April 2008 will be my 1 year anniversary of picking up a guitar. I've said all along I will try and honestly evaluate my progress and decide where to go from there. I've enjoyed the 9 months so far and see no reason to stop....but I don't want to fool myself either. We'll see what the next three months brings. My self-evaluation question is: Where should I be at the One Year mark? I don't know if there's a right/wrong answer so I don't know how the evaluation process will play out. In the meantime, I'm still loving the practice....

OK, it has been a long time since I have posted something in this thread. This is a new sheet of three note exercises I have done up for my students. I am using three patterns that are used alot in scales. The patterns are played in many different combinations. Loop each bar many times. Start off slow and slowly speed up. Good luck.

Ooooooooooo that looks like a fun exercise! Thanks Jon!

Good advice Lifemetal.

coolest thing ever...thank you so much....

I heard your liner tag on The Refinery.. Jon, Very cool.

Thanks. I am working on a lot of pages of different exercises. I am not focusing on theory but technique. The exercises I am doing are designed to free your fingers of there invisible connections. Also get you to a point that no matter what the combination of notes and strings your fingers will do it with eeezzzz. Also some different ways of looking at scales.

Here is a finger warm-up I use. It will let you know what your weekest and strongest fingers are. Doing this finger warm-up will improve your dexterity.

How is everyone making out with the exercises I posted? Are any of you ready for more?
I have one more for now and later I will post some more. I will give you time to get these down first.

Something else I forgot to mention. I posted the exercises in this format so you can click on the pic and save it to your computer and print it out if you want.

Thank you....working on them now.

I have been working on these and have to tell you...I have improved alot..thank you so much you have been a real help to me...I cant afford the lessons anymore so I have to find different ways to practice...Arttie will tell you If i get bored with something i tend to just put it away so trying different things really keeps it new ad exciting...maybe thats why i cant keep a girlfriend....

A little picking tune for you guys to practice... you might recognize it.

A little classical thing on the E string

Nice exercises! Keep sharing brow

hey all, just stumbled across the forum and im impressed at how giving you all are with your knowledge :O been searching for a long time for some basic finger excercises.

i left school due to problems at a young age and never got to complete music, ive allways been facinated with the guitar, i went and bought myself a guitar to practice on and dont seem to be making much progress, this may be down to the fact i dont have set things to do.

few questions; rhythm strengthening is it possible? my rhythm isnt amazing and even when trying to learn a simple tab i just cant grab the rhythm, should i quit and accept i dont have it? or can i improve it?

basically, although i know chords and a couple of scale's im basically a beginner, wheres a good place to start? im on the brink of giving up, there no guitar tutors near me!

any help would be great

OK, by rhythm do you mean feeling the beat and playing in time? If so, it is a hard thing to learn, but I would not say impossible. I have always been pretty decent at playing in time, but I've noticed in my students how hard a thing it can be to master.

Here is what I recommend: First get a metronome if you don't already have one. If you don't know what it is, it's a device that clicks on each beat at whatever tempo you set.

Then, set it to something not too fast and not too slow, say, around 120 beats per minute. Then before even picking up your guitar, tap your foot along with the metronome. The key thing is to listen more than you do. Once you have internalized the beat try strumming chords (while continuing to tap your foot) with each click of the metronome.
Oh and as a disclaimer, yes working with a metronome can be the most frustrating thing you ever do.

If by problems with rhythm you mean alternate picking and right hand technique in general then I would recommend practice, practice, practice. There are no shortcuts to learning an instrument, if someone says there is, they are a liar. A metronome can also be a useful tool in developing right hand technique.

As far as where to start, chords and scales are the first things I teach my students. But unless you are really into guitar like I was you may want to try learning some songs to keep you interest and make practicing fun. Don't choose the most easy songs either. I'm not saying starting off with Joe Satriani is a good thing, but make sure you are challenging yourself.

Anyway, remember: internalize the beat. If it stays exterior you won't get it. If tapping your foot doesn't appeal to you, then clap your hands or bang you head... whatever it takes.

Also, nothing worth doing in the long run is easy so don't be quick to be burnt out. It's OK if you aren't the greatest ever. It's OK if your progress is slow. As long as you still enjoy it, keep at it.

Hope this helps.

Oh, and welcome to the CMR!

The info lifemetal gave you is great. If you practice near your computer you can use an online metronome. Here is a link.

http://www.metronomeonline.com/

Also hear is some simple rhythm exercises. Play them with a metronome.


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Thank for the great info guys :-) wish you were here - pink floyd is the reason i picked up the guitar, anyway last night it past the part i been stuck with for nearl4 months :S 3/3 > 5/5 / 3/3 > 3/2 > 5/4 > 3/2.

i could get it to sound in beat and relised i need to move my fingers asoon as i pluck the strings, not wait there for 10 seconds thinking hahaha

will be doing ur excercises as a daily thing, only losing interest because my progress is slow

once again thaks for all ur help