Untitled Document

Warm Up for Guitar

Importance

The importance of warming up cannot be overstated. Do you love to play the guitar? Well let’s just say that if you do and you value the gift you’ve been given to be able to play, then you should take warm up very seriously. Because if you don’t, very bad things could happen to you.

My apologies for the melodrama. But seriously, warming up properly can really reduce the possibilities of you developing injuries because of your playing, specifically tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive stress injuries.

In this segment I’m going to give you some methods for properly stretching before you pick up the guitar. Then I’ll give you a bunch of fretboard exercises design simply to loosen up your hands and get them primed and ready for the more demanding work you set aside for yourself during your practice session. But first lets answer some basic questions, hopeful the above fulfills the WHY:

How long should I warm up?

I usually spend about 5-10 minutes warming up and cooling down. But I do both. Cooling down is just as important as warming up. Runners don’t go out and do all out sprints without stretching and warming up. Nor do they simply stop and go about their business. Their bodies need to cool down. So does yours. Five to ten minutes should suffice for both.

What should I focus on when I warm up and cool down?

At the risk of sounding redundant, you should focus simply on warming up and cooling down. But you should also focus on maintaining that relaxed state that we discussed in the last session. Warm and relaxed equals greater functionality. Think of your hands as little engines and your warm up exercises are the oil that lube your little engines.

In the following pages you’re going to first start with some stretches for your wrists, hands and fingers. Then I’ll give you some hands on exercises you can implement in your practice.

There are a lot of them so don’t try to cram all of them into one practice session. Focus on like one or two a week until you’re very comfortable with them and then just experiment with different combinations. Make up your own if you like, The possibilities are really endless. Also your speed and dexterity will improve
residually because of these exercises as well. Bonus.

Go back to "Relaxing with the Guitar"
Get the "Warm Up Exercises for Guitar"

Untitled Document

Guitar Theory

Elements of Music Composing for guitar