What are the best practice techniques to strengthen fingers and improve dexterity?

[fumblefingers]

I have taken a hiatus from my guitar out of frustration and boredom. I feel like I never improve. I read that you can play for as little as 30 minutes a day and get better. Not me. I seem to be stuck in suckville. My fingers are slow and weak, and I have horrible dexterity. I'm starting to suspect undiagnosed Asperger's or something. My fingers are just plain clumsy. What's weird is that I was an athlete growing up with some of the best hand-eye coordination of anyone. I could square up a baseball and a golf ball with the best of them.  This has not translated into anything good on the guitar. Suggestions appreciated.

Edited December 8, 2021 by fumblefingers

[brad1]

You can get better playing 30 minutes a day. But I would up it to an hour a day. At least for the first year or so.  I actually played 2-3 hours every day for the first year I was learning, and I improved a lot. And I am a drummer.

You don't say how long it has been that you have been practicing. How long have you been trying?

Like anything, it just takes dedicated practice, practice, practice, and eventually you will see results. 

Don't give up. Just try to make it interesting. Learn new songs off the internet. Almost any song you want to learn has someone on Youtube with a video showing you how to play it.  Buy or get stuff off the internet regarding chord progression, theory, pull offs/ hammer ons.  Try using a slide and try using new tunings. Try out different guitars, string gauges, guitar picks,  etc.  Play with other guitar players; some as good as you, some better than you. Try writing your own songs. 

BTW,   Asperger syndrome has nothing to do with finger dexterity at all. It is an  autism spectrum disorder.  I am a Sp. Ed.  Teacher and have worked with students that have Asperger's.

Good luck FF!

[fumblefingers]

I apologize for the Asperger's reference. I had read one time that clumsiness was a feature, and I am really disappointed in my fingers. In fact, my "fumblefingers" screen name says it all. I don't understand how people have total control of their fingers and land on the strings perfectly. I struggle so badly with it that I want to scream in frustration. They have to be so precise that I feel I'll never get there. I have been practicing on and off for 14 years. I have not played in over a year. No callouses anymore, nada. I figure I need a new routine.

The way I practiced before was teaching myself songs - the easier ones with the traditional "cowboy chords" - and then feeling the satisfaction of playing them to where they sounded legit - easy songs like "Pigs On The Wing" by Pink Floyd, "The Needle and The Damage Done" by Neil Young, etc. But I am so tired of playing those types of songs and learning that way that I want a whole new routine.

I started watching videos on music theory with Rick Beato and wonder if I should learn how to read music in order to understand things better. I don't even understand the fretboard, meaning if I'm not playing a chord I have no idea where to even be. I don't "solo" at all, which makes me think that scales are something I need to learn. There is so much to know. The best I can do is sometimes recognize chords I play in different songs and go, oh, that's the same chord as another song, etc. But my ear needs improvement, too. I absolutely love the sound of the guitar, but feel I'll never be able to play it like I want. When I watch other people play, it's almost like they are typing - they don't have to look at their hands and their mind is just controlling everything.

[jedzep]

Your muscle memory is improved only by redundancy, so you'll have to just tolerate the kind of practice time all players feel at all levels in the learning process.   Repetition is the mother of retention, and shortcuts don't really exist, but frustration and boredom can block your progress.   If you can't hang on to the joy of learning, however, your 'what's the point' perspective and impatience will pour water on your fire.  It's a puzzle, and you just have to slowly put the pieces together.

Make sure your instrument is set up for easy fretting, and capo if you have to baby your hand muscles.  If you feel that expert players disillusion you, don't watch this crosspicking vid/lesson.
 

 

[Big Bill]

8 hours ago, brad1 said:

BTW,   Asperger syndrome has nothing to do with finger dexterity at all. It is an  autism spectrum disorder.  I am a Sp. Ed.  Teacher and have worked with students that have Asperger's.

Good luck FF!

Brad, I have to beg to differ. My boy has Aspergers and has issues with finger dexterity, and it bothers the hell out of him. He cant even tie his own shoes at the age of 21. Not all people within the spectrum suffer with this. Taking up the guitar is out of the question for him. He could beat the hell out of the drums, but he lost interest.

[fortyearspickn]

FF,   Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and a few hundred other Triple AAA players are put on this earth to inspire us and allow us to aspire to more than we otherwise would be .. BUT still, realizing we will be something much, much less Wonderful than what Molly Tuttle is.   Some folks have  perfect brain to finger wiring. Most of us just have average.  Some have 'perfect pitch'.  Some do, but still can't really sing.  Most learn to sing through practice.  Like playing any other instrument.   Enjoy and appreciate the clip above but don't for a minute think that 99999 out of 100000 people could ever bring that off.  Some people can play chess and stay 5 moves ahead: she can do that with music.  Some people can juggle chainsaws and bowling balls: she can do that with music.   Don't get discouraged.  I'm assuming your goal is enjoyment,  not performing for others or gigging for money.    If you started out with cowboy chords and a basic music book - you may have missed things like 'scales'.  It's  hard to recognize a song if your book just shows the words and the 3 chords.   Especially if you can't sing well or don't know the melody of song in the first place.   You couldn't do the chords well on "White Freightliner Blues'  if you didn't know the melody and lyrics well enough for them to lead and  accompany your guitar chord playing aka 'rhythm guitar'. 

