finger dexterity

i had exactly that problem with the c chord, but it does just come. Practice slowly and delibedrately and this will build muscle strength as well as dexterity. this also goes for picking scales. be sure to be slow and deliberate. i was 26 when i started playing with no other musical experience, but my fingers now span as many frets as is ever required (by me anyway). i am not a good gutiar player, but i have seen this method of practice seriously transform the strength and suppleness of my hand.

yeah i also have a problem with fretting the strings with my fingers at the same time, instead of putting one finger down, then the next, then the next etc. i try to do my best but its tough to remember. im doing the chromatic scales and the spider exercise i found online to build dexterity but any other suggestions would be appreciated (and any good exercises to learn how to change chords faster too would be awesome)

Justin has some:

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-001-FingerGym.php
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-002-TheSpider.php
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-003-ScalePicking.php

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-021-ChordChanges.php

+ more
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-000-Technique.php

Hey everyone...im having some problems with bulding my finger dexterity. i've been playing guitar for abut 2 months, know all the open chords but have some trouble switching chords...for ex, i find it hard placing my 3rd finger on the 5th string 3rd fret on the C chords. once i have my other fingers down, my 3rd finger tends to move away from the 3rd fret and i get the buzzing sound on the string. does anyone have any good exercises to work on my finger dexterity and strength?
thanks
daniel
Try arching your fingers a little more(take your palm off the neck) and it will give more pressure to your ring finger.

I don't remember where i read it (could have been right here at GN), but someone suggested when practicing changes, visualize exactly where you want your fingers to land, then move them. When I was having trouble with changes, that helped me a great deal. Also, as someone else mentioned above, it could be useful to run through scales to help get your fingers working independently a little bit. Good luck, and as with everything else it seems with guitar, it will just click one day. :)

An exercise I read about to give fingers of the fretting hand more flexibility is to clench your right hand, and put it between your index and middle finger; next, between your middle and ring fingers; next between your ring finger and pinky. Hold it in each position for a few seconds.

When I took lessons my teacher said to make sure there is a gap between the heel of your palm and the guitar neck. That means you may have to drop your shoulder and elbow, and push your arm a little forward. Then you can come at the frets close to a 90* angle. And you know, when I follow that advice, my chords are better. :roll:

I find that warming your fingers up helps a lot as well. It takes me a while to be able to move my fingers smoothly. What I often do is to hold a chord and stretch my fingers individually (gently at first, then a bit harder). I usually do this for a few minutes and it helps. Wrist and hand position is important as well, when playing at home, the classical positions is easiest for me, and having the electric higher up. Practicing and stretching every day helps as well.

I am struggling with the blues shuffle when having the index finger on the 3rd fret, the middle/ring on 5th (ok), the pinky on 7th (struggling but ok) and then move the pinky to the 8th fret. That his one hell of a stretch for me, and I usually only attempt this after 20-30 mins of playing, when my fingers, hand and wrist are warmed up.

I also do a lot of these exercises when watching TV. For instance, I am just - after 6 months of practicing - starting to smoothly move between the G and F chords. I have spent many hours in front of the TV with my guitar just going through these changes, very easy to do, and you can still follow whatever is on TV. Good luck!

Justin has some:

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-001-FingerGym.php
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-002-TheSpider.php
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-003-ScalePicking.php

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-021-ChordChanges.php

+ more
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TE-000-Technique.php

I personally started doing Justin's exercises about a week or two ago. The Finger Gym is a real workout! I can't do it for more than five minutes right now before getting fatigued. It's particulary the hammer-ons and flick-offs with the pinky that get you. However, I am finding myself improving already with just 5 minutes a day on that. I'd think these would be pretty tough for somebody just starting out, but just start out slow and I think it should do wonders for rexterity.

On the scale picking I amazed myself- last night I did eighth notes at 135 bpm four times without making a mistake. I never thought I'd be able to go that fast on anything. So these exercises do seem to help.

Hey everyone...im having some problems with bulding my finger dexterity. i've been playing guitar for abut 2 months, know all the open chords but have some trouble switching chords...for ex, i find it hard placing my 3rd finger on the 5th string 3rd fret on the C chords. once i have my other fingers down, my 3rd finger tends to move away from the 3rd fret and i get the buzzing sound on the string. does anyone have any good exercises to work on my finger dexterity and strength?
thanks
daniel

And, trust us, it does get a lot easier with practise.

A :-)

On the scale picking I amazed myself- last night I did eighth notes at 135 bpm four times without making a mistake. I never thought I'd be able to go that fast on anything. So these exercises do seem to help.

Well, color me impressed. I tried that scale exercise and had the opposite experience. 30 minutes later I still hadn't gotten through it without making a mistake, and that doing quarter notes at 30 bpm. Something tells me that you should be able to handle that after a month of playing; it shouldn't be giving me any problems at all. :(

I also tried simple chord changes, but that was even worse. The fastest I could transition from C to G in rhythm was 10 bpm. Yes, it takes me 6 seconds to move my fingers from C to G. That also is unacceptable for someone in their 6th month of guitar.

I hear a lot about how the metronome is your best friend, and right now my best friend is telling me I'm in the wrong hobby. :oops:

I wouldn't look at it like that, what you get out is proportional to the amount of 'Quality' practice time you put in. You've probably been rushing through techniques to try and play 'that song' or whatever. I'd go back to the beginning though and practice open chords and the changes between them, because I think my girlfriend who only just picked up the guitar two nights ago is at that level! Either that or you're pretending for effect lol.

Good luck either way!

these are all great suggestions...definitely going to try those exercises. thanks everyone

hi db1 - one other suggestion I have is to look at what Jamie Andreas from Guitar Principles teaches. She's got quite a few articles here on GN, one of them being https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/changing-bad-habits/ .

I can also highly recommend her book 'Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar', it takes you through basic exercises on how to finger and change chords (and much more). It will change the way you learn new chords and songs.

The other suggestion I have is to imagine in your mind what the chord looks like and where the fingers have to go before you play them. It may sound crazy, but it helps me enormously when learning new chord changes. In order to be effective, you need to do the exercises slowly at first. Give it a try and find out if it works for you. All the best, b.

thats an awesome articles and i'll definitely check out the book as well, anything to get me out of this rut. really appreciate it, bloos