Finger Stretching Exercises : John Petrucci

Discussion in 'Guitar Lessons, Tutorials & Tips' started by sayanakaharry, Dec 15, 2005.

  1. sayanakaharry

    sayanakaharry Forum Leader

    Finger stretching exercises

    Okay, I tabbed these exercises straight out of John Petrucci’s guitar tutorial video “Rock Discipline”. These exercises are very effective in increasing finger flexibility and strength, and serve as good warm-up exercises too. I have reaped immense benefits from these and I hope so will you. Good luck.
    As far as possible I’ve tried to mention in detail the verbal instructions Petrucci gives while playing these examples.

    First Stretch

    In this stretch, you have to place the four fingers of the hand on the four adjacent strings on four consecutive frets, starting from the fourth string tenth fret! That means the first finger on the 10th fret fourth string, the second finger at the 11th fret 3rd string, the third finger at the 12th fret second string and the fourth finger at the 13th fret 1st string. Looks tough, well not at all. Here! For convenience I’ve written the fingers used under the tabs.
    HTML:
    E-|----------------------------13-
    B-|--------------------12---------
    G-|------------11-----------------
    D-|-----10------------------------
    A-|--------------------------------
    E-|--------------------------------
                1       2       3        4 
    Okay now play the first four strings consecutively, don’t strum them, but play them as an arpeggio, so that each note rings out clearly. Watch out for hums, buzzes and rattles. The occurrence of these means you are not fretting all the notes properly. Also, be careful about the pinky. It easily is the weakest finger in an untrained or partly-trained hand and can cause problems, so pay attention to it.

    Once you’ve got that, now it’s time to make the first change. Change the positions of the two INSIDE fingers. Now the second finger is on the 11th fret but in the SECOND string and the third finger is on the 12th fret but of the THIRD string. Got it? Here’s the tab.

    HTML:
    E-|----------------------------13-
    B-|--------------------11---------
    G-|------------12-----------------
    D-|-----10------------------------
    A-|--------------------------------
    E-|--------------------------------
                1       3       2        4 
    
    
    Was that easy! Once again play the first four strings as an arpeggio and check the notes. When you’ve got that, then the second change is in order. This time change the positions of the two OUTSIDE fingers. Now the first finger is on the 10th fret but in the FIRST string and the fourth finger is on the 13th fret but on the FOURTH string. Here’s the tab.

    HTML:
    E-|----------------------------10-
    B-|--------------------11---------
    G-|------------12-----------------
    D-|-----13------------------------
    A-|--------------------------------
    E-|--------------------------------
                4       3       2        1 
    
    
    You know what to do, play the notes to perfection. Then make the third change. Again change the positions of the two INSIDE fingers, so that they are in their original positions, the second finger on the 11th fret of the THIRD string and the third finger on the 12th fret of the SECOND string. It should look like this.

    HTML:
    E-|----------------------------10-
    B-|--------------------12---------
    G-|------------11-----------------
    D-|-----13------------------------
    A-|--------------------------------
    E-|--------------------------------
                4       2       3        1 
    
    What are you waiting for, PLAY! This accomplished the final change. Again change the positions of the two OUTSIDE finger, so that they are in their original positions, the first finger on the 10th fret of the FOURTH string and the fourth finger on the 13th fret of the FIRST string. With this change, you see, that we have come full circle to the very first shape.

    HTML:
    E-|----------------------------13-
    B-|--------------------12---------
    G-|------------11-----------------
    D-|-----10------------------------
    A-|--------------------------------
    E-|--------------------------------
                1       2       3        4 
    
    When you have memorized this pattern and the changes, practice them in order, over and over again, preferably with a metronome or a drum machine. Play the notes as quarter notes. There is no point however in playing this in WILD SPEEDS. The main aim is to facilitate stretching and increase finger dexterity. For that, the clarity of notes is more important than the speed in which they are played.
    Now for the most important thing, the purpose of this little exercise and how to achieve it. When you’ve got all this fluently, start shifting the whole exercise one fret to the left. For example, starting from the 9th fret the first pattern would look like this.

