Here are some awesome left hand finger exercises for fingerstyle guitar to develop your hand and finger strength.
So, you're looking for ways to to develop your fretting hand strength?
You may have come across some guides telling you to use a funny hand gimmick with springs in order to get more finger strength. But I'm here to tell you that you need none of that.
I will show you how you can combine hammer-on and pull-off techniques while playing scales to create the ultimate fretting hand strengthening exercise.
If you are just starting out playing fingerstyle guitar, you should learn these techniques straight away and incorporate them into your practice routine.
Let's dive right into the ultimate hand strengthening exercise for fingerstyle guitarists.
What Is The Best Hand Strengthening Exercise For Guitarists?
The best exercise guitarists can do to strengthen the fretting hand is to practice slur scales.
A slur scale is a technique that involves playing a scale, usually the major or minor scale, and connecting each note of the scale with either a hammer-on or a pull-off. These are also called slurs or legato playing.
In a slur scale, you perform hammer-ons for the ascending scale and pull-offs for the descending scale. By paying attention to your sound and making sure that your sound is even and of equal volume, you will develop finger strength in your fretting hand.
Slur scales are excellent as a warm-up, but you can also use them to develop your finger strength, dexterity and hand coordination.
5 Slur Scale Exercises To Increase Your Finger Strength
To improve your dexterity practicing scales, be hyper focused on the exact position of your fingers. Be sure to land the finger exactly in the spot on the fretboard that produces the best sound.
Also, keep the finger placement proper by using the fingertip as much as possible.
1. Easy Cees
Let's start with an easy slur scale to get our fingers nimbled up. This is an easy C Major slur scale that covers one octave.
You can play this scale in second position. This means that your index finger stays in the second fret, your middle finger stays in the third fret, your ring finger stays in the fourth fret and your pinky finger stays in the fifth fret.
2. Fantastic Fiesta
Almost no slur scales are playable in first position without some hand shifting. This F Major Slur scale will get you playing in first and second position. Also notice the repeat signs - play this one over, and over again!
3. Dazzling Digits
Now let's move on to the D Major scale. Here we will cover two octaves and we will go into a really high position on your acoustic guitar.
If you're not used to playing in a higher position, make sure to focus on accuracy and keep it slow when you're starting out.
3. A Major Adventure
As we expand into the sharp keys, we now need to bring some shifts into the mix. Here's the A major slur scale that will require you to adjust your hand position from first position into second position.
5. Frivolous F Sharpie Delight
There isn't a one-size-fits-all scale pattern for the slur scale, so I've created a slur scale pattern for the F sharp major scale in first position. This scale uses almost no open strings, for an extra finger workout.
How To Strengthen Your Hand With Slur Scales
The idea is to use not just one combination of fingers, but many different combinations.
For example, when pulling off from the 6th to the 4th fret, consider using the weaker pinky and middle fingers of the left hand to work on developing the strength of the less-used fingers.
Similarly, you can practice doing hammer-ons between the ring and pinky fingers of the left hand, to develop accuracy with the weaker fingers.
If you are tired of playing exercises like this and want to learn some real songs instead, check out my course Play Fingerstyle Guitar Now!
