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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 5:48 am
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Rhumba wrote:
A guitar players left hand should be slightly de-formed. In that when you spread the hand out, it should naturally fall with a pronounced gap between the 2nd and 3rd fingers. ( Mr Spock stylee )
Back in the 60's my classical guitar teacher showed me some excercise techniques to achieve this. ( The purpose is to give the hand a wider spread along the fretboard and it builds strength without gadgets )
One excersise is to hold the hand out in front of you, palm facing towards you, ( left hand ) and then with your right fingers take the 3rd finger of your left hand and hook it around your little finger and pull to the side.
At the same time hook your 2nd finger around your 1st and pull the other way. Hold that for as long as you want, pulling all the time.
Do it regularly, when walking down the street for example, any time and often, whenever you think of it. Keep your hand as straight as you can, for instance don't clench your hand.
In one piece of music I had to play, it required ( on classical guitar ) in one passage to play the 6th string first fret with 1st finger (F) and at the same time 1st string fifth fret with 4th finger (A)
The aforementioned excersise helps you achieve this kind of thing. ( stretch and strength )
I hope that is useful.
Cheers :D


Hey rhumba, could you post a pic of what a hand like that looks like? because I've got really weird hands, and I'd like to know if they're freaky weird or handy-weird.

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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 6:42 am
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A exercise i've used since i began playing is to put your left hand flat on a surface. The raise the index and 3rd finger keeping the 2nd and 4th flat on whatever surface you've got your hand on. Then slowly lower them, then lift the 2nd and 4th and slowly lower them. There are a couple of points to remember with this.
1 keep your fingers tense, let them fight against themselves this is how it builds strength. Much like the charles atlas dynamic tension workout principles. So therefore dont rush it.
2 Force your fingers up into a stretched position. Feel them stretch. Stretching the finger muscles makes sure their strength is kept in the correct area's. Its no good to have all your strength for fretting notes and non for releasing your fingers from the board. Ever notice how many body builders aren't strong, their excellent at lifting weights but their natural strength is somewhat debilitated. This is because many of them train for looks rather than strength. Boxing and M.A instructors will tell you long muscles are the strong ones not fat muscles. Good upwards stretching will keep your fingers springy and therefore fast.

You can do the excersice anywhere and it just looks like your drumming your fingers. Just dont over do it. Over stretching can be as damaging as not stretching at all.

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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 7:56 am
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nikininja wrote:
A exercise i've used since i began playing is to put your left hand flat on a surface. The raise the index and 3rd finger keeping the 2nd and 4th flat on whatever surface you've got your hand on. Then slowly lower them, then lift the 2nd and 4th and slowly lower them. There are a couple of points to remember with this.
1 keep your fingers tense, let them fight against themselves this is how it builds strength. Much like the charles atlas dynamic tension workout principles. So therefore dont rush it.
2 Force your fingers up into a stretched position. Feel them stretch. Stretching the finger muscles makes sure their strength is kept in the correct area's. Its no good to have all your strength for fretting notes and non for releasing your fingers from the board. Ever notice how many body builders aren't strong, their excellent at lifting weights but their natural strength is somewhat debilitated. This is because many of them train for looks rather than strength. Boxing and M.A instructors will tell you long muscles are the strong ones not fat muscles. Good upwards stretching will keep your fingers springy and therefore fast.

You can do the excersice anywhere and it just looks like your drumming your fingers. Just dont over do it. Over stretching can be as damaging as not stretching at all.



