Finger Glue and Flexibility Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (03:55) Review and Introduction to Hand Structure Review

- Warm-up the hands.
- Stretch the wrists.
- Play the major and minor open chords.
- Warm up your strumming muscles by relaxing the wrists and letting the pick flow over the strings.
- Play the E major chord in the “new” way and play the type 1 barre chords.
- Play the A major chord in the “new” way and play the type 2 barre chords.
- Practice the “slanting A” technique.
- Practice the type 1 minor barre chords.
- Practice the type 2 minor barre chords.
- Play all of the type 1 mini-barre chords.
- Play all of the type 2 mini-barre chords.
- Review and practice quantitative and qualitative techniques.
- Review last week’s exercises.

Ready?

Last week we worked on some cool exercises with the Cadd9 and Dsus2 chords. Hopefully you learned a thing or two about how to strum and modifying or “liquify” a chord. This week we're going to continue to learn how to beautify our strumming. We will also prepare mentally and physically to perform more complex changes. Once you attempt more complex changes, it’s of the utmost importance that you also learn to visualize where a chord progression is heading next.

Hand Structure
We've talked briefly about how to position your hands during playing, and this concept will become increasingly more and more important as you attempt more complex changes. The idea of “finger glue,” which we’ve also covered in previous lessons is central to hand positioning. The more familiar you are with the structure of a chord and the necessary position of your hand to play that chord correctly, the quicker and easier it will become to play that chord. “Gluing” one’s fingers together (not literally!) or forming the chord away from the neck of the guitar can help to get a clearer mental picture of what the chord looks like. In turn, you will be able to form the chord more quickly. However, keep in mind that practicing chords on the fretboard is of the utmost importance. "Gluing" is simply a trick that will speed up your progress. Chapter 2: (07:07) Finger Glue Exercise Exercise 1
Play each of the open major chords (A, B, C, D, E, F and G). Pay close attention to how your hand feels while playing the chord and which muscles are being used.

Now, play each of the chords again and pull your fingers away from the neck while keeping them in the same position. Don’t worry about the position of your thumb for this exercise. Simply keep your hand and fingers together to emulate the position of the chord as closely as possible. After forming the chord away from the neck, try to put your fingers back on the fretboard and see how well you held the chord together.

Exercise 2
Now, do the same as above. However, this time, play with the minor chords Am, Bm, Dm, and Em. When doing the Am chord, use the second, third, and fourth fingers (rather than the traditional open Am chord) in order to facilitate the change to the Bm chord. Do you notice how simple this fingering makes the transition from Am Bm? Now, while forming your fingers into the each of the chord positions away from the neck of the guitar, close your eyes and picture the chord while you’re forming it. Visualization can help gain a better grasp on chord formation and in turn, help you play more smoothly. Chapter 3: (04:44) Flexibility in Playing Flexibility
In this scene, I primarily use the term "flexibility" in a physical sense. Simply put, the more flexible your hands and fingers are, the easier it is to play the guitar. In addition to the elasticity of your muscles, you must also be flexible in terms of which fingering you use to play a chord. Learning to play each of the open chords in a number of different ways will make you more flexible and a better guitar player in the long run. Often times, playing a chord in a different form using different fingers will help to make smoother changes to another chord. Also, an alternate fingering for a chord may better facilitate playing notes in between the chords or liquifying chords. Here's what I mean:

Here's a traditional C major chord played with the first finger on the B-string, 1st fret, the middle finger on the D-string 2nd fret, and the third or ring finger on the A-string 3rd fret.

C
E_0_
B_1_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_x_

Well, let's play the chord like this instead:

Cadd9
E_0_
B_3_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_x_

Hopefully you are beginning to feel comfortable with this Cadd9 voicing. Cadd9 produces a slightly darker and more melancholy sound compared to a C major triad. The voicing for Cadd9 diagramed above is frequently played by placing the first finger on the D-string 2nd fret, the middle finger on the A-string 3rd fret, and the third finger on the B-string 3rd fret. What do you think would happen if we played this chord with the second third and fourth fingers instead? So, the middle finger is placed on the D string 2nd fret, the third or ring finger would be placed on the A-string 2nd fret, and the pinky on the B-string 3rd fret. This manner of playing the Cadd9 chord frees up the first finger, allowing it to do other things that could enhance your sound.

Exercise 3
Play the open C chord. Then, utilizing the concept of finger glue, pull your fingers away. Next, play the first fingering of the Cadd9 chord. Again, pull your fingers off of the fretboard. Finally, play the last fingering of the Cadd9 chord. Pay attention to the difference in how your fingers feel when playing these fingerings. Do you find that one fingering is more difficult than the other? This is natural and will subside as you continue to play chords with alternate fingerings.

Okay, so you may be asking, "why play chords with alternate fingerings when I'm just now getting these chords down?" Well my friends, the answer is simple: flexibility! I'm not suggesting you abandon the original and perhaps easier chord fingerings. I'm just here to show you that inevitably flexibility will enhance your playing.

Exercise 4
Play the Cadd9 chord with the new fingering. Use only your second, third, and fourth fingers. Pull your fingers away from the neck using the finger glue technique and visualize the chord in your head as you do this. Now, place your fingers back on the fretboard and use the strum or "down, down-up, down." Play this pattern four times. Then, change the chord to an open C chord without pulling your hand from the fretboard. Simply pull your pinky off of the B-string 3rd fret, and place your first finger on the B-string 1st fret. This is the smoothest possible way to transition from Cadd9 to C. Play the C chord four times using the strumming pattern explained above. Now, simply remove your first finger from the B-string completely and play:

Cmaj7
E_0_
B_0_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_x_

You have now changed the progression from Cadd9 to Cmaj7 by changing the positioning of your fretting hand. There are many instances where changing the configuration of your fingers can help you play new and interesting chord progressions. Chapter 4: (05:46) Hand Structuring Exercise Changing the Hand to Accommodate the Chord
Sometimes you may find yourself playing two successive chords that pose problems for the fretting hand. In other words, one of the two chords is fairly easy to construct while the other seems to be a lot more difficult. Some chords, especially more difficult chords, may require you change the position of your hand. You may also find yourself moving your thumb to accommodate this change. This is a natural move and can be a great help when playing certain chords. Take these two chords for example:

(This is a type 2 mini-barre as you hopefully recall.)

D
E_5_
B_7_
G_7_
D_0_
A_x_
E_x_

(This is a type 1 mini-barre as I'm sure you recall!)

Am
E_5_
B_5_
G_5_
D_7_
A_x_
E_x_

Exercise 5
Play the two chords diagramed above in with any strumming pattern that you desire. Try to play each chord without making any major moves in the position of your hand. You will need to change the location of the fingers, but don't move the overall position of the hand. Remember that economy of movement is essential to performing smooth chord changes.

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