Added: 4 years ago
From: JustinSandercoe
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  • Freakyyyyyyy!!!!

  • its not really my fingers its my WRIST i feel the tension

  • Thanks for sharing. This is just the thing I need to get to the next step. It seems that everything I play has E-flat major in it (I'm a semi-beginner, practicing moderately for 9 months). I'm still learning basic to intermediate chords, so E-flat is tough and more complicated chords are getting harder and harder to play. I'm truly grateful, and I'll be checking out your website. Thumbs up!

  • Very good video! I was wondering if you would worry about muting strings while doing this?

  • Subscribed :) Great lesson!

  • Your fingers look fucking freaky stretched. I commend you for that.

  • I always feel like I'm doing everything wrong, I did this and it made my thumb ache, the muscle at the bottom of your thumb, is that normal or am I just failing epically again lol

  • @lost619 It's hard at first, but try to focus on pressing as light as you can while still getting the sound to come out. Practising playing with less force is a lot easier on your fingers/hand/arm and prevents injury.

  • thank you justin

  • Pause 2:26 wich way ?? :D

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  • While doing these stretches I've noticed that my index finger kinda rolls to the side when I'm doing them. I can't get the tip of my index finger to hit like all my other fingers and it keeps rolling to the left a bit so I end up playing with the side of my finger. I'm just curious if this is normal or not.

  • @KodySummers am having the same problem,,and i really wanna know if learning through internet will make any progress cuz am sooooo beginner

  • @dakcha89 @KodySummers

    It's normal when you do a big strecth. But just because it's normal doesn't mean it's good for your playing.. I'd recommend stretching a bit less so it doesn't happen

  • @KodySummers Yeah, my guitar teacher explained to me that that's the natural way the hand works. The 2nd and 3rd fingers go straight on and the 1st and 4th fingers slant outwards. It gives the best tone. You'll see classical guitarists doing it, and bassists especially.

  • @KodySummers When you're actually playing of course, your fingers and hand will be slanted at different angles depending on where you are on the neck.

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  • @Senlocc

    Probably the comment a bit further down about your girl "taking care of" you. Sounds a bit dirty. Unintentional, honest mistake. Intentional, you're a douche.

  • Has anyone who have done this for at least 2 weeks seen any difference in how far they can stretch their fingers without tensing up?

  • @Gactivefy even shaq wouldn't be able to do that with this massive hand.

  • this won't work on acoustic the strings are hard to fret :S

  • @Riighted

    yes, it will work

  • Thanks for the post it was really helpful. :)

  • thanks mate

  • omg i should have like seen this vid when i 1st started. been a great help. thanks as always! :)

  • Thanks Justin, I'm off to practice now :DDDD

  • Is it me, or does jedi laugh when justin says that his pinky is stumpy....Nice video btw works a treat

  • I'm having ALOT of difficulty with just stretching my index to the sixth without the others sliding along with it. I've repetitively tried but to no avail. Is this supposed to get easier later on or something? Because I can't see HOW it would...And please don't say "just need practice" I just need some advice or something...

  • @bbbrain123 Yeah im having more difficulties than that. I know 5 cords that i can play fairly easy. I dont understand how the beatles made music with just 2 and became the legends they are now... I too have issues with my fingers being not flexible enough to hit most of those cords that bands LOVE to put in their music. That and i have a long waste which makes guitar placement fun, at least to where i can have proper finger placement. Its just discouraging.

  • @bbbrain123 Probably the reason i have owned a guitar for 7 years and dont have a clue how to play it. I pick it up thinking "Im gonna learn to play this thing" sit down with it pick the cords i know... think to myself "yeah! Im gonna learn more!" Watch a lesson... try it and fail because i cant figure out how to make my body do it.... put it in its case and shove it back in the closet...

  • i hear laughter in the background

  • I gotta do this so I can at least do the same fingering as Paul Gilbert.

  • wow my left hand hurts and i haven't even let one loose yet today... better keep practicing and let my girl take care of me when she gets home lol..

  • @Senlocc oooh i wan't the divorce

  • @makunouchi91 lol

  • @Senlocc Try to play as relaxed as possible. Just apply enough pressure so the strings sound. It shouldn't hurt you.

  • @aalexcp thanks man i can do that shit easy now :) i practice atleast an hour aday..its been a long journey for me and my strat...

  • shut up

  • @MrFatherfoley u telling me to "shut up"? why? what the fucks ur problem?

