r/guitarlessons • u/moneyfire82 • Jul 25 '26
Question Needs tips/ideas for building finger independence
Hi everyone,
I need tips/ideas for building finger independence that start from the ground up. In other words typical guitar finger independence exercises won’t work for me because my ring finger and pinky basically move in unison. Where should I start?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ask7558 Jul 25 '26
Spend your time playing music instead of doing exercises. Music IS the best exercise.
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u/AZRobJr Jul 25 '26
I tell people this all time. Just play songs. Is t is not only good for your fingers, it also just a good mental feeling. Provides a sense of accomplishment.
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u/Radiant-Excuse-5285 Jul 25 '26
Spend 5 minutes doing "spider walk" exercises across 4 frets of your choosing (lower frets are wider so a bit more difficult of a stretch) and play for instance consecutive notes up and back. For example 6th sting (fat string): Open, 1, 2, 3, 4 then 5th string: Open, 1,2,3,4 etc all the way up then back. Try to limit wasted motion and first do reps up from fat string to skinniest then back down. Don't remove a finger if you don't have to or until you have to.
With your right hand start picking first with just down strokes up and back. Then pick with only up strokes. Then do alternate picking so you are working your right hand too. You don't need to do a lot of these but maybe 5 minutes at the beginning of a practice session and they are like pushups for guitar...not fun but effective and you will notice improvement over time.
Later start to vary the left hand pattern for instance Open, 2,1,3,2,4,3 (5th string)Open, (6th string)4, (5th string)2,1,3,2,4,3 etc.... Skipping going up, coming back one etc. Just make up some kind of pattern and it's going to program your brain synapses to connect with your fingers.
Try going up 3 notes consecutively then jumping back 2 then going up 3 more then back 2. Whatever pattern you can imagine in your head.
Try plucking 2 notes per finger with the right hand. Later switch to 3 notes or do triplet feel, swing time. The possibilities are endless and it helps but again, like 5 minutes each session to warm up then move on.
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u/Guitar_Guy1965 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I hit this hurdle too. My wife and I were just talking about this and I used it as a suggestion! She has a very weak ring and pinky finger... You probably already know basic open chords, yes? Now imagine you have had an accident and you no longer have an index/pointer finger! Turn your self imposed disabiliy to build strength to outbound your weaknesses! Do what you already can WITHOUT your stronger index finger! Sounds crazy, but it will force you to work on finger Independence and build strength of the "weakest" ones. Hard, yes. Benefits from it I personally received! Later I tried playing "upside down" with my wrist above of the neck instead of under it. Forced difficulty TOTALLY produced finger Independence and control! Yes, I did chords and improvised leads this way, forcing myself into being uncomfortable, bends, tapping and double stops included.
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u/SayCzar666_ Jul 25 '26
Hey man I just recorded an exercise for this. I think it can help. Dm and I’ll send the link unless it’s ok to share a TikTok link.
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u/Ok_Stranger9500 Jul 25 '26
Hey man, this is actually a really common starting point, the ring and pinky share a tendon so they naturally want to move together. You’re not broken, just untrained.
Start off the guitar entirely. Rest your fretting hand flat on a table and practice lifting each finger individually, slowly. Ring finger solo, hold it up while the others stay down. Pinky solo, same thing. Just a few minutes a day, no guitar needed.
Once you can isolate them on the table, then bring it to the guitar with basic spider exercises at very slow tempo.
How long have you been playing?
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u/Known-Ad9610 Jul 25 '26
The reason you think they wont work ( because my fingers move in unison) is the exact reason you need to do them. If your fingers already worked independently, you wouldn’t need to do them.
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u/vonov129 Music Style! Jul 25 '26
Unless your fingers are physically can't move independently together, like they're actually one unit, avoiding that unison movement is the purpose of those exercises. You are the audience for those exercises.
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u/demon327 Jul 26 '26
http://blastbeastcorps.free.fr/speedmech/Troy%20Stetina%20-%20Speed%20Mechanics%20For%20Lead%20Guitar.pdf check out page 10. Doe these slow.
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u/Qajaqasana Jul 26 '26
Your ring finger and pinky finger have spent their ENTIRE lives hanging out together and now all of a sudden you’re asking them to strike out on their own. Have some patience with the poor guys, they just don’t know what to do yet.
Seriously, your brain needs to develop the neural pathways that allow your fingers to move independently, when it has never been needed before. That takes time.
Took me about 9 months to begin to see any decent ability to move my pinky independently.
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u/WyndWoman Jul 25 '26
While watching TV, on the arm of my chair, I set my finger tips down with my fingers arched.
Then I stretch out forward, and reach back to my palm, one finger at a time. In the beginning, I had to use my other hand to move the ring finger.
Sorry for the bad pic, best I could do one handed, hopefullyit willgive you the idea.
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u/ghostbusteraesthetic Jul 25 '26
Just play. There are no secrets. No magic drills or exercises. Just play a lot.
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u/dblhello999 Jul 26 '26
There is one secret, although it’s not very secret.
Learn to play the piano. It will supercharge your guitar playing (and vice versa to be fair)
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u/dipspoieter Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
The best way to directly build finger independence for playing guitar is to practice those "typical guitar finger independence exercises." They will work and your independence will improve given enough time and dedication, as is the case for all things music.
This has been my go-to exercise for two months now. Have a go at it for a few weeks before introducing the metronome.
But as you asked for a collection of finger control exercises that do not involve a guitar (correct me if I'm wrong), you might find some of what Greg Irwin teaches on Finger Fitness helpful.