Many great ideas above, I'll beg, borrow and steal some:   setup is critical, you need to be able to play for at least an hour without pain.  And, keep your nails as short as possible on your fretting hand.  Get a nylon string guitar if you can't stick to at least 30 minutes a day - softer stings, wider spacing.  Otherwise - use light or extra light strings.  Get a book on scales.  Practice then until you can do it in your sleep. Including up the neck.  If you can move your individual fingers one note at a time - it will make changing between chords with all 4 of them much easier and quicker.    Investing in a year or so of in-person lessons will also help.  Being able to read  music - basic notes - and find them on your guitar will help you figure out the melody of songs so the chords make sense.  Short of reading music - learn transcription.   Because learning 3 or 33 chords and only that is not going to get you far in terms of enjoyment/ self-motivation .  Nor will it get you much brain/ finger practice as scales will.  As well as learning to read music notation/transcription - so you can play melodies.   Then, if you find you are actually a 'prodigy', you'll be able to pick all sorts of notes within chords, dancing around the melody.  

There are tons of actual exercises on the internet, of course.  Here is an inexpensive little exerciser that many use.  Helps each finger, because most index fingers are at least twice as strong as our fourth finger.   https://www.physioroom.com/product/PhysioRoom_Hand_and_Finger_Exerciser_Grip_Strengthener_Wrist_and_Forearm_Workout/2334/42531.html  

I apologize if some of this is too basic and you already have dealt with it.  Thought it better to cover all bases.  G'luck. 

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

We all gotta do our 10,000 hours to get there. At 15 minuets a day it will take me over 100 years to be proficient.

[merciful-evans]

 

9 hours ago, fumblefingers said:

I absolutely love the sound of the guitar, but feel I'll never be able to play it like I want. 

What music do you enjoy FF? What is it you want to play?

[Whitefang]

I hear ya, Fumble.

Was your finger dexterity always an issue?  And weak finger strength?    For me, both became a problem after an transient ischemic attack(Mini-stroke) back in '14.  Left arm is still a bit numb and heavy and have been working against dexterity and endurance levels ever since.  What does help a bit with finger strength is the old bit about squeezing a rubber ball, or something equally  "squishy".   I now use a vinyl type bag filled with an artificial sand designed mostly for stress relief.  Cost me $5.99 at a Binson's  home medical supply outlet(same place I'd get the hydrogel wound care for my wife's pressure ulcers and other home care supplies).

I've seen similar things in music stores selling for upwards of $15.00!    An occupational therapist once had me do an exercise  calling for me to touch the tip of each finger to my thumb going back and forth from index to "pinkie" and back again for dexterity.  slowly at first and speeding up gradually as I get better at it.

Hope that helps

Whitefang

[rct]

Stand while practicing.  Walk around while practicing.  Play Neil Young while singing Neil Young.  Do more than focus on staring at willing your hands to do something.  Teach them to do it and then do other things while your hands are doing the guitar stuff.  Plural hands.  Both have to work, they have to simultaneously and at the same time and concurrently along with each other do different things that make the song sound like you know what you are doing.  Play the guitar the way guitar players play the guitar, not the way people trying to shorten up the whole thing play it.  Trust me trust me trust me, it will help.

Do Not Play Things At Tempo when you first start learning them.  Play them only as fast as you can correctly and properly change the chords without stumbling.  Do that a few times and your tempo will incrementally, exponentially get up to the right tempo.  It takes time, effort, discipline, and some small amount of pain.  Suck it up and keep at it.

As soon as possible, play with other people, even if it is only one or few songs.  Playing music is interactive and very difficult to do in a vacuum.

Good luck with it.  50 years and 10 months and I'm already a mediocre bar band classic rock flogger.  You too can be like me.

rct

 

[Big Bill]

3 minutes ago, rct said:

Do Not Play Things At Tempo when you first start learning them.  Play them only as fast as you can correctly and properly change the chords without stumbling.  Do that a few times and your tempo will incrementally, exponentially get up to the right tempo.  It takes time, effort, discipline, and some small amount of pain.  Suck it up and keep at it.

 

 

Bingo!

[mihcmac]

RCT has the right answer, also try doing arpeggio percussion with your fingers all of the time on any surface available.

[NighthawkChris]

Get a guitar teacher. You could spend many years doing the wrong things. Teacher will fix that. Not all are equal, but I believe you should know a thing or two about theory and technique to progress. This is necessary if you actually want to improve. Also need to spend the time to practice as many have said - practice the things an instructor lays out for you. Eventually you get to a point where you can learn things on your own, but starting out, the stuff doesn’t just happen. Might find some good online stuff, but it’s not the same as someone like me who can watch you play and constructively build you up to play correctly. Same thing for learning piano as guitar. 

