You will be pleased to know yes it will get better with time and practice. What you can do to make sure you maintain the form, as Justin describes in the lesson, is to start a little higher up the neck and work down. I found starting at the 7th fret was a good way to start the stretching process, fretting between the 7th and 10th, as the frets are a little closer and when that feels comfortable move the the 6th and repeat and then to the 5th and work down from there.
My old hands lose their flexibility quite quickly, so I always do this as a warm. But I always start at the 7th before working down to the 1st fret.
I have a lot of trouble (as Iām sure many do) with my little finger not going down parallel, but a simple modification works for me: Do it in reverse! Start with your little finger and concentrate on holding it in the right position as the other fingers go down!
Just wanted to say how helpful this lesson is, itās not just the exercise but I really appreciate the way Justin shows us whatās normal such as the fourth finger wanting to pull into the others and telling us not to get hung up on things like not picking the right strings. It sounds silly but little things like this have really held me back because Iāve spend a lot of time worrying about them and thinking thereās something wrong with me (I have arthritis and have believed itās been a big factor in my poor playing) and as Iāve been teaching myself Iāve not had anyone to tell me that with practice these things will disappear, simple things like that can really make you want to give up. I appreciate Justinās relaxed nature, friend tones and constant encouragement and the friendliness of this community. Thanks to this course Iāve played my guitar more this year than I have in decades.
For what its worth I am still doing these exercises as part of my session warm up, after being with Justin for nearly 10 years, The older I get (66 going on 26) my fingers lose flexibility if I have not played for a day or two and need re-educating. After running through all the chords I know, I go back to the Beginner Stretches - 1234 - from the 7th to 1st fret and then do the more advanced stretches 1-23-4 from the 7th fret downwards to open everything up before I start my practice session. Keep working on your flexibility and you will be fine.
Is it okay if my fingers touch the rest of the strings or should I try and avoid that? 'Cause my pinky especially pretty much lays over all the other strings when get it in position.
I believe a moderator further up about a year ago said itās okay to lay on the other strings as this is primarily a lateral stretching exercise. Also nice username, great show.
Guitar for me is very healing and has given me a lot of confidence, I get so much more from playing than just playing. I am so pleased your anxiety is under control, I too found that by taking up the challenge of learning guitar and drums I was able to relax more, I learnt not to beat myself up about mistakes I made. Paul Weller is one of my favourite artists, I watched him sing the wrong lyrics once at a gig he just sang the lyric he should have done and moved on, I took a lot from that. I think having the challenge of learning new things from a hobby, in our case guitar, really takes your mind off other things. Keep having fun playing, Iām still doing the finger exercise and Iām seeing gains, small improvements each day add up over time. Rock on my friend.
Just returning to this module .I had just started it when an accident with a paving slab resulted in 3 broken fingers on my left hand !!! Think I might be on this module for a while as fingers still quite sensitive .
I donāt know if it is normal to happen, or something to overcome with practice, but even thouugh I can place my fingers where they need to be, I canāt get my little finger to press it vertically, it just touches the lower strings. But besides that I can open my fingers lateral enough, what should I do at this stage? Thanks in advance
Being a total beginner Iām glad Iāve taken the time to read this topic - there is light at the end of the tunnel thenā¦
I have smallish hands and was getting a little frustrated as I find my 2nd and 3rd fretting fingers noticeably want to close up with the end of 3rd turning in towards 2nd. That and struggling to prevent fingers muting higher strings when fretting 4 5 6.
Iāll move up to the 8th or 9th fret and persist until my hands find their new groove.
Make sure those stretches are slow and deliberate for them to be most effective.
8th or 9th is a good place to start and gradually work down towards the nut. Your fingers need to adapt so donāt rush the process; Like all things guitar slow and steady is your best friend.
Hello Malcolm, I think finger stretches are a really helpful practice. I do them always at the beginning of my daily practice routine.
I started out at 9th and 8th fret, and I know it was hard to do. Meanwhile I do the stretches on 3rd and 1st fret and thatās just fine.
So keep on practicing. Youāll get there .
Looks like your question got lost. Sorry about that.
A picture of your hand in position goes a long way to answer this kind of question. Without it, we are guessing a lot and may send you off in a useless direction. Iāll risk a wrong direction hereā¦
See if your hand is rotated around the neck enough. your thumb should be somewhat centered on the back of the neck and this should give your fingers plenty of length needed to get the curl onto the strings.
I can think of other things as well, but it depends a lot on the chord you are trying to form and position of arm, wrist, thumb, guitar, etc. This is where the picture is important.
This is something to work up to not start with. 1234 should be your end goal. Start higher up the neck where the frets are closer together, work down slowly. As folks have suggested start around the 7th or 9th fret to begin with. You need to develop your flexibility slowly and not jump in at the deep end.
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