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GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH Your Personal Guitar Lesson |
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| BE SURE TO VISIT DOUG'S "SECRET VAULT" It contains many of Doug's Previous Guitar Technique Tips of the Month |
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Stretching Exercises
By Douglas Niedt
Copyright Douglas Niedt, All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be
considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
The stretching exercises presented in this Technique Tip of the Month are designed to make it
easier to reach large spread out intervals or chords on the fingerboard—reach development
exercises as they are called in Aaron Shearer’s booklet titled Slur, Ornament, and Reach
Development Exercises.
Although long fingers are certainly not a requirement for being a good guitarist, stretching
exercises of this type will definitely make life easier for the player with short or stiff fingers. Even
for the player with large hands, stretching exercises make playing more effortless and thus
more relaxed and accurate. (There are also stretching exercises to warm up the hand, wrist,
and arm muscles and tendons BEFORE you begin playing. THESE ARE NOT THOSE!)
The exercises in this article should be practiced only after you have been playing 15-30
minutes. These exercises should be practiced slowly and gently (don’t be aggressive). The
notes are written as whole notes to emphasize that each position of the fingers should be held
for several seconds to allow the muscles to stretch. Quick, jerky movements can do more harm
than good, especially if you are prone to hand problems. Remember, slowly and gently.
And remember that exercise programs of any sort for any part of the body are of no use if you
don’t execute them on a regular basis over a long period of time. If you do these exercises
every day, you will certainly see results in 45 days. If you only do them a couple days a week,
or stop after two weeks, you have wasted your time. Fortunately you will not have wasted any
money on this, unlike that treadmill, rowing machine, stationary bicycle, StairMaster, (insert
name of exercise machine here) that is collecting dust in the garage, basement, or attic!
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Stretch Between the 1st and 2nd Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A on the first string, fifth fret (see Example #1 above); play each
pair of the measures in Example #2 (below) two or three times. If these are too difficult, try
stretching from just the 6th to 7th fret first. If you are limber, feel free to stretch even higher with
the second finger, i.e. instead of playing the 7th to 8th fret indicated below, try the 8th to 9th
fret. But don't lift the first finger off the first-string A and don't distort your hand position. And
remember, it should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 1st and 3rd Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A on the first string, fifth fret (see Example #3 above); play each
pair of the measures in Example #4 (below) two or three times.
If these are too difficult, try stretching from just the 7th to the 8th fret first. If you are limber, feel
free to stretch even higher with the third finger, i.e. instead of playing the 8th to 9th fret
indicated below, try the 9th to 10th fret. But don't lift the first finger off the first-string A and
don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Stretch Between the 1st and 4th Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A on the first string, fifth fret (see Example #5 above); play each
pair of the measures in Example #6 (below) two or three times.
If these are too difficult, try stretching from just the 8th to the 9th fret first. If you are limber, feel
free to stretch even higher with the fourth finger, i.e. instead of playing the 10th to 11th fret
indicated above, try the 11th to 12th fret. But don't lift the first finger off the first-string A and
don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 2nd and 3rd Fingers
Stretching between the second and third fingers is difficult. In this combination, instead
of planting at the 5th fret as in the previous examples, you may need to start with the 1st and
2nd fingers planted higher up on the first string where the frets are slightly closer together, in
order to stretch just one fret:
Holding the first finger on the C and the 2nd finger on the Db (see above), play each pair of
measures in Example #8 (below) two or more times. Remember, this should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 2nd and 4th Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A and the 2nd finger on the Bb (see above), play each pair of
measures in Example #10 (below) two or more times.
Feel free to stretch even higher with the fourth finger, i.e. instead of playing the 8th to 9th fret
indicated here, try the 9th to 10th fret. But don't lift the first and second fingers off the first
string A and Bb and don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 3rd and 4th Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A, second finger on Bb, and third finger on B natural (see above),
play each pair of measures in Example #12 (below) two or three times.
Feel free to stretch even higher with the fourth finger, i.e. instead of playing the 8th to 9th fret
indicated here, try the 9th to 10th fret. But don't lift the planted first, second and third fingers off
the first string and don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Whole-Tone Scales for Stretching
The whole-tone scale is a simple and very effective tool for practicing stretches:
Practice the scale slowly as shown above. Continue descending down the fingerboard one fret
at a time:
Descend again:
Continue descending until you can't play the notes cleanly. As you descend, the frets get wider
and wider apart which will gradually stretch your fingers more and more as you proceed. At
first, you may only be able to go down one or two frets. Practice this scale on all six strings.
Playing it on the first string feels different from playing it on the sixth string. And remember to
keep each finger down until it MUST lift.
Once again, these exercises should NEVER hurt. Play them slowly and don't push your hand to
do a stretch it isn't ready to do. Most stretching should feel good.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
By Douglas Niedt
Copyright Douglas Niedt, All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be
considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
The stretching exercises presented in this Technique Tip of the Month are designed to make it
easier to reach large spread out intervals or chords on the fingerboard—reach development
exercises as they are called in Aaron Shearer’s booklet titled Slur, Ornament, and Reach
Development Exercises.
