Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

[Sune]

I can't play this exercise. I don't know if anything is wrong with my fingers but I can't stretch them enough to do it, and it hurts like hell after I tried;

For the purposes of this exercise, the index finger will play any note on the 1st fret, the middle finger will play any note on the 2nd fret, the ring finger will play any note on the 3rd fret and the pinkie will handle notes on the 4th fret.

When playing ascending notes on a string, It's very important to keep any previous fingers that have played on that string holding their notes down.

For example:

If I play the F note at the 1st fret on the E-string with my index finger, I don't lift that finger off the string to play the F# with my middle finger. My index finger is still holding down the F note at the 1st fret. If I then play the G note at the 3rd fret with my ring finger, the index AND the ring will still be holding their notes down. The same goes if I then play the next note with the pinky. Now, all four fingers are holding down notes on the same string. This will most likely seem awkward until you gain sufficient coordination of the fingers. Keep practicing. It will come.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Why the hell would you want to keep the fingers planted on the notes they played? I don't get it.

 

[Ez74]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

you cant stretch your fingers to cover the first 4 frets?

 

[nuntius]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Why the hell would you want to keep the fingers planted on the notes they played? I don't get it.

I used to do something similar...

Just do 1 2 3 4 but when you go to the next string, only move one finger at a time, so when you're going to the first fret on the next string, your 2nd, 3rd and fourth fingers are still held on the other string. Then repeat with string skipping etc.. it's easy if you already play a lot, but to a beginner that's really hard! I remember struggling with it when I first started out.

If you let a finger off the fretboard before you were supposed to, go back to the start

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

you cant stretch your fingers to cover the first 4 frets?

No, not properly..Not in the way it said I should do it..

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Why the hell would you want to keep the fingers planted on the notes they played? I don't get it.

Well, I don't really know any other exercises for that kind of stuff, that's the problem..And I don't like the fact that I am not able to do this stuff, it makes me think that I can't be a decent player if I can't do it..

If someone have any other exercises for that kind of stuff, please post.

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

I used to do something similar...

Just do 1 2 3 4 but when you go to the next string, only move one finger at a time, so when you're going to the first fret on the next string, your 2nd, 3rd and fourth fingers are still held on the other string. Then repeat with string skipping etc.. it's easy if you already play a lot, but to a beginner that's really hard! I remember struggling with it when I first started out.

If you let a finger off the fretboard before you were supposed to, go back to the start

Well, the problem is I can't keep my fingers on 1 2 3 4 at the same time, I can't stretch my fingers properly and it hurts like hell

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Well, I don't really know any other exercises for that kind of stuff, that's the problem..And I don't like the fact that I am not able to do this stuff, it makes me think that I can't be a decent player if I can't do it..

If someone have any other exercises for that kind of stuff, please post.

I play piano as well as guitar and had a strict but excellent Russian piano teacher. (Man, those Russians can play!) Her hands are smaller than mine yet she has better reach across the keyboard than I do. Why? Because she's been playing almost twice as long as I've been alive.

You may not have the span, flexibility and coordination right now that you need to properly perform this exercise, but over time you will. Instead of doing 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 on each string, try doing just 1 - 2 - 3; then repeat the exercise doing 2 - 3 - 4. That way you won't have to push your hand to stretch the full four frets. Practice this for however many days or weeks it takes until you're not in pain after completing the exercise. Once you've accomplished that, move on to the full 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 exercise. If 1 - 2 - 3 is too much, just do 1 - 2, 2 - 3 and 3 - 4 on each string. Another idea is to do the regular exercise higher on the neck at first (e.g., do 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 on the 12th - 15th frets).

Practicing can hurt but if you're really in pain then you may be pushing yourself too much and ultimately damaging your hands. However, you should always push yourself a certain amount in order to improve your abilities, otherwise you're stuck in neutral.

 

[A Skater]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Pfft, I had that same problem a while ago. I recommend you practice the Blink 182 song Carousel(The breakdown). Trust me, that really helps your pinky stretching problem. I also that scale you do at 200 BPM up the fretboard and back down as a warm-up. I couldn't get that exercise when I first practiced.

Additionally, you need to practice using your pinky some more. Like in Metallica's "One", try playing the intro with your index/middle finger and your pinky.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Why the hell would you want to keep the fingers planted on the notes they played? I don't get it.

Classical technique training

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Classical technique training

Ah ok...but what would be the benifit? more control over your fingers?

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

I play piano as well as guitar and had a strict but excellent Russian piano teacher. (Man, those Russians can play!) Her hands are smaller than mine yet she has better reach across the keyboard than I do. Why? Because she's been playing almost twice as long as I've been alive.

You may not have the span, flexibility and coordination right now that you need to properly perform this exercise, but over time you will. Instead of doing 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 on each string, try doing just 1 - 2 - 3; then repeat the exercise doing 2 - 3 - 4. That way you won't have to push your hand to stretch the full four frets. Practice this for however many days or weeks it takes until you're not in pain after completing the exercise. Once you've accomplished that, move on to the full 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 exercise. If 1 - 2 - 3 is too much, just do 1 - 2, 2 - 3 and 3 - 4 on each string. Another idea is to do the regular exercise higher on the neck at first (e.g., do 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 on the 12th - 15th frets).

Practicing can hurt but if you're really in pain then you may be pushing yourself too much and ultimately damaging your hands. However, you should always push yourself a certain amount in order to improve your abilities, otherwise you're stuck in neutral.

Wow, thanks alot man, I'll try it that way then..It's just that I'm really set for wanting to learn that stuff, and if you can't do it, you start to doubt if you'll be able to play as good as you want to. But I will try it the way you said, one step at the time.. I have to learn how to crawl before I can learn to walk :laugh2:

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Pfft, I had that same problem a while ago. I recommend you practice the Blink 182 song Carousel(The breakdown). Trust me, that really helps your pinky stretching problem. I also that scale you do at 200 BPM up the fretboard and back down as a warm-up. I couldn't get that exercise when I first practiced.

Additionally, you need to practice using your pinky some more. Like in Metallica's "One", try playing the intro with your index/middle finger and your pinky.

Thanks for your advice, but I'm really a beginner, and I can't play like 200BPM.. I think I need to learn this stuff before trying to play songs where it is needed.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Wow, thanks alot man, I'll try it that way then..It's just that I'm really set for wanting to learn that stuff, and if you can't do it, you start to doubt if you'll be able to play as good as you want to. But I will try it the way you said, one step at the time.. I have to learn how to crawl before I can learn to walk :laugh2:

No sh!t you want to be able to play like the pros right off the bat. After all that's probably what made you pick up a guitar in the first place. Keep your goals high but your expectations reasonable...and BE PATIENT! Some days you'll get frustrated easily while other days your fingers will seem to glide over the fretboard, but as long as you're making overall progress you can feel good about yourself. It's a good idea to occasionally look back at where you were and see where you are now (do this in a month or so); you'll be impressed with your own accomplishments and motivated to reach even further.

I write the occasional sonnet and it took me forever to write my first one because I wanted it to be as good as Shakespeare's. That's a pretty lofty (read: impossible) expectation. Finally I just sucked it up and put pen to paper. The result wasn't Shakespeare but after setting reasonable expectations I found it was better than what I thought it would be. It inspired me to write more and each one is better than the last. Same goes for tackling exercises or difficult musical passages.

You said it perfectly: You have to learn to crawl before you can learn to walk.

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

By the way...I know I made another thread for picking exercises but didn't get any answers...do you guys know any ways to practice alternative picking (which I should probably start with?) ? But should I practice it now, or after I learned to stretch my fingers more, and therefore have gotten better control?

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

No sh!t you want to be able to play like the pros right off the bat. After all that's probably what made you pick up a guitar in the first place. Keep your goals high but your expectations reasonable...and BE PATIENT! Some days you'll get frustrated easily while other days your fingers will seem to glide over the fretboard, but as long as you're making overall progress you can feel good about yourself. It's a good idea to occasionally look back at where you were and see where you are now (do this in a month or so); you'll be impressed with your own accomplishments and motivated to reach even further.

I write the occasional sonnet and it took me forever to write my first one because I wanted it to be as good as Shakespeare's. That's a pretty lofty (read: impossible) expectation. Finally I just sucked it up and put pen to paper. The result wasn't Shakespeare but after setting reasonable expectations I found it was better than what I thought it would be. It inspired me to write more and each one is better than the last. Same goes for tackling exercises or difficult musical passages.

You said it perfectly: You have to learn to crawl before you can learn to walk.

Well, you are right.. But sometimes it's not easy to not have high expectations, but still I'm impressing msyelf all the time which I guess is a good sign...And I'll try to have reasonable expectations to myself..It would help alot I guess, so thanks for your advices, I really appreciate them. And I will appreciate them even more the day I'm able to play this, because then I can laugh about the time where I couldn't even stretch my fingers properly :laugh2:

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

By the way...I know I made another thread for picking exercises but didn't get any answers...do you guys know any ways to practice alternative picking (which I should probably start with?) ? But should I practice it now, or after I learned to stretch my fingers more, and therefore have gotten better control?

Tommy Tedesco has a great book full of exercises, practical advice, etc. I think it's called "For Guitar Players Only." It's a red book, if that helps. He goes through picking exercises and myriad other drills to improve your overall technique.

 

[Sune]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Well, I'm not sure I could get a hold of the book here in Denmark, but I'll try looking for it.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Well, you are right.. But sometimes it's not easy to not have high expectations, but still I'm impressing msyelf all the time which I guess is a good sign...And I'll try to have reasonable expectations to myself..It would help alot I guess, so thanks for your advices, I really appreciate them. And I will appreciate them even more the day I'm able to play this, because then I can laugh about the time where I couldn't even stretch my fingers properly :laugh2:

You're so totally reminding me of the day I spent hours on just the opening chords and riff for "Back in Black" when I first started playing. It seemed like an insurmountable task back then, but now it's cake.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Help, I can't stretch my fingers properly..

Ah ok...but what would be the benifit? more control over your fingers?

For "correct" classical technique you usually move your hand in "frames", each encompassing a predetermined set of frets.... Of course this is not an iron rule, as somethimes that would make a piece impossible to play, but for general purpose use this is the case....

My music theory isnt that good that I can tell you why, but IIRC it also has something to do with the "box" approach to scales.

I personally don´t like the "box" approach but the "string" approach: learn scale on one string, 1 octave, transpose into all other strings and octaves

As far as not lifting the fingers, the idea is minimization/economization of movement: The finger is only moved into position milliseconds before the note is struck, and either holds or damps the note just played until that time.... This style of "pre-change" adds to fluidity and precision when well done... but it is very hard to master, i try to get as close as possible playing clean, because it keeps buzzing and noise to an absolute minimum as soon as you´ve developed precision. For me the problem is detaching my fingers from the beat enough to keep time but switch out of time....