Thursday, May 18, 2006
Be Able to Play for Hours - Chromatic Exercise
This Guitar Lesson sponsored by Jamorama
For many guitarists, playing for hours may seem an impossibility. Pain and fatigue can limit a players ability to jam all night long. The cure for this is to properly warm up before playing. Have you ever seen an athlete go out to play a game or run a race without warming up first? Well guitarists need to warm up also.
Here's a great exercise that serves as a great warm up:
Use 1st finger in first fret, 2nd finger in 2nd fret, etc.
Also, alternate picking down then up.
E------------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-----
A--------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4---------------
G----------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-------------------------
D------------------------0-1-2-3-4-----------------------------------
A-------------0-1-2-3-4----------------------------------------------
E--0-1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------------------
Then reverse.
E--4-3-2-1-0----------------------------------------------------------
B------------4-3-2-1-0------------------------------------------------
G----------------------4-3-2-1-0--------------------------------------
D--------------------------------4-3-2-1-0----------------------------
A------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-0------------------
E----------------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-0--------
The key to using this as a warm up is to start SLOW. This may seem like a waste of time at first, but believe me, it works. Start this exercise at about 1 note per second. Go through the whole exercise at this tempo, using as little pressure on the strings as possible to sound the note. The next time, go a little faster (only a little faster). Do this 10 times, taking small breaks in between to allow for increased blood flow to the hands.
Beginners can try one string at a time to build up finger strength:
E--------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------etc--
D--------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0-------
A--------------------0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0-------------------------
E--0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0-------------------------------------------
This is a great warm up exercise that many professionals use before a long night of playing. A good warm up will help your endurance and enjoyment as a player tremendously.
Bill Chambless
For many guitarists, playing for hours may seem an impossibility. Pain and fatigue can limit a players ability to jam all night long. The cure for this is to properly warm up before playing. Have you ever seen an athlete go out to play a game or run a race without warming up first? Well guitarists need to warm up also.
Here's a great exercise that serves as a great warm up:
Use 1st finger in first fret, 2nd finger in 2nd fret, etc.
Also, alternate picking down then up.
E------------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-----
A--------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4---------------
G----------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-------------------------
D------------------------0-1-2-3-4-----------------------------------
A-------------0-1-2-3-4----------------------------------------------
E--0-1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------------------
Then reverse.
E--4-3-2-1-0----------------------------------------------------------
B------------4-3-2-1-0------------------------------------------------
G----------------------4-3-2-1-0--------------------------------------
D--------------------------------4-3-2-1-0----------------------------
A------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-0------------------
E----------------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-0--------
The key to using this as a warm up is to start SLOW. This may seem like a waste of time at first, but believe me, it works. Start this exercise at about 1 note per second. Go through the whole exercise at this tempo, using as little pressure on the strings as possible to sound the note. The next time, go a little faster (only a little faster). Do this 10 times, taking small breaks in between to allow for increased blood flow to the hands.
Beginners can try one string at a time to build up finger strength:
E--------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------etc--
D--------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0-------
A--------------------0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0-------------------------
E--0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0-------------------------------------------
This is a great warm up exercise that many professionals use before a long night of playing. A good warm up will help your endurance and enjoyment as a player tremendously.
Bill Chambless
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