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How to Improve Finger Speed on the Guitar

Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page all have one thing in common: fast fingers. To get fast fingers like the greats and play guitar to the best of your ability, you'll need improve your finger strength and practice your speed. This is a gradual process that will take time, much like learning chords and scales. But the amount of effort you put in will have a direct correlation with the results you see.

Things You'll Need

  • Metronome
  • Finger weights
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Instructions

  1. Warming Up

    • 1

      Stretch your fingers to limber up your muscles so you can move across the guitar fretboard more easily.

    • 2

      Practice your scales along with a metronome. At first, use a slow tempo such as 58 to 80 beats per minute. Gradually increase the speed over time until you can move your fingers as quickly as you want.

    • 3

      Wear finger weights, small weights that can be wrapped around your fingers while practicing guitar. You can gradually increase the heaviness of the weights to increase your finger strength.

    Trilling Exercise

    • 4

      Place your index finger on the fifth fret of the high E string and repeatedly "hammer-on" to the sixth fret of the same string with your middle finger. A hammer-on is when you have one finger on a string on the guitar fretboard, pluck the string with your other hand and quickly press another finger down on the fretboard in front of your first finger.

    • 5

      Put your index finger on the fifth fret of the high E string and repeatedly hammer-on to the seventh fret of the same string with your ring finger

    • 6

      Place your index finger on the fifth fret of the high E string and repeatedly hammer on to the eighth fret of the same string with your pinky finger.

    • 7

      Repeat this pattern on the other guitar strings.

    Picking Exercise

    • 8

      Play the first, second, third and fourth frets of the low E string with your index, middle, ring and pinky fingers respectively.

    • 9

      Pick with a down stroke on your first note and an upstroke on your second note.

    • 10

      Repeat this alternating pattern, beginning on the guitar's low E string. Move up to the A, D, G, B and high E strings.

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