Right hand exercises

[Ash69]

Like many here on the forum (it seems) I played guitar in my teens and early twenties and then didn’t do much with the instrument for the next 30 years. The last year and a half I’ve been playing quite a lot. I play fingerstyle with the flesh of my fingers as I have no nails.

Lately I’ve been working on a few Celtic tunes in DADGAD (Tony MacManus, Stephen Wake, Pierre Bensusan). The song I’m currently working on is “Le Voyage Pour L’Irlande” and it has, in addition to a lot of other challenges, a little triplet that I’m just not able to do as fast as it should be. I can “fake it” by doing hammer-on and pull-off’s instead, but not three fingers after each other as it’s supposed to be.

It struck me that I’ve done very little or not dedicated right hand exercises. The left hand has gotten a lot of attention and exercises, like controlled scales without flying fingers, moving between difficult chord shapes, stretching exercises etc and I often sit with a guitar while watching tv just practicing my lefthand without plucking the strings. Having said that, of course I have spent quite a lot of time practicing picking patterns and particularly remember working on Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again” which was a bit tricky in terms of thumb/finger independence (steady beat on the thumb and triplets on i, m and a). But I feel that is maybe more an issue of getting my brain to move the correct finger at the right time than the physical limitations in the right hand.

I did a little test today to see how fast I could play a triplet with i, m and a and found I could keep up with 90 bpm (i on the beat) for about 20 seconds before my right arm was all tense. I did a bit of “googling” here on the forum and elsewhere and most of the stuff I came across was related to classical guitar. Nothing wrong with classical guitar, and I’m sure there is much to learn even if you play a steel string, but it got me thinking, what do you (non-classical) guitarist do? Do you have dedicated exercises to practice speed and precision for the right hand, or is it just along for the ride?

[Andyrondack]

I don't do any such exercises which are not directly related to playing phrases from the problematical section, I never had formal guitar lessons so escaped that kind of training. Sometimes I make up short musical jingles to gain familiarity with a difficult technique, sometimes I just cheat and find an alternative way of getting my guitar to make a noise that's close enough to what's required.
But if you can play this triplet at 90 bpm is that not good enough? Though bpm can be a bit confusing when refering to Irish music as it's often in a compound time with the metronome set to two clicks per bar even though the time signature might be 6/8 so not sure what your mean in this instance. Anyway I think using hammer ons and pull offs in dadgad sound great more like traditional instruments. Do you like the sound it makes?

[reeve21]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Check out the reviews on this book, it seems to work for some folks.

[Ash69]

This triplets at 90 bpm I mean playing 123 123 123 with the beat on 1.

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

Anyway I think using hammer ons and pull offs in dadgad sound great more like traditional instruments. Do you like the sound it makes?

Yes, actually, I think it works quite well in this case. My point is, if I have compensate with my left hand for the lack of ability in my right I should probably put some effort into right hand exercises. Just curious what others do.

[Ash69]

Originally Posted by reeve21

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Check out the reviews on this book, it seems to work for some folks.

Thanks, l will!

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Ash69

This triplets at 90 bpm I mean playing 123 123 123 with the beat on 1.



Yes, actually, I think it works quite well in this case. My point is, if I have compensate with my left hand for the lack of ability in my right I should probably put some effort into right hand exercises. Just curious what others do.

Yes practise playing triplets, I can play them easily at 110 bpm on the same string with fingerpicks but I use my two strongest fingers, first triplet lead with i second with m so always alternating. Trying to use 3 fingers on the same string slows me down and ties my head in knots.

[TBman]

Mauro Giuliani 120 right hand studies in notation with tab pdf download page:


https://www.classclef.com/120-right-...auro-giuliani/

[Ash69]

Originally Posted by TBman

Mauro Giuliani 120 right hand studies in notation with tab pdf download page:


https://www.classclef.com/120-right-...auro-giuliani/

Thanks! I came across the Giuliani 120 right hand studies in my earlier googling, but only in standard notation (which I have forgotten how to read...).

Question; Any idea how to go about practicing these pieces? One at a time until one can play it comfortably and the move on, or work on a group of them at a time?

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Ash69

Thanks! I came across the Giuliani 120 right hand studies in my earlier googling, but only in standard notation (which I have forgotten how to read...).

Question; Any idea how to go about practicing these pieces? One at a time until one can play it comfortably and the move on, or work on a group of them at a time?

I'd say the former, but you have to keep it interesting. It can be boring working on just one for long enough, and I see no harm in moving from one to another, provided you come back to the first one. The more interested you are in what you're practising, the longer you can keep it up, which is how you get the most benefit.

But you do have to focus on correct articulation, clean and clear. It can be easy to learn to play one of them, and think you've done it just because you can play it with no mistakes. The point of them is to train your right hand to be precise and controlled, in terms of dynamics and tone. Playing each one quite slow is a good tip there: play slower than your normal speed, and use a metronome to keep you on track. That way you can focus on the sound of each note, and experiment with dynamic attack. That's critical for classical guitar, but pays dividends on steel-string too.

[rick-slo]

For me the best results of right hand work is achieved when my nails are just so (right length, shape, and polish). Find what seems to be best for you in that department. As mentioned already the Giuliani 120 right hand studies are effective ones.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by JonPR

But you do have to focus on correct articulation, clean and clear. It can be easy to learn to play one of them, and think you've done it just because you can play it with no mistakes. The point of them is to train your right hand to be precise and controlled, in terms of dynamics and tone. Playing each one quite slow is a good tip there: play slower than your normal speed, and use a metronome to keep you on track. That way you can focus on the sound of each note, and experiment with dynamic attack. That's critical for classical guitar, but pays dividends on steel-string too.

Exactly right.
The temptation with these is to just blow through each one in order to get through them all. That's a trap leading to a complete waste of your precious time.
There's no rule as to which ones to practice first. You can do them sequentially, or in groups, or individually. That's not really the main issue.
If you just take one, any one, and focus all your attention on the goals that JonPR outlined, it will be beneficial. No matter what music you play.

[rmoretti49]

Originally Posted by reeve21

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Check out the reviews on this book, it seems to work for some folks.

Thanks for this suggestion. I just now ordered it. It will undoubtedly be useful.

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by rmoretti49

Thanks for this suggestion. I just now ordered it. It will undoubtedly be useful.

My pleasure. I’d be interested to know your thoughts. I have not looked at mine in quite a while