Finger Exercises
Here are some basic Finger Exercises to practise. At first it will feel as if your fingers belong to someone else
as you try to do these. Dont be discouraged........it will be akward....anyone who has ever started playing
Banjo, or any stringed Instrument, will know the feeling you are about to experience.
Dont curse me just yet, i didnt say these Exercises are easy, but i can say the more you practice the easier they will get
and you will thank me in the long run...when your fingers feel like rubber and you can span 3 or 4 frets with ease.
You should also see a difference in your chord positions, as your hand and fingers get stronger....Remember....something
worth having is worth the Effort......Dont get discouraged Dropthumb Exercises for Frailing
These exercises are designed to get your fingers working in the way they should be for playing banjo.
If you stick at these, as you progress from beginner you will benefit when it comes to playing
Songs and Tablature. Most beginners will try not to use the small finger and ring finger of the left hand
to play notes as they feel very akward to move. This gets you into bad habits, as you try to compensate
by using the Index and Middle finger to span the frets.
As you progress in banjo playing you will want to play more complex tabs, and this is where these exercises
will pay off. In general, the more complex the tab the more akward the fingering, if you limit yourself to using
just the Index and Middle finger, you will find things much harder later on.
Try these Exercises....Your fingers and hand will get tired .........practice each of them for a couple of minutes each day for a few weeks,
by the end of the second week your Fingers should start to feel as if they belong to you again....
The Exercises
As you progress, concentrate on good finger position, rather than how fast you can play these Exercises. The important thing is to
get clear sharp notes, not speed.
Follow the exercises below using the corrosponding finger for each number as it appears. As you place each finger, pick the
string it is holding down. If the colour is, or changes to PURPLE it means hold down, but dont play
that note as you play the other notes. A number 0 means that string should be played open....(e.g. no finger holding it down)
Left Hand Finger Numbers :
= HOLD DOWN
= PLAY OPEN
= INDEX FINGER
= MIDDLE FINGER
= RING FINGER
= SMALL FINGER
move mouse pointer on a button to see an animation of each exercise
One of the things that many learners have difficulties with is when they encounter Drop Thumbing
for the first time...again like all other exercises, these ones should be played at a slow pace with the
emphasis on clear notes and timing, not how fast you can play it. Learn each exercise in turn and
try not to jump between the other 3 exercises.....below are sound files played at a slow pace,
try playing along with them to start you off....Excuse the quality of the sound files, but high quality
sound files take a lot of web space, and a while to download...but these are better than nothing....
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