  • Thanks for the exercise. When I have my index, middle, and ring finger on three consecutive frets and my pinky on one fret space away, my pinky rests on other strings while trying to reach it. Is that natural or what do I do to correct it? I am trying to but arch but the side of my fingertip (because of how my finger has to stretch to reach the fret) hits the fret along with other strings. Thanks for the help.

  • @ISeekSuccess Don't reach with your pinky. Position your palm so that your index finger has to stretch away to reach its fret.

  • psp3

  • Why my ring finger cant separate from my middle finger? WHY GOD?!!!!!!! :( why did a do to deserve this?!! hahahaha

  • @TheAngie2592

    I've been playing for many years now, and when I started out I had this problem as well. Know that it will go away with practice and time.

  • Thanks Justin. That's just what I was looking for :)

  • What can I say about Justin....hmmmm....if you want proof of god....here he is....Im only a beginner but ive learnt more from stage 1 on his website in 1 week than I would of ever learnt in a year on my own or from a book....if I learn to play a quarter as well as you then I will be well happy, got a feeling that I will become quite a fluent guitar player bybthe time I have finished this coarse....Justin you are a legend....

  • i can control my index my middle n my ring finger but my pinky seems to have a mind of its own!! lol and thats the only thing i hate about trying to learn =/

  • @gerardlover92 i have the same problem with my ring and pinky fingers.. imagine my grief! but i never gave up.. been trying for 2 years. now its better. my pinky atleast. still having the problem with my ring finger.. haha

  • @mami3790 huh hahaha ummm ring finger is the easiest for me haha but everyone is different ummmm how did u get ur pinky to work????? its so hard for me to use my pinky, the hardest for me is if i have to play something like fast thingy for example lets say on the high e E---18-17-15-13-15-17-18- and so on, i just cant do the 17 to 18 or 18 to 17, i can only do it slowly :(

  • @SpAcEmOnKeY126 i guess you have to kinda push yourself.. try using a metronome. personally i cant use the metronome for shit so i use a drum track and increase the speed from 100bpm to about 200bpm and force yourself to do it fast. if you screw up repeat and repeat again till you get it right :). about the ring finger, i have NO idea why it doesnt work. i guess i'm retarded like that

  • @SpAcEmOnKeY126 Play as fast as your slowest finger...im guessing that the slow finger will begin to get stronger and you will be able to control it alot easier and faster :P

  • Good video, and good exercise.

    Btw, I actually have that exact same acoustic thats behind you. Its what I mainly play... that is until I get my SG for Christmas...

  • As a beginner, I was worried that having big (overall) hands, but relatively stumpy fingers would be a major drawback. Now I know anything is possible. How can one not love this guy?

  • darn it!

    its too very hard in the last part. .. .

    my fingers are about to break!!

  • 'little stump -- i'm not talking about my trouser dept..." lol

    I love your videos man! Thanks!

  • 'little stump -- i'm not talking about my trouser dept..." lol

  • i think i need a tape~ :X

    must reach 13th fret~ *dies*

  • tnx justin it was quit help full

  • camera man is laughing xd!

    

  • this guy is friggin awesome !!!

  • nice

  • cut the skin between your fingers xD...i can't do the last exercise ....

  • nice vid bro.

    thanks i hope my fingers get flexible soon.

  • @NewFriendRequest92 2 months? don't be lazy.

  • this is the first day of technique practicing...^^

  • lol, i woke up the next day and my hand was sore

  • Feeling it burn!!!! Love it!!

  • I also feel some kind of tense downwards to my wrist.. Is that a bad or a good thing??

  • @1pr1nces1 (insert Joke here)

  • its not exactly my pinky thats the problem, but my small hands in general lol.

    great guide. ill practise this with a few other techniques

  • @dooshtoomun  You are not alone, I have tiny girl hands and it makes things that should be simple really hard. I have come to hate young kids with huge fingers....it seems like they play with zero effort, and I struggle to make a note.

  • I'm trying to play this Satriani riff, but there's a part where I have to put my index finger on the 3rd fret on the high E string and I have to hammer on to the 8th fret with my pinkie and pull of, then get on the 7th fret, that back on the 8th fret , whilst sticking in a few notes on the b string with my ring finger, and all this at high speeds!!

    Anyway, after a few seconds, it starts too hurt my index finger, my pinkie, and my thumb because I'm pressing on to the neck with it. What do I do?

  • my middlefinger alway spread up when i use more strengh on my pinky finger. is there an exercise to?

  • The exercises seem pretty good but you forgot one thing: Flexibility is not fast to learn, you can buil up stamina and strenght in shorter time. If you practice too much you may hurt your fingers. Take your time and do these exercises often but not too long or intense

  • wow feel the stretch:)

  • great tutorial thanks!!

