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For starters I am not a
writer. I am a guitar player and you probably are too. So if you moonlight as an
English professor please don’t contact me with corrections. That being said
let’s talk about finger exercises. For this article when I refer to finger
exercises I am talking about the 2,3, or 4-finger chromatic type exercise.
It seems like there are two
schools of thought when it comes to finger exercises. One is that they are
totally necessary when learning. In 10 years of teaching guitar I find this to
be about 95% true. The students who work hard on this area of their playing
always do better than those who don’t.
The other school of thought
is that they are totally useless. For some players who absolutely tear it up on
guitar, this is true. They became amazing players without doing any finger
exercises but for the most part, players need them. I have read interviews with
Yngwie Malmsteen where he mentioned that he didn’t practice this kind of stuff.
(Like his playing or not the guy can throw down with anybody.) There are always
exceptions.
Steve Vai has reported to
have practiced finger exercises as much as 3 hours a day. They were that
important to him. Robin Trower is said to have practiced them “religiously" for
a year. I have read articles with B.B.King, Zakk Wylde, Tom Morello and a
boatload of other players who all worked on their technique using exercises. I
personally know jazz players, classical players, country players and metal
players all who completely tear it up and still work on exercises
everyday.
Think about this. How much have you improved
as a player over the last week, month or year?
If it’s been a lot, great! Keep
doing what you are doing. If you are not where you want to be as a player, grab
a metronome, finger exercise book and your guitar and spend some time trying
these out. You will see results. Go slow and keep track of your metronome
settings. Only increase the metronome by one or two clicks each day. It may not
sound like a lot but after few months you will have sped up quite a bit. Also by
tracking your progress will keep yourself motivated because you will be able see
your results. This in turn will make you want to work harder. One of the reasons
some people give up on guitar is because they can’t see the results of their
practicing. So make sure to do this.
It’s very important to
remember that this is only one part of playing guitar. There are so many other areas to address but
if you aren’t happy with your fingers better start here.
Anyway, Thank you for
listening.
Colin |
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