[Larsongs]

You gotta play every day… You gotta get your 10,000 hours… Not scattered here & there over 15 years…

Segovia, one of the greatest Guitarists of all time had a saying… “If I don’t play one day, no one can tell.. If I don’t play two days, I can tell. If I don’t play three days, everyone can tell…….

If you want get good you gotta play, play & continue to play… Even then some of us still marginal! Like me.

[fumblefingers]

14 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

 

What music do you enjoy FF? What is it you want to play?

I like most music from the 60s to the early 2000s. I grew up listening to classic rock and pop. I guess I just want to be able to play most chords and not struggle moving around the fretboard for starters. I've never cared about shredding at all, but would like to move into some tasteful guitar solo covers. But again, just improving on the fretboard is my goal.

[fumblefingers]

I just played around on the guitar for almost an hour. It is out of tune and my tuner's battery is dead. I tuned it by ear as best I can and will get a battery tomorrow. My fingers are a little sore, but I'm going to build my callouses up and play this winter. I have some time as it's my off-season.

[merciful-evans]

3 hours ago, fumblefingers said:

I like most music from the 60s to the early 2000s. I grew up listening to classic rock and pop. I guess I just want to be able to play most chords and not struggle moving around the fretboard for starters. I've never cared about shredding at all, but would like to move into some tasteful guitar solo covers. But again, just improving on the fretboard is my goal.

I dont use any myself, but there is a lot of online tuition available. Just select videos & type in 'how to play ******Hotel Cal/Sultans of Swing/Comfortably N etc.***** solo'. All the best known ones have plenty of vids. You are bound to find something you like & can follow. 

For paid tuition, I know you looked at Rick Beato's site. Again there are plenty out there. John Robson is another. Marty Schwartz looks pretty good and methodical. The world is your oyster. It beats trying to learn from a vinyl LP like a lot of us did. Good luck.

Edited December 9, 2021 by merciful-evans
miss

[Pinch]

36 minutes ago, merciful-evans said:

Marty Schwartz looks pretty good and methodical.

His Youtube videos are great! 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I sit my fat butt on my futon and play. No need to stand as I am not in a band and the only concert I am going to give will be in my Man Cave.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[duane v]

What is strange when I was in my 20's I needed to warmup and I couldn't play when my hands were cold and needed to be sober. Today I can just grab a guitar and play no problem with hot or cold hands, and play well completely drunk off my arse.

[Larsongs]

3 minutes ago, duane v said:

What is strange when I was in my 20's I needed to warmup and I couldn't play when my hands were cold and needed to be sober. Today I can just grab a guitar and play no problem with hot or cold hands, and play well completely drunk off my arse.

When I was in my 20’s we did just the opposite.. Thought we sounded great! Then we heard the Recordings… 😂 

[Pinch]

My tip is always check out new lessons and licks on Youtube - but stick with the same new lick for a while, until it's in your muscle memory. 

[Whitefang]

14 hours ago, NighthawkChris said:

Get a guitar teacher. You could spend many years doing the wrong things. Teacher will fix that. Not all are equal, but I believe you should know a thing or two about theory and technique to progress. This is necessary if you actually want to improve. Also need to spend the time to practice as many have said - practice the things an instructor lays out for you. Eventually you get to a point where you can learn things on your own, but starting out, the stuff doesn’t just happen. Might find some good online stuff, but it’s not the same as someone like me who can watch you play and constructively build you up to play correctly. Same thing for learning piano as guitar. 

Good advice for a novice, but I seriously doubt theory is gonna improve his finger dexterity and strength.  I still say get one of them sandbags and try that fingertip to thumb tip  exercise I mentioned.   But I am for the real teacher thing.  Can't ask for clarity or get a response to any questions you might have from a YouTube clip.    Plus, I believe a one-on-one instructor is more conducive to figuring out one's weaknesses and strengths and work out a good course of action that helps take advantage of the strengths, and overcomes the weaknesses.  So that last sentence is a big "thumbs up".   

Whitefang

[mihcmac]

Play, play, play, play, play, play, play, play, play, play,.

[Retired]

A lot of excellent remarks here.  When I left the Railroad at 60, I wanted to get back into playing again.  I had forgotten everything from playing from 13 to 28 years old. I signed up with Guitar Tricks which has many teachers that will work with you on a video and you can talk with them also. They go from basics to advanced lessons and go through songs you like to learn, for around $140.00 per year.  What helped me is, I practiced about 7 to 13 hours a day. Heh, I was retired, why not?  At 16 years old, I had an accident almost cutting my left arm off.  I didn't think I would ever be able to play again.  Only the bone held my arm on and I should have bled to death before I arrived at the Emergency. So I had no finger strength.  I bought one of those hand squeeze devices that has a spring in it and worked at it every day to build my strength back up. Now at 68, I have arthritis in both hands that give me problems and I cannot use my pinky finger. So I can only chord with 3 fingers. I have found ways to cheat.  Be creative! I once saw a guy playing a guitar with his Toes and he sounded great. Anything is possible. It only takes Desire to learn and lots of practice like everyone has said.  Most likely, you will never be a Joe Walsh or some great player but you can be the best "YOU. "  Heh, It took me a year to play,  "Stairway To heaven." Good luck and never give up.