Yes, this is a good one.
Another one we did that is very similar to that, is to lay the hand flat in exactly the same way and spread your hand wide.
Then lift your 1st finger and slowly swing it over towards your thumb and then back over to your 2nd finger. Then do the same with your 2nd finger, towards the 1st and then over to the 3rd. Then same with 3rd to the 2nd and across to the 4th.Then again with the 4th to the 3rd and then as far the other way as you can go.You must do it slowly.
I used to lay my guitar strings down on my lap and do these kind of excersises on the back of it before practice.
A variation on that other one, is to hold the left hand straight out, fingers together tense and then part your fingers between 2nd and 3rd ( like a pair of scissors ) Then slide the 1st,2nd,3rd fingers of your right hand into the gap pushing the fingers of your left hand apart, to create the stretch and hold it there for a couple of minutes or so. You will feel your hand ache. Do that ocassionally, it is good for developing spread.
As the Ninja said, do not over-do these to avoid straining but do them regularly and they will do some good.
Above all, have fun. :D


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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:31 am
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Rhumba wrote:


Yes, this is a good one.
Another one we did that is very similar to that, is to lay the hand flat in exactly the same way and spread your hand wide.
Then lift your 1st finger and slowly swing it over towards your thumb and then back over to your 2nd finger. Then do the same with your 2nd finger, towards the 1st and then over to the 3rd. Then same with 3rd to the 2nd and across to the 4th.Then again with the 4th to the 3rd and then as far the other way as you can go.You must do it slowly.
I used to lay my guitar strings down on my lap and do these kind of excersises on the back of it before practice.
A variation on that other one, is to hold the left hand straight out, fingers together tense and then part your fingers between 2nd and 3rd ( like a pair of scissors ) Then slide the 1st,2nd,3rd fingers of your right hand into the gap pushing the fingers of your left hand apart, to create the stretch and hold it there for a couple of minutes or so. You will feel your hand ache. Do that ocassionally, it is good for developing spread.
As the Ninja said, do not over-do these to avoid straining but do them regularly and they will do some good.
Above all, have fun. :D


Thats a tough one Rhumba. Far better than my method, from now on i'm adopting that as my number 1.

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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:56 am
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nikininja wrote:
Rhumba wrote:


Yes, this is a good one.
Another one we did that is very similar to that, is to lay the hand flat in exactly the same way and spread your hand wide.
Then lift your 1st finger and slowly swing it over towards your thumb and then back over to your 2nd finger. Then do the same with your 2nd finger, towards the 1st and then over to the 3rd. Then same with 3rd to the 2nd and across to the 4th.Then again with the 4th to the 3rd and then as far the other way as you can go.You must do it slowly.
I used to lay my guitar strings down on my lap and do these kind of excersises on the back of it before practice.
A variation on that other one, is to hold the left hand straight out, fingers together tense and then part your fingers between 2nd and 3rd ( like a pair of scissors ) Then slide the 1st,2nd,3rd fingers of your right hand into the gap pushing the fingers of your left hand apart, to create the stretch and hold it there for a couple of minutes or so. You will feel your hand ache. Do that ocassionally, it is good for developing spread.
As the Ninja said, do not over-do these to avoid straining but do them regularly and they will do some good.
Above all, have fun. :D


Thats a tough one Rhumba. Far better than my method, from now on i'm adopting that as my number 1.



Hi Ninja,
I knew a lot of excersises once but like most things I've forgotten a lot now.
I do remember one more though, extremely difficult, unless you can do it naturally.
This classical teacher I knew, could hold his left hand up, fingers extended straight and together and then bend the four fingers at right angles at the top joint, so his fingers were straight but bent forward at the top joint.
He said I had to be able to do that ! He showed me how easier it was to fret the notes and the attack was much stronger and cleaner, the tips of the fingers hitting the fretboard at right angles. So I spent endless hours literally pulling the ends of my fingers forward trying to get that right angle bend.
I gotta say, I never got it right, nothing like he did it. I can't be bothered going back to that one now but if anybody wants to give it a go..........
He was a great guitarist, he taught at the Royal College of Music in Manchester and he asked me to go and be a student there but I wouldn't go. I was playing in a band at the time ( silly, silly )
As a final footnote, his teacher was a woman, based in London and as a point of interest, at the time ( late sixties ) she was the fastest scale player in the world, on classical guitar, he said her fingers were just a blur zipping up and down the fretboard.
Anyway, I'm rambling on now so........
Enjoy life, all the best.
Cheers :D


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