    HTML:
    E-|----------------------------12-
    B-|--------------------11---------
    G-|------------10-----------------
    D-|-----9-------------------------
    A-|--------------------------------
    E-|--------------------------------
                1       2       3        4 
    
    Repeat the whole exercise from this position. Then, when you get the hang of this position shift one place more to the left (begin from the 8th fret). Keep doing this. The frets grow bigger as you go left on the fretboard, so when you’ve reached the 1st fret, you’ll see that you’re doing quite a stretch! Enjoy.

    Part II coming up shortly.
     
  2. sayanakaharry

    sayanakaharry Forum Leader

    o my god. i posted this exercise a week ago, and now i can see it at last. can anyone tell me whats wrong.
     
  3. bjr

    bjr Lady of the Evening

    As far as I know, all lessons in this forum are approved by some moderator or something. I'm not sure though. I certainly don't have the approval powers.....I think :think:

    Read the thread regarding submissions in the cc lounge.
     
  4. preetarjun

    preetarjun New Member

    oh man..this isnt very easy..but thnx..atleast its different than the other cliche stuff !!!
    thnx a lot !!!
     
  5. UjSen

    UjSen *#!EVIL*!!

    thread rated by me>>>
     
  6. d_ist_urb_ed

    d_ist_urb_ed Genuflect b*tches!

    Very good exercises, really gives the rusty fingers a good stretch, can seem a bit daunting at first, but if you get it, man your fingers can fly on the "three notes per string" scales.
     
  7. sayanakaharry

    sayanakaharry Forum Leader

    exactly. its tailormade for the three-notes per string scale. :)
     
  8. bjr

    bjr Lady of the Evening

    I've been going through his videos for the last couple of weeks. They've helped me realize that I cannot stretch my index and ring finger too far apart and I've been working on these very excercises....only I've been using alt. picking as well.
     
  9. amit82cse

    amit82cse Silent observeR

    tough tough tough....very tough :eek::
     
  10. sayanakaharry

    sayanakaharry Forum Leader

    @bjr

    exactly. same problem here. my middle and ring seem to stay close together. these are helping, but still a long way to go.

    @all

    ok folks, soon will post part two of this exercise. keep rocking, and keep stretchin. :)
     
  11. probuddha

    probuddha Aspiring Guitarist

    Try this one:


    |-------2f--------------3--------------------|
    |----------3e--------------4-----------------|
    |------------4d--------------5---------------|
    |--------3c-------------4--------------------|
    |----2b-------------3------------------------|
    |-1a-----------2-----------------------------|

    Do this exercise to strenthen your fingers...it really helps. Go down the fretboard as much as you can and come back in the same way.

    Fingering: a=index ; b=middle ;c=ring ; d=pinkie ; e=ring ; f=middle

    Let me know if it helps.

    Cheers !!
    Probuddha
     
  12. asharpminor

    asharpminor New Member

    Sayan Thanx.....good Exercises But Thats Not Much Difficult...please Post Some More..from The Great Petrucci..thanx...do U Have Yngwie Malmsteen Instructional Videos...please Try To Post More Of Such Exersises From These Guitar Greats..thanx
     
  13. sayanakaharry

    sayanakaharry Forum Leader

    oh yeah i have yngwie's vid. and many more. i'll post some more exercises pretty soon. :)
     
  14. asharpminor

    asharpminor New Member

    yeah it would be very kind of u if u post yngwie instrucional videos.....actually he is the master of shredding.......
     
  15. g_dhruv

    g_dhruv New Member

    Hello

    Hi
    Really Cool GOOD EXERSICES
     
  16. ramanasagar

    ramanasagar New Member

    No doubt, a good exercise, I felt tough at the beginning & still trying.
    Anyway thanx for the post.
     

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