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Warming
Up
by Andy Webber
Warming
up is essential at this level of playing. Not only
will it allow you to play better and faster, it
will also reduce the chance of you sustaining an
injury. This may seem like a joke but I have seen
people who have sprained their wrist and pulled
muscles in their fingers from playing the guitar!
So here are some warm up exercises that I strongly
recommend you do at the start of every practise
session.
Warm Up 1
This
warm up exercise is great for practising you alternate
picking. It also helps with the sychronisation of
both hands when playing fast. It is a simple pattern:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, open. Do this twice on every
string.
As
always, start off really slowly and build up your
speed.
Warm
Up 2
This
warm up is great for improving the independence
of your little finger from your ring finger. The
pattern is 1, 4, 3, 4, 1, 4, 3, 4, on every string.
Warm
Up 3
This
simple exercise will improve your left and right
hand coordination. The notes form a chromatic scale,
which simply means every note. I'll leave you to
figure out the fingering!
Warm
Up 4
This is the trickiest of all the exercises.
The aim here is not speed, but accuracy. The fingering
is as follows:
0, 1, 2 ,3 ,4 / 5, 4, 3, 2 / 3,
4, 5, 6 / 7, 6, 5, 4 / 5, 6, 7, 8....
Take your time over this one, especially
with the slides, as this interrupts your picking
pattern. A good way to practise is to try playing
it, and every time you make the slightest mistake,
go back to the beginning and start again. I go up
to the 12th fret on every string. By the time you
have done this on all six strings, you should be
fully warmed up!
That's it! This is my way of warming
up before a good playing sesh. Don't limit youself
to these though. Try coming up with your own exercises
to get those fingers ready for action.
Andy Webber.
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