Guitar Exercises

Guitar Lessons On-line Support

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Right hand – Arpeggios with open strings 

The right-hand fingers are usually indicated by the first letters of their Italian or Spanish names. They are easy to remember since i and m are used for the index and middle fingers.

For the ring or annular finger a is used, and the thumb is represented by p (for the Spanish pulgar). Thus the right-hand fingering for the above arpeggio would be p-i-m-a.

P : Thumb 

I: Index finger

M: Middle finger

A: Annular (ring) finger 

The Left Hand – First exercise

The thumb is behind the neck, approximately behind the fret played by the first finger and the second finger. Here is an excellent first exercise to establish and strengthen the left hand:

1. With the thumb in a good position, hammer down your first finger just behind the first fret of the sixth (lowest sounding) string. See how loud a note you can sound with just the left hand

2. Leaving the first finger where it is, hammer down the second finger behind the second fret. Be sure to be close to it, or the next frets will be difficult to reach.

3. Still leaving each finger on after it has hammered, play successively the third and fourth fingers.

4. Next do the same thing on the fifth string.

5. Following this, play all the remaining strings, hammering as loudly as possible

This is a wonderful first exercise, because it builds both strength and stretch. Don’t be dismayed if you don’t produce much sound at first—you’ll be amazed at the difference after a few days.