FingerstyleGuitarLesson-L.H.Exercise1 Is A Great Start To Learning How To Play Acoustic Guitar.

The exercises in this free online guitar lesson are designed to build strength and coordination in your fretting hand. I got this exercise from Jody Fisher's 30-Day Guitar Workout (Book). I've found it to be very helpful for myself and for my students.

Here's how to do FingerstyleGuitarLesson-L.H.Exercise1.

Fret the 6th (largest) string at the 1st fret. Press the string into the fingerboard as hard as you can. Hold it while you slowly count to 4.

Keep the pressure with your 1st finger. Next, put your second finger on the 2nd fret of the 6th string. Again, hold it down with maximum pressure while you give a slow 4 count.

Use fingers 3 and 4 in the same way, on the 6th string.

Keep holding down the string as hard as you can with fingers 2, 3, and 4. Put your first finger on the 1st fret of the 5th string. Hold it down with maximum pressure for a slow 4 count.

Next, add your 2nd finger like you did on the 6th string. After finger 2, add fingers 3 and 4 like you did on the 6th string. You can take a look at the diagrams to below to get a better idea of what it looks like.

What's The Point?

The exercises in FingerstyleGuitarLesson-L.H.Exercise1 teach you a couple of things. First, it helps to build strength and coordination in your fretting hand.

Second,this exercise teaches you how to sound notes clearly when they fall on strings that are side by side.

Here's an example: let's say that you've played all of the notes on the 6th string.

You then play the 1st fret of the 5th string.

There's a problem, though. The note that you're playin on the 5th string is muffled sounding. This is probably because the pad of either finger 2, 3, or 4 is touching the 5th string. So, you need to make sure that you're fretting with the fingertips, not the pad (sides) of the fingers.

Here's a photo of what I'm talking about (Just "open" the photo. It's way too big to save).

My online guitar lessons like FingerstyleGuitarLesson-L.H.Exercise1 are great exercises to include in your daily practice routine.