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It’s no secret that a proper warm up is key to getting your hands loosened up and preventing injury down the road. This lesson isn’t going to get deeply into theory, my main area of concentration here is going to be on exercises to get your hands loosened up. The reason you want to warm up a bit in the first place is so you don’t put a strain on your muscles and tendons right off. You want to ease them into action. By doing that, you will increase blood flow. With increased blood flow you’ll see higher oxygen levels in those areas as well.
Guitarists are prone to wrist and hand injuries. Some professional players have had issues with their wrists and hands. It’s not something that is limited to amateur players in their bedrooms. The issue of injury is something that should be of concern from the beginner up to the professional. A warm up doesn’t need to take long at all, but you do need to remember a few key points about a warm up. First, remember that speed isn’t at all important. Even guys who’ve been doing this for years take time to build up to the maximum playing speed. Another point would be to do a few basic stretches too. There are numerous out there, but I typically just do the rotating of the wrists and placing my hands together and pushing back gently on each finger.
Once that’s done, you’re ready to get into some playing.
The first one is actually taken from the beginning of a Paul Gilbert song called “Get out of my yard.” He plays this on 3 strings all tuned to E, but I’ve worked it out over 6 strings. It makes for a great warm up exercise.
|-15-11---------------------16-11---------------------|
|-------13------------------------13------------------|
|----------12------------------------12---------------|
|-------------13------------------------13------------|
|----------------15-10---------------------15-10------|
|----------------------11-8----------------------11-8-|
It goes on much further, but this repeated a few times is a great warm up run. I alternate pick this, starting with a down stroke on the first note. You can also sweep pick this one as well if you choose.
Next is an exercise I picked up a long time ago. I’m not sure where I saw it exactly, but it’s remained in my warm up routine ever since that point.
|-12-7-----------7-12-7-----------7--8-3-----------3-8-3-----------3-
|------9-7---7-9--------9-7---7-9--------7-5---5-7-------7-5---5-7---
|----------9----------------9----------------7---------------7-------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------
|-10-5-----------5-10-5-----------5-17-12----------------12-17-12----------|
|------7-5---5-7--------7-5---5-7---------14-12----12-14----------14-12----|
|----------7----------------7-------------------14----------------------14-|
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
I also alternate pick this one as well. This one is more for accuracy than anything. On the side though, it also gives you a good stretch as well.
This next example is just something of my own creation. No real theory behind it. It’s simply meant to get your fingers moving.
|-17-------------------------
|----15----------------------
|-------14-17----------------
|-------------14-15----------
|-------------------17-12----
|-------------------------10-
Again, I alternate pick this. You could turn this into a sweep by simply executing a hammer or pull off. It would then look like this
|-17-------------------------
|----15----------------------
|-------14h17----------------
|-------------14h15----------
|-------------------17p12----
|-------------------------10-
This is one of those things that just might turn into part of a solo one day. Coming up with your own warm ups can lead you into creating something as well. You never know when you’ll hit on something.
Here is another warm up run that I do. It all takes place on one string, so all you need to focus on is finger movement.
|-10-13-12-13-10-13-12-13-8-12-10-12-8-12-10-12-7-10-8-10-7-10-8-10-
|-------------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------------------------------------------
|-5-8-7-8-5-8-7-8-4-7-5-7-4-7-5-7-5-|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
Another more involved run that I do is the first section of Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Arpeggios from hell”. This is great because it runs all the way up the neck and provides some good stretches too. Remember that speed isn’t the key. You just want to stretch and be accurate with your fretting hand.
|------------------------------------------------7---7-12~-15-14-12-15-14-12-
|------------------------------------------8---8---8-------------------------
|------------------------------------9---9---9-------------------------------
|------------------------5---5-9-5-9---9-------------------------------------
|------------------7---7---7-------------------------------------------------
|-0--0-3-0-3-7-3-7---7-------------------------------------------------------
|-17b19-15----------------------------------------------------|
|----------17----17-------------------------------------------|
|-------------16----16----------------------------------------|
|----------------------17-14-17-14----14----------------------|
|----------------------------------14----14-14-10-14-10-----2-|
|-------------------------------------------------------12\-0-|
Some of that might be off, but it should be close. I figured it out by ear, so I can’t say that it is for sure right. It’s close enough to function as a very nice warm up. Not only does it get your fingers going it also gets your mind working as well. You have to think and plan out your finger movements before they get there.
To end this, I have a descending run for you to try.
|-5--------------------------------------------------|
|---8p5---8p5---5------------------------------------|
|-------7-----7---7p5---7p5---5----------------------|
|---------------------7-----7---7p5---7p5------------|
|-----------------------------------7-----7p5--------|
|---------------------------------------------8p5-5~-|
All of these exercises are ones that I do before I really get into playing. I’ve noticed a difference in my playing when I do these types of warm ups. I feel looser and I’m able to build speed a bit faster after these warm up exercises. I hope that you guys can find these as useful as I have over the years.
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