Archive for the ‘Guitar Technique’ Category

A great guitar exercise for strengthening your fret hand. Long-time GuitarTeacher.com reader Mike(MJK) asked (via Twitter) "What is a good lesson to strengthen the fretting hand?" Following is one of my favorites for increasing left hand stamina and strength. It is called the "6 Minute Trill Drill". I believe I learned this at an open counseling session with guitar great Gary Hoey during my time ... View Lesson

Warm-up at the start of your practice session. Let's think for a moment about star athletes. A world class runner does not begin the day running at full speed. The best baseball players still take batting practice and field grounders before the game. Athletes ease into full practice and performance. Why do I bring this up? Because, as much as playing the guitar is a creative, ... View Lesson

Following is one of the most diabolical warm-up drills I know on the guitar. It is designed lengthen the stretch between each fret-hand finger and improve your finger position. I call it 'The Rack' after the medieval torture device that would stretch people into unnatural proportions! Hopefully performing this exercise will be one of those 'hurts so good' moments. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoyEc0mcfWM... View Lesson

Knowing the sound of a scale starts by playing it ascending and descending (see my post on Four Scales You Should Know). But an infinite amount of music can be found within scales by changing the order of the notes and creating patterns. Today's exercise moves through the Major Scale in '3rd intervals', skipping every other note in the scale. This exercise ... View Lesson

When it comes to string bending, nothing is more important than correctly and confidently hitting your intended target pitch. There are three common bend distances that you should want to get under your fingers: half-step bends, whole-step bends and minor third (1 1/2 step) bends. Check out the video. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfOI52pVLLs The bends are shown on the 2nd string. Here is how these bends are shown ... View Lesson

Hey Axemen & Axewomen, Here is a warm-up drill on guitar that is a simple and elegant way to get both right and left hands working together. Like any physical activity, warming up when playing guitar is important. A common mistake I see among students is putting favorite songs first in their practicing as a warm-ups. It is better to warm-up on a simple drill, ... View Lesson