4 guitar exercises to max out your finger dexterity

Misha Mansoor
(Image credit: Sebastian Reuter/Redferns)

Guitar skills: Take your playing to new levels with four exercises designed to develop your finger independence, dexterity, and the brain power needed to coordinate tricky fretting moves.

1. Lateral spider exercise 

Tab

(Image credit: Future)

Take your playing to new levels with four exercises designed to develop your finger independence, dexterity, and the brain power needed to coordinate tricky fretting moves.


2. Chromatic twister 

Tab

(Image credit: Future)

This lick is designed to get all four fingers moving. The move from second to third finger is particularly fiendish, so take your time building up the speed.


3. String skip legato 

Tab

(Image credit: Future)

This exercise is tough on the fret hand thanks to the string skips and hammer-ons. Aim for a steady, even flow of notes. For more of a challenge, move the lick to lower strings.


Typewriter lick

Tab

(Image credit: Future)

The idea here is to play the repeating note with each of your fretting fingers, one after the other. The repetition is a great way to check that your thumb is in the best position.

Learn these 10 easy partial guitar chords and speed up your changes

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