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Online Guitar Lessons -The Secret to Left Hand Finger co-ordination they don’t want you to know
By Mike Hayes | September 26, 2009
Effective guitar teachers understand that their work is not so
much teaching people how to play the guitar, but rather how to
remove obstacles that prevent their students from playing the way
they want to play.
One such obstacle is the perfect co-ordination of both left and
right hands; these skills are the very foundation of all good
guitar playing… musical ideas that are plagued by technical
impediments will always be the musical stumbling block for the
advancing guitarist.
The secret all top professional guitarists know is … “the speed
of going slow”. When first confronted with this concept it may
seem to be a contradiction; but think about it for a while and it
will make perfect sense.
Once you can perform a skill correctly at a slow tempo it is easy
to increase the tempo and maintain accurate execution of the
music. Always remember speed is a by-product of accuracy!
The best guitar instructors function at many different levels,
one such level is that of a behavioral therapist in as much that
they help the student train or re-train (as the case may be)
their nervous system to refine their motor skills to perform with
precision.
If you are lucky enough to be studying with a good guitar teacher
follow his / her instructions carefully … you will be glad you
did; for those who are not so fortunate I’ve listed some very
important left hand co-ordination exercise below:
Left hand co-ordination exercise – first and second fingers
(a) place your first finger behind the first fret, first string
and your second finger behind the second string, second fret.
Important: Make a conscious effort to place both fingers down
simultaneously as if you were using your fingers like a rubber
stamp.
(b) reverse this shape; so now your first finger is playing the
first fret, second string whilst your second finger is playing
the second fret, first string.
Note: regarding your right hand, pluck the strings with your
fingers not a pick.
(c) now widen the gap by return to your original shape only this
time creating the shape using the first and third strings.
First finger playing first string, first fret while the second
finger is placed behind the second fret, third string.
(d) time to flip the shape around again, don’t forget to make
sure your left hand fingers move in a single action, not two
separate moves.
First finger behind the first fret, third string and the second
finger behind the second fret, first string.
(e) you know the routine by now … flip the shape over again,
widening the string gap..
Finger one behind first fret, string one and finger two behind
second fret on the fourth string.
(f) Reverse the shape and it becomes:
1st finger behind first fret, fourth string whilst the second
finger is place behind the second fret, first string.
Continue this flipping process until you have made it all the way
across to the sixth string, play s-l-o-w-l-y and accurately.
By now you will have noticed that this exercise does not sound
very musical … it’s not supposed to, it is an isometric co-
ordination exercise; just do the work and it will work for you!
I invite you to use these tips and tools when you play the
guitar.
And now I’d like to invite you to get free access to my “How To
Remember 1,000 Songs” eCourse. You can download the course for
free at: http://www.guitarcoaching.com
From Mike Hayes – The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar
System
http://www.GuitarCoaching.com
http://AdvancingGuitaristProgram.com
Topics: Beginner Guitar Lesson, Guitar Fretboard, Guitar Tips, Learn And Master Guitar | No Comments »
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