Although long fingers are certainly not a requirement for being a good guitarist, stretching
exercises of this type will definitely make life easier for the player with short or stiff fingers. Even
for the player with large hands, stretching exercises make playing more effortless and thus
more relaxed and accurate. (There are also stretching exercises to warm up the hand, wrist,
and arm muscles and tendons BEFORE you begin playing. THESE ARE NOT THOSE!)
The exercises in this article should be practiced only after you have been playing 15-30
minutes. These exercises should be practiced slowly and gently (don’t be aggressive). The
notes are written as whole notes to emphasize that each position of the fingers should be held
for several seconds to allow the muscles to stretch. Quick, jerky movements can do more harm
than good, especially if you are prone to hand problems. Remember, slowly and gently.
And remember that exercise programs of any sort for any part of the body are of no use if you
don’t execute them on a regular basis over a long period of time. If you do these exercises
every day, you will certainly see results in 45 days. If you only do them a couple days a week,
or stop after two weeks, you have wasted your time. Fortunately you will not have wasted any
money on this, unlike that treadmill, rowing machine, stationary bicycle, StairMaster, (insert
name of exercise machine here) that is collecting dust in the garage, basement, or attic!
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Stretch Between the 1st and 2nd Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A on the first string, fifth fret (see Example #1 above); play each
pair of the measures in Example #2 (below) two or three times. If these are too difficult, try
stretching from just the 6th to 7th fret first. If you are limber, feel free to stretch even higher with
the second finger, i.e. instead of playing the 7th to 8th fret indicated below, try the 8th to 9th
fret. But don't lift the first finger off the first-string A and don't distort your hand position. And
remember, it should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 1st and 3rd Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A on the first string, fifth fret (see Example #3 above); play each
pair of the measures in Example #4 (below) two or three times.
If these are too difficult, try stretching from just the 7th to the 8th fret first. If you are limber, feel
free to stretch even higher with the third finger, i.e. instead of playing the 8th to 9th fret
indicated below, try the 9th to 10th fret. But don't lift the first finger off the first-string A and
don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Stretch Between the 1st and 4th Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A on the first string, fifth fret (see Example #5 above); play each
pair of the measures in Example #6 (below) two or three times.
If these are too difficult, try stretching from just the 8th to the 9th fret first. If you are limber, feel
free to stretch even higher with the fourth finger, i.e. instead of playing the 10th to 11th fret
indicated above, try the 11th to 12th fret. But don't lift the first finger off the first-string A and
don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 2nd and 3rd Fingers
Stretching between the second and third fingers is difficult. In this combination, instead
of planting at the 5th fret as in the previous examples, you may need to start with the 1st and
2nd fingers planted higher up on the first string where the frets are slightly closer together, in
order to stretch just one fret:
Holding the first finger on the C and the 2nd finger on the Db (see above), play each pair of
measures in Example #8 (below) two or more times. Remember, this should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 2nd and 4th Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A and the 2nd finger on the Bb (see above), play each pair of
measures in Example #10 (below) two or more times.
Feel free to stretch even higher with the fourth finger, i.e. instead of playing the 8th to 9th fret
indicated here, try the 9th to 10th fret. But don't lift the first and second fingers off the first
string A and Bb and don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
Stretch Between the 3rd and 4th Fingers
Holding the first finger on the A, second finger on Bb, and third finger on B natural (see above),
play each pair of measures in Example #12 (below) two or three times.
Feel free to stretch even higher with the fourth finger, i.e. instead of playing the 8th to 9th fret
indicated here, try the 9th to 10th fret. But don't lift the planted first, second and third fingers off
the first string and don't distort your hand position. And remember, it should NEVER hurt:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Whole-Tone Scales for Stretching
The whole-tone scale is a simple and very effective tool for practicing stretches:
Practice the scale slowly as shown above. Continue descending down the fingerboard one fret
at a time:
Descend again:
Continue descending until you can't play the notes cleanly. As you descend, the frets get wider
and wider apart which will gradually stretch your fingers more and more as you proceed. At
first, you may only be able to go down one or two frets. Practice this scale on all six strings.
Playing it on the first string feels different from playing it on the sixth string. And remember to
keep each finger down until it MUST lift.
Once again, these exercises should NEVER hurt. Play them slowly and don't push your hand to
do a stretch it isn't ready to do. Most stretching should feel good.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
BE SURE TO VISIT DOUG'S "SECRET VAULT"
It contains many of Doug's Previous
Guitar Technique Tips of the Month
It contains many of Doug's Previous
Guitar Technique Tips of the Month
Have a comment?
Question?
Suggestion for the website?
We would love to hear from you.
Question?
Suggestion for the website?
We would love to hear from you.
We have a Printer Friendlier (PDF) version of this article that's also easier on the eyes.
It's SO much easier to read a printed article than to read it from the computer screen.
It's SO much easier to read a printed article than to read it from the computer screen.
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Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.
Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH
Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on the
Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.
Be a better guitar player or teacher. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH
Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on
the Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written
tips run over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and
the production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.
Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH
Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on
the Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written
tips run over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and
the production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.