How To Use Finger Dexterity Exercises To Benefit Your Guitar Solos
One thing that can really help your guitar playing is to learn how to use finger dexterity exercises. These can benefit your guitar solos. As well as forming chords for better rhythm playing.
When you take the time to improve your guitar solos, with finger dexterity exercises, you improve your overall guitar playing tenfold. You not only get your fingers in shape (this is very important) but you also get your hands in shape too.
Getting in shape
As guitar players, we are like athletes. The reason I say this is because we use muscles in our hands and fingers to execute complicated movements. And it doesn’t matter if your strumming chords playing rhythm, or if your flying across the fretboard creating a wicked guitar solo. You must think about staying in shape.
If you want to progress your guitar playing quickly, I highly recommend you focus on improving your finger dexterity and independence. This is the foundation for being able to play better. The more in shape your hands and fingers are in, the better your guitar playing is going to be.
You’ll be better with chord formations, scale patterns, creating rhythms and executing proper timing. These are all things that you need to do well in order to be a great guitar player. In addition to knowing music theory, reading notation, & proper ear training.
Finger exercises to work on
Exercise #1
Here is an exercise that starts at the 5th fret on the first string and spans four frets. From 5 to 8. It progresses through each string and helps with exercising each finger individually.
Exercise #2
In this exercise, you are doing something very similar except you start on the 5th fret of the sixth string and mix u the fingers. Instead of doing 5 6 7 8, you’re going to change it up to a 5 7 6 8. What this is going to do is develop finger independence.
Exercise #3
This exercise is similar but a bit different as it goes across the strings in a diagonal order. You still start on the 5th fret as before but you go across the strings and then back up. As you do this you move up the fretboard to the 12th fret.
With all these exercises you want to use one finger per fret. This allows for finger stretching and the use of the pinky. The pinky is a rebel so it might take a bit to get it in line with the others. But with a little discipline, you can accomplish that.
Be creative and think of other ways that you can exercise your fingers using this method. Use one finger per fret. Index, middle, ring finger & pinky. Start with your second finger one time through. The next time through, start with the pinky and go backward. All this will benefit your playing as long as you do it consistently.
Watch the video lesson below
Finger dexterity exercise benefits
The importance of finger dexterity exercises is huge. They will help you to limber up your hands and fingers before you play.
As well as help you to:
*Form and play extended chords
*Play extended scales
*Build strength in both hands
*Develop agility and mobility
*Avoid fatigue and finger pain
*Improve your finger and handgrip
They can also help you to stay focused after long hours of playing. Many, many things can be benefited from finger exercises and it is recommended that you practice them daily. Just like an athlete, warm-up first. Warm-up your hands, wrists and fingers.
Really focus on building strength and ability in movement. This will allow your muscles to relax when they need to do something like play an extended chord where all four fingers might be used. Or maybe doing something that requires a bit of speed and quick thinking.
Develop a practice routine
Learning the guitar is not just about the physical movements. It’s also about the mental strength that needs to be built as well. Your mind and body must be as one. Just like an athlete. And just like an athlete you want to design a practice routine. This will give you the best chance for success.
If you can just get into a habit of picking up your guitar on a daily basis and playing it, you’ll begin to see quick progress. Most people don’t see the progress they’d like to because they don’t play their guitar consistently enough. A little here and a little there is fine for the hobbyist, but not if you’re serious about learning.
Like an athlete, you want to loosen up the blood flow in your fingers and stretch out the muscles in your hands. You want to make sure that when you start playing you’ll be ready and able to take on the technical aspects that are incorporated in playing the guitar.
Additional training
This lesson on finger dexterity exercises is very important to your progress learning to play the guitar. Especially when it comes to playing guitar solos. Playing guitar solos takes a lot of work. To e really good at it you have to study & practice more than average. That is why lead guitar players get the spotlight.
People like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, etc, etc, etc. All these guitar players have put in massive amounts of time to hone their craft when it comes to playing guitar solos. And if you’d like to be great at playing solos, you will have to put in the work too. It’s that simple.
Playing rhythm can be a challenge also because you have to form chords and hold down guitar strings while moving around the fretboard. This requires both physical and mental energy. Finger exercises can really help with this too.
Lead Guitar Wizardry
When I first started playing guitar I didn’t have the luxury of the internet. Guitar players today have such a wealth of information at their fingertips there is no reason to not get good. I had books, magazines, and fellow guitar players to study from. I couldn’t afford lessons so I struggled to try to unlock the mysteries.
As a guitar teacher, I decided that I didn’t want students to struggle the way I did so I wrote a book and published it called Lead Guitar Wizardry volume 1. Volume 2 is also available for more advanced players. But volume 1 is for beginners looking to develop a full understanding of how to play guitar solos.
Lead Guitar Wizardry is a step-by-step method book of techniques, concepts and fundamental principles to become a lead guitar wizard. A comprehensive course on the inner workings of lead guitar playing. From finger dexterity exercises to picking techniques, scale patterns and fretboard knowledge.
You will learn such things as:
*Lead guitar basics
*Pentatonic scale box patterns
*Hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, bends, etc.
*Chord progressions to solo over
*The 12 bar blues and the blues scale
*Tremolo picking, harmony notes, and arpeggios
*Music theory basics
*Improvising within a song
*How to learn solos from recordings
Ear training tips and much, much more. All in a simple easy way to learn. A system with diagrams and modern notation that allows for easy study and quick results. Even if you have no prior music knowledge. You can learn how to play and fully understand guitar solos.
Lesson conclusion
When looking for ways to get better at your guitar playing don’t overlook finger dexterity exercises. They will do wonders for your playing if you work at them every time you play. They can even help you to come up with song ideas. This is another benefit, not mentioned earlier.
Remember all the benefits they have to offer. Independence, mobility, increase in stamina, strength, and most of all, your increase of fretboard knowledge. That my friend is the secret sauce that you want to master.
If more help is needed in this area, be sure to check out my book I published that can help you. And if you haven’t already, I recommend you grab my FREE action-guide Guitar Solo Secrets with additional insider tips to help you get a head-start on moving forward in the right direction.
Also, if you have any questions about what I teach or need more help, just remember, I’m only an email away. Keep practicing and take care.
Dwayne