Guitar Tricks Online Guitar Lessons

One Finger Per Fret, Up And Down

 
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First let me show you a very common exercise that's good for your single-note technique. Remember that it's not supposed to make sense musically. It's purely a work-out for your fingers.

This exercise starts with your 1st finger in the 1st fret of the low E-string. Then we'll grab the 2nd fret with our middle finger. That's followed by the 3rd fret with our ring finger and finally we have the 4th fret with our pinky.

Now in our right hand we'll go down, up, down, up, repeating. After this we'll do the same thing on the next string. And so on.

Make sure you're using your finger tips. Make sure your fingers aren't flailing all over the place. If any of that is tricky, you just have to slow it down.

Once you're ready, try doing it backwards. This exercise is good for your left and right hand coordination and it forces your pinky to be a part of the team. Otherwise it has a tendency to try to avoid getting involved and that's a shame cause it's quite useful to have it ready.

This is sometimes referred to as spider fingers or the spider fingers exercise.

Now let me demonstrate this for you. You're of course welcome to try playing along with me, but the best thing is probably to watch my demonstration and then try it on your own afterwards so you can find your own tempo.

Instructor Anders Mouridsen
Tutorial:
Fun Finger Exercises
Styles:
Any Style
Difficulty:
print notation download lesson open guitar tuner
One Finger Per Fret, Up And Down song notation

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Questions & Answers

2 weeks ago
i know you said to touch right behind the fret when pressing. when doing this exercise i have to slightly let the palm of my had slide a little on the back of the neck in order for fingers 3 and 4 to press down right behind the fret. for finger 4 I really have to slide in order to press right behind the fret. if I don't I end up pressing in the middle of the fret board instead of right behind the fret or my pinky finger rolls outward to reach. what do i do to that each finger can press straight down and right behind the fret?
Mike Olekshy 1 week ago

Hey there - thanks so much for your question! Pressing your finger right behind the fret is something to aim for, but is not completely necessary. It's okay to press in the middle of the fret if it's easier or feels more natural. Also - it is okay to slide your hand a little behind the neck in order to fret notes with the ring and pinky fingers. Just do your best right now. The more you practice this, your muscles and fingers will become more agile and you'll find it easier to fret the notes just behind the fretwire. Hope this helps!!

5 months ago
HI, I have an issue where I'm trying to keep my fingers ready to play on the next fret, but I find it difficult to stretch my left hand enough to be ready by hovering right above the next fret. So, my fingers are not fully ready in position to press the next fret (so they are partially covering the fretboard but not fully covering it like the instructors) but it's not fully flailing all over the place as well. Is this ok or do I need to try to keep it ready in position, if so, how can I do that.
Mike Olekshy 5 months ago

Hey there - thanks so much for your question