simple finger style exercises

As I'm recovering from an injured left arm that's left me able to practice only for short periods of time, I've come up with some fairly simple exercises I can do on just open strings. Hey, if I can squeeze in another 5 minutes every time I pick up the guitar, all the better!

Except where indicated, use free-strokes for everything. Don't worry about playing them fast; just play them clean. Feel free to repeat any part of any exercise as many times as you'd like or to play them with chords.

(click on the images to enlarge)

1 - Rest-Stroke vs. Free-Stroke

2 - Arpeggiating

(This can also be done using all 4 fingers. I was just too lazy to write it out.)

 3 - Tremolo

 4 - Tremolo With The Thumb

As usual, feel free to play around with different variations and make the exercises your own and have fun!

Brant Grieshaber - guitarist
Guitar Teacher

Mistakes

When you make a mistake, you're learning. When you find the courage to continue making mistakes, you're on the path. When you accept the path as it is, it doesn't matter how many mistakes you make. There is joy in every single one.

Brant Grieshaber - guitarist
Guitar Teacher

My book

Alright, it's time for a little more shameless self-promotion. I probably don't do enough of it anyway! For those of you who really want to milk your scale, arpeggio, and chord practice for all you can get out of it, my book is available digitally. You can get it for any reader. Here's the link for Kindle:

Ultimate Guitarists Survival Guide

Pentatonic Etude For Blues - Playing The Changes

And here's a short video that will help you with the idea of changing scales when chords change.




Brant Grieshaber - guitarist
Guitar Teacher