Do you mean the riff lesson or this one Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers | JustinGuitar.com. If this one then that’s way above my level!
Hi Stuart, I’m referring to the song lesson and not the riff lesson. I think its referring to chords parts 4 to 6 in the lesson video. Have a look at those particular parts as may not be as difficult as what you think.
Hello
The hardest part of this riff exercise for me is getting the third finger down on the 3rd fret of the 5th string near enough the fret. If I use my 4th finger instead, its much easier. Recognising this is a learning exercise not just about playing the riff, is there any benefit in persisting with trying to do 1st and 3rd finger or no issue with 1st finger 1st fret, 4th finger 3rd fret?
Yes it will help stretch your fingers out and help with finger independence. You’re going to come across many song that have a 2 fret stretch and need the little finger to play other notes. You’ll only hurt your playing later by taking the easy way now.
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Thanks, that’s what I needed to hear!
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For the second part of the riff, when putting the first finger down on the first fret, your finger cannot mute the A string below it, correct? The rest of the finger needs to hover above the five strings below?
Hello Tala, I hope I got your questions right 
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Correct, as you’re playing the A string with your second finger on the second fret then. So it doesn’t matter, if you touch the A string with your first finger on the first fret as well. Nevertheless, I personally would try to avoid it and aim for clean fretting 
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Yes, otherwise you would mute the Open G string 
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Such a beautiful riff 
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Just made my way through Module 9 lessons and now starting the practice. This all is definitely a level up from what I’ve encountered so far. I plan on spending probably at least a few weeks on practice for this module. Man I do love me some RHCP - the fact that I’m even attempting to play something from Frusciante is quite frankly amazing to me! Have to say the way these JG lessons are laid out and the practice schedules for each module and the way everything comes together while learning riffs and songs is really incredible. Stoked and loving it! 
First, I’d like to say thank you to Justin and his team for producing these lessons! You’re the best!
Now, regarding this 2 fret stretch for fingers 1 & 3 that is such a struggle for beginners like me- what is the most efficient way to stretch my fingers? Should I continually practice songs requiring this ability or should I do stretching exercises? For those who have acquired this skill, how did you do it? Also, how long does it take to finally get fingers that can do the seemingly impossible like Justin’s?
Thanks!
Al
PS- Sorry if this turns out to be a duplicate post. I haven’t cracked the code yet.
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Al, I would suggest that you do what I did and add 5 minutes of the Beginner Finger Stretches exercises from Grade 1 Module 4 to the practice routine. Continue to play songs with C chords to have fun while you stretch. There is also a lot of good stretching suggestions in the Module 4 Beginner Finger Stretches discussion. You could also try putting a capo at the 4th or 5th fret and play the riff. It should be easier and then you can slide the capo down 1 fret at a time as you feel comfortable.
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Thanks, Steve. I’m now incorporating the finger exercises s a part of my normal routine. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one struggling and that (in time) I’ll be able to reach farther.
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This is definitely the hardest module so far for me. I don’t know why, but I find the Californiacation riff unreasonably difficult, usually I pick the riffs up quite fast, not this one tho. I still can’t get the F chord down either. I guess I’ll be here for a while before I get everything down.
Hi Teodor @TeodorTsanov, welcome to the community! If you have a minute, head over to the Introduce Yourself topic and tell us about your guitar journey. 
I know how you feel. I found Grade 2 so much more challenging than Grade 1! I won’t tell you how long it took me to learn Happy Birthday finger style in Module 11. 
The way I look at it is: now I’m really learning new things.
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Justin’s Don’t Fear the Reaper riff lesson works well with this one. Same F-C stretch and open D string. Maybe Reaper first as Californication adds getting the middle finger down on the third string A.
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hi, so do we need to try and do a proper barr with this riff exercise? as in even the b and high e are ringing out even though we don’t play it? am i understanding this correctly??
No, no need for a proper barr. Actually, you just need to fret the 6th string, and more importantly, not fret the 3rd string. I think the reason Justin says that it’s a good way to practice the barr is not so much that you need to fret the 1st and 2nd string (which you would do in a regular F barre chord), but rather that you should be curving your finger such that you’re not fretting the 3rd to 5th strings.
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got it, thanks
For all the arthritics out there. 75 and darn near crippled; my left index finger is bent inward at the big knuckle and twisted a bit, so barre chords are a major challenge. Also, other fingers need stretch work in relation, especially index to third. The Californication riff is Da Bomb! as a stretching exercise for sorting those things out. The Am riff phrase is fine, but for the F phrase, I discovered that if I place fingers down in (note) order, finger positioning is much better since I have the time between the notes to get it right. A little jiggling to get the most comfy (or least uncomfortable) position, keep fingers where they are, pick the phrase again and hold it 3 to 4 seconds while trying to relax wrist, arm, shoulder. Repeat maybe 4 to 5 times. When done you can feel the warmth in those stretched muscles.
I do this as part of my finger warmup exercises and often in between other practice segments. Fingers are getting stretched to where barres are no longer impossible, simply challenging, because there is less tension now between the index (barre) finger and the others. That gives me a bit more wiggle room to get the index in a more appropriate position.
I love this riff.
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If so, you should check out the full song, less the guitar solo (which is actually not too hard, but has bends). It’s totally doable at grade 2, and I had a great time learning it.
Thanks barny. I will check it out.