Barre Chord Finger Strength Exercise

[disobedience]

Hey all,

Here's a quick an easy exercise that strengthens your index finger for doing barre chords.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gZbkgSXlKb4

Do it on the first fret only...and try to practice it for 3 to 5 minutes every day for at least a week to see decent results.

[SephirV]

Thank u so much Disobedience!
Iam starting today!

[folsomprisoner]

Thank you so much, I needed that. I was about to throw my guitar out the window!!

ilona.

[disobedience]

I know it looks really simple..but it does work :)

[SephirV]

Well i did for 5 minutes non stop today and all i can say is..
The pain... :p

[disobedience]

Give it a couple of days practice...you'll notice a huge increase in finger strength that will translate into much easier barre chords :D

[SephirV]

No pain no gain! :D

Do u have any tips to get speed?
My worst problems right now are speed and barre :(

[disobedience]

Some good ones here:
http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=514&Itemid=51
and here:
http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=453&Itemid=33
and here:
http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=455&Itemid=33

[Munch]

Those excercises are perfect for beginners like myself. It helps with alot of things such as the pointeed accuracy and also getting your brain to understand that there is more then one pattern then 1234 or 4321. Believe it or notit is a pain for some of us to seperate that. Me being a mechanic... it also reminds my fingers that the standard "wrap around the wrench" form with the guitar neck does not always mean that its grunt and twist in uniform motion.... the fingers can move independantly .

[Bigsnake]

To help with barres I learned Jack Johnson's Flake as all barre chords. Plus it has a pretty cool strum pattern and chucking in it.

[Robert L]

Lol, Thankyou.. but ow..:D

[slash-is-great]

I read this post yesterday and went off and tried the excercise, as Bar chords are something that I'm really not happy with at the moment. And you know something Disobedience? You have introduced me to a new experience: Losing control of my finger. After a while, I couldn't move the damned thing! Although it was sore as hell, and really really weird, thankyou so much for sharing this with us:D

[unnatural]

for those who still need some help with the barre chords heres a quick tip

place your inside nuckle of the index finger at the base of the freet board allwoing your index finger cover all six strings and be able to apply more pressure to make it easyer for you all

[disobedience]

It's one of those dumb looking exercises...but it really works the muscles/ligaments you need to do barre chords.
Glad it helped out!

Sorry to those who have temporarily lost control of their index fingers ;)

[Da3m0n]

wow...simple...and something you can do while watching one of davids vids...thanks Dis!

[Slong]

yea that video at the top, dont work.. atleast not for me

[disobedience]

Just tried it again..the vid is still there.
Might just be youtube acting up.

[Slong]

ok iv done this 2 days now, but my arm and hand cramp up so bad after the first minute that i cant move it hardly and repeatly having to stop. is this normal or am i an oddball? it hurts really bad lol just wondering how long it takes for it to stop

[disobedience]

First off..if it hurts..STOP. It should never hurt. You want to work on it till your hand gets Tired...not to the point of pain.
Just keep working until your hand gets tired....it'll take longer every day.

[Slong]

oh ok cause i literally couldnt move my hand any more after so long, just cramped up so bad haha

[disobedience]

Basic rule of thumb when playing/practicing guitar that EVERYONE should always follow.

If it causes actual PAIN stop immediately! Take a break and stretch out your muscles and ligaments. Pain means that something is getting injured. I don't mean the "Ow my fingers are sore from playing" kind of pain...but actual Pain.

You can seriously injure yourself if you don't warm up and stop if it causes pain. Stretch frequently and ALWAYS warm up before playing/practicing.

Rock out good people!

[Slong]

by warm up u mean by like just moving the fingers around in a circular motion or wut lol. cause it just cramps bad which any cramp hurts haha

[disobedience]

I'm gonna do a warm up vid here shortly.
It's "THE" most important part of your practice regimin.

[Dmackenzie]

I COMPLETELY agree with what dis is saying... it's gotten to a point that I can barely perform without a decent warm up, i have it down to a routine.

I think it was one of Steve Vai's many lessons, either the 10 or 30 hour workout where he dedicated a great many lessons/exercises that focused strictly on massaging the hand... without even a guitar in hand! aka.... warm up is paramount!

dis- good idea on the warm-up vid.

[disobedience]

Here's a quick vid with a basic warmup to get you started.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3781137914922594161

[Slong]

i just want to jam, keepin the warmup and exercises bore me fast haha but i knot its worth it. arg

[disobedience]

It's your choice to warm up or not Slong....but a 5 to 10 minute warmup and stretch will help you play much better than you normally can going in cold ;)

[Slong]

one question when working the index is it alrigh to stand the guitar up and do it that way or do it while in position to play? i figured since the mucles are gettin worked either way that i should do it in a more comfortable manor... i'll do either haha

[disobedience]

I do my warmup and playing in the same position to build muscle memory faster....and because there's less chance of doing damage to something by being positioned wrong.

[Slong]

good point alright will do

[~Dimitri~]

I am doing this exercise , but only because it gets youre finger stronger.
I can do my barre chords , but like only for a minute or three , and then I get huge cramps in my thumb.
My teacher says its gonna go over , but thats like a month ago now he said it.
Does this exercise also gets the cramp
away ????

[disobedience]

It helps to strengthen the muscles you use when doing barre chords. The stronger they are the easier it is to do them without getting cramps :)

[~Dimitri~]

So if i keep practicing it , eventuelly the cramp will dissapear ?
cause I read on differents forums that the place where you put youre dumb can change allot.
Bu to me the cramps comes always , no matte in what place the thumb is

this is my hand when i play barres, it can be more down or up sometimes :


197

198

Dimitri

[disobedience]

It sounds like the cramps are from the muscles not being strong enough yet.
So...as long as you keep working them they will get stronger and the cramps will stop.

[~Dimitri~]

great to hear that!

[JoviGoo]

I don't know if it's only me, but I've been doing this exercise, and my finger doesn't really hurt, it just gets stiff after a minute or two of doing it. Is this normal? Will it maybe go away after I do it some more?

[disobedience]

The exercise just helps to strengthen the muscles and ligaments you use when doing barre chords. It's not the "Be all end all" exercise..just one I use to strengthen my fingers ;)

[Nico3641]

Hi,

I saw the video on youtube, but I could really tell what you were doing with your thumb. Do you push against the back of the fret board with your thumb each time you bing down your index finger ?


Thanks

[Drew03]

was a while ago so u prob fixed it but if you're getting cramps in your thumb it could also mena you're applying to much pressure with your thumb.
Pressure should come from your fingers thumb should be for a bit or pressure but mainly used for support.
Practice will help that.