  • I love food - my life revolves around food!

    I love deserts..

    Definitely Chocolate! (hands gesturing).

  • lol nice pinky lollll 1:00

  • is this easier on electric guitar necks than acoustic guitars?

  • @seasonrock

    Usually. Most of the time electric guitars' frets are smaller than acoustics'.

    The neck is also thinner on an acoustic guitar, too.

  • @OCNmeticadpa :

    Not always true, depends on make and model being used

  • @Orion579 That's why I said "Usually", not "Always".

  • oh justywusty you do make me larph!!

  • been searching around for finger stretches, this seems to be the main one taught to beginners. must be the bomb.

  • I went to the doctor and they found out that this was impossible to do for me

  • @TheJokerZProductions  did he say whyy?

  • @YUNGSUPRA23 yes i have very long a tiny fingers so there are some scenes in my body can`t stretch that long or something like that :)

  • The second and third finger slpit and the third and fourth finger split is a good excercise. I could do this all day but it gets boring. It's also good for stretch chords.

    Ken, Toronto

  • Awesome!

  • I cant get my fingers parallel my stupid pinky curls in. Anyone else having this issue?

  • ME!! both of my pinkies have this problem! they are really annoying.

  • @ryanandmacintosh Your right pinky doesn´t matter for guitar playing. I think it´s the only finger that a guitarist can loose without any disadvantage because it´s not used for any picking

  • @heythinkaboutit It's not like his pinky is short only on his right hand.

  • omfg same here!!!!!!!!!

  • hahah me too

  • IT WORKS! thank you, 5 stars ^^

  • when I stretch my 1st or 4th fingers to skip a fret, the space between my thumb and 1st finger gets sore...is this the stretch or should the individual fingers be stretching? i'm also not sure how to position my thumb as I go up and down the strings, should it just move up and down or stay still? cheers

  • tks 4 all the help and everybody needs to see the 100 th video he made. will realy help you out .. this is some good video to learn from tho

  • my wrist kills me , i have small hands, what am i doing worng? i also mute strings when i try to play anything.. i can barely reach string six

  • hi justin. is it normal that i cant move my ring finger up without moving my pinky? like you make a fist and count with your fingers starting with your thumb i cant lift my ringfinger up without lifting my pinky up. is there some exercise to practice this?

  • it goes away

  • So I have small hands even smaller then some girls and I have troubles playing some chords because my fingers mute the string will this go away after time and more practice. Or will I have to deal with this? And I just started playing so I was just wondering.

  • awsome thx

  • Thanks....u showed me a roadmap...:)

  • Lucky BucketHead:)

  • Iam a drummer the loon behind the kit

  • THANK YOU! This really helped...i never thought of it.

  • lol "youtube gods" xP

  • all my fingers are extremely small..

    my hands are smaller then those of a girl :D

    I still love shredin', thou :D

  • my pinky is small too. i will try this exercise to see if it gets better. thanks for the lessons! very helpfull!

  • i actually don't think your small pinky will grow bigger with this exercise. i have to disappoint you in that. xPPP jk

  • yo Justin! My problem (which became apparent from doing the G major 3 notes per string scale) is the stretch between my Index and Middle finger. I have always gone Index to Ring b4 so I hadnt noticed my lack of stretch!

    Anyway... my Index finger kills doing this when I try to move it away from the Middle finger.

    I have some success when I move the guitar to the 'classical' position.

    Wondering is it best to keep stretching or 'cheat'. I guess I know the answer already! But the pain!!!

  • ok i got a problem with my pinky... whan im playing a song wit my group and the song is a song that is mostly made up of the F chord my i add more pressure to my ingers since it is an acustic and when i try to change chords my pinky gets stuck in the position and i kant ply the chord

  • is your pinky suppose to be staight

  • I have small fingers:( its really annoying

  • id like to borrow bucketheads fingers for that last stretch....my middle finger and ring finger are just too emotionally attached XD

  • i feel more ache on my thumb are than my fingers, is this right? what position are you meant to have your thumb on the neck and what angle for this exercise?

    i find my thumb goes all ... mental and rotates as i do this thing and ends up going at an angle to the point where my nail is touching the wood, so my thumb is not flat on the neck.

  • cant.... do..... it.... D: must practice more

  • @faschen28 have to practice the warm up technique hahaha

  • im 15, ive got small hands, is it normal for me to move my hand a bit or am i supposed to really force stretch here???

  • Apply as much stretch to achieve fret distance as used in this exercise, as that's the purpose of this video. If you feel no stretch, then you would need a more challenging exercise (more distance) to feel the stretch.

  • i have a lot of difficulty moving my 4th and 5th fingers indepentantly of each other. Does anyone else have this problem?

  • yes, considering the rest of us only have 4 fingers on our fretting hand :P

  • Yeah,by the way these are the weakest fingers in the beggining,try exercising the legato technique look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about.

  • going to yer site to click on the advertisements....

  • thx a lot .. god bless

  • Cool lesson, my finger stretching is horrible and playing chords and certains riffs is really difficult. Hopefully this will help me out!

  • Wow! this is so weird...i was having a hard time flexing my fingers..did this exercise once and now they are fully flexible.....this is not a joke...thx so much!

  • good for you mate :)

  • interesting exercise, will do!

  • hard to do..aua..

  • man...minute 6..

  • that's a very short pinky!!!!!

  • my pinky is way shorter than that

  • Wow, it seems to work. Thanks.

  • thks 4 the lesson justin,i never cud stretch my pinky n the finger next to it..after a few minutes of tryin your way out i know ill be able to if i keep at it... cheers man

  • Im having serious trouble with this, my pinky is just about the same has yours

    meaning, redicously small.

  • How long would you recomennd doing this excercise for?

  • whoa, my pinky can only reach the 3rd highest string. Ouch

  • sir this helped so much, i play lead guitar in a novice band of my own and i was extremely worried about my limitations in terms of stretching. 5 stars and favourited =D

  • can u only do this on an electric or can u try this excercise on an acoustic....(cuz its really tough for me!)... :(

  • you can do this on acoustic, but acoustic will be much harder because their strings are thicker and more tense

  • wow, you have the shortest pinky i have ever seen....but thanks a lot for the video it really helps

  • I was told to practice doing finger excercise from the 3rd fret and practice doing 16ths smoothly crossing the strings perfectly. Of course I practice with triplets, 8ths and quaters as well to practice timing at the same time.

  • Great, just what I needed. Bought my own guitar today, it's the exact same.

  • thnks a lot dude!!! its so helpful!!!!

  • You've taken an old idea and put an exciting new spin on it.

  • Does finger size really matter? I have pretty small fingers but does that keep me from being able to shred or play fast?

  • unless your fingers are really really short. guitars are designed for average people to play. one tip if your having trouble on the thicker strings lower on the neck, where the frets are far apart, is to just adjust where you rest your thumb until your fingers can reach, and after that, just keep at it. the more you practice the easier things are

  • great ideas thanks

  • thanks. this is great.

    and your plesant to listen to which makes it much easier...i guess that's what i'm getting at

  • you killed me

  • actually, you dont hav to keep your hands straight while playing, cuz many people, including Eric Johnson, dont keep their hands straight

  • Thanks Justin....reminds me of Mick Goodrick's "Finger Math" from "The Advancing Guitarist." I appreciate the reminder! Good value!

  • awesome video justin. where should you feel the stretch?.. im only really noticing it in my wrist :S

  • thanks dude, i just did this and i can tell its going to work really well

  • english gent

  • "That's a bit of a stretch for someone with a stump for a little finger." hahaha Cracked me up. :)

    PS: Why are you always sitting on the floor? :P

  • awsome how long should i do this 4 daily??

  • I'd do it one time before playing, that way it functions like a slight warm up and this exercise basically makes your fingers more flexible, which is really beneficial to your play. :)

  • sweet thanks a lot

  • dude you are one of the best guitar teachers in the world!

  • yout are cool man!

  • wow that is alot of help thanks alot dude

  • Thanks man :D That helped a lot

  • Thanks so much!

  • I love your site and your great exercises. I was close to giving up after many years because I thought I was deformed...because my pinky is WAY shorter than my others, just like yours.

    You literally gave me hope to keep stretching, and all of your videos are great!!

    Thanks and keep posting.

  • @wally666247 me too!!! my pinky is shorter than normal and they helped me too

  • why is it easier to do the exercise on the lower strings compared to the ones above...

  • one of the best gutiar exercises there is tbh

  • awesome, now my short fingers can stretch farther a whole fret! haha i use this to help me warm up also, going slow is helpful because it help my fingerstrength too as it stretched, so no more crappy mute sounding notes

  • GOOD! THX!

  • Ah thank you! I would contest you on the fact that my little finger is actually smaller than yours haha. Thanks for the lesson, though!

  • thank you. i needed this cuz the f chord was freaking killing me (beginner guitarist =P)

  • haha yea damn f chord :P

  • This is like Jim Root's finger exercise.

    very helpful