finger and wrist stretches

[u2andwho]

I was wondering if there is any exercises i can do to help make my fingers and wrist more flexible so that i can play more chords easier?
Thaks alot!

[Kevin Taylor]

There's a really tough one for getting your fingers stretched.

It's here:

http://guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=1595

...but if you don't have full access it's basically this:



|---12-----16-----19------|

...on all six strings. (and yeah, it really is a stretch and hurts like crazy)
Work your way up, then work back down. Once you've done it for a few weeks try moving down by a couple of frets and stretch even further.

[R. Shackleferd]

I use this exercise (http://www.zentao.com/guitar/lesson7/left-hand.html). It's more to do with coordination than stretching, but they go hand in hand. Stretching exercises, though they vary, are often called the "spider", so you might google those too.

[elklandercc]

Be carefull not to stretch too far when you first start off with the excercises, you don't want your hands cramping up. Another good exercise that helped me out is the intro to Killswitch Engage's "End of Heartache."

e |1-----1-----1-----1-----3------------------||
b |--5-----5-----5-----5-----5----------------||
g |----5-----5-----5-----5-----5--------------|| x8
d |--------------------------------------------||
a |--------------------------------------------||
e |--------------------------------------------||

To play this, you use your index on the 1st fret, your pinky on the 5th fret 2nd string, and you ring finger on the 5th fret third string. Then use your middle finger to play the third fret at the end. You have to hold that chord the whole time because if you lifted your fingers up, with the exception of the middle finger, you would lose fluid movement since this lick is played over and over again. Also, to play this, you have to turn your fretting hand so that your index finger is more parallel to the neck.