The Truth About Finger Strength Exercises For Guitar

What exercises do you need to build finger strength for guitar? The answer is… none. You develop all the finger strength you need for guitar by:

• Playing & practicing your guitar regularly, and
• Learning how to make your guitar playing feel easy when you practice.

Here are the most important elements that make your guitar playing feel easy (and how to master each one):
 

Guitar Technique Element #1: Fretting Hand Efficiency

The more efficient your fretting hand motions are, the easier your guitar playing feels.

Your thumb position is key to making your fretting hand as efficient as possible.

Keep the thumb behind the guitar neck (pointing up towards the ceiling, near the center of the fretboard) when you play scales and arpeggios.

Allow the thumb to wrap around the neck of the guitar when bending strings and playing vibrato.

Watch this video to learn how to make your fretting hand technique very efficient:
 

Guitar Technique Element #2: Proper Fretting Hand Finger Motions

Here is what to focus on when you play anything on guitar:

• Fret notes using the tips of your fingers while playing most licks. It’s ok to use the fingerprint to fret notes, when you are rolling across strings or when playing barre chords (or double stops).
   
• Press down notes as close to the fret as possible. This lets you use the least amount of pressure to produce a clear note.
   
• Keep the knuckles of your fingers curved (don’t allow them to collapse). You can see what this looks like in the video shown earlier.
   

Guitar Technique Element #3: Excess Tension Control

It takes very little pressure to fret notes clearly. When you use too much pressure, playing guitar becomes a struggle and playing fast feels impossible.

Watch this video to learn a simple way to relax excess tension in your fretting hand:

Note: Vibrato and string bends are the only 2 fretting hand techniques that require real strength. That said, your vibrato strength is more about forearm strength, rather than finger strength.

Watch this video to learn the right way to practice (and master) guitar vibrato:
 

The next step to turbocharging your guitar playing is to combine these tips with a guitar lesson strategy customized for you. This gives you everything you need to finally learn to play guitar the way you’ve always wanted.

I want to help you transform your guitar playing into totally awesome, top level playing, so you can feel great about yourself as a musician. To get started, go to: https://tomhess.net/Guitar

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“Tom Hess's lessons have really focused me and I feel like I am definitely on the right track to becoming a great guitarist.”

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