has a number of one bar rests, the next one starts with one bar rests and then has some two bar rests, the third one extends to three bar rests.