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/// I can see what you are saying maybe being adequate for electric guitar, but more demanding acoustic playing can be quite physically demanding - both steel or nylon string. Let's see where others weigh in on this one.



Be careful making assumptions about yours truly. My guitar playing started out as rather intense Classical training years ago. Can you play a double tremelo properly? *grin* I doubt if I can either anymore. But I'll darn sure keep up with you if you call the Supertrio's Mediterranean Sundance...(speakin' of Paco!)

Do you know the old "four fingers, four frets" excercise? Builds the kind of finger strength that can allow you to rip a payphone off the wall with yer lefthand, while building mind/muscle memory and control that surpasses just about any other drill on the neck that I know.

Start with all four fingers placed right behind the frets on the low E string. (Low E string is the one that sounds lowest in pitch, of course, not the one closest to the floor.)

Now, with those four fingers still fretting the low F, F#, G and G#, curl 'em up out of the way and pluck the open A string. String should be able to ring freely and sound a nice big open A before proceeding on to the next note.

After sounding the open A, move only the index finger, finger #1, from first fret, sixth string, to first fret, fifth string, while still holding the other three fingers in place where they were on the E string.

Pluck the Bb on the A string that you just fingered. let it ring. no other fingers intruding onto the A string such that they damp its vibrations now.

Then add the second finger from the E to the second fret of the A, still holding the G and G# fingers in place on the E string, but having the first two fingers holding the first two frets on the A, and pluck the B, second fret of A string. let 'er ring.

Continue that pattern, shifting one finger at a time and sounding the note on the next course string as you go.

Once all four fingers are now on the A string, continue in the same pattern, shifting to the D string.

Do that all the way across the fretboard until you have successfully sounded every note clearly and sustained and have all four fingers on the high E string, playing the G@ there.

Oh the pain.

But you ain't done yet.

Now ya gotta UNWIND the thing, going in the reverse of the above.

With all four fingers fretting the G# on the high E string, pluck the open B string. Then transfer the 4th finger from high E to the 5th fret of the B string, pluck the note and keep on going backwards until all four fingers wind up where they started, fretting all four frets on the low E string.

One full rep a day on this one, done properly and making all notes ring out without problems plucking the wrong string at the wrong time, or letting fingers damp a vibrating string is enough, man.

Then go out there and rip that payphone off the wall...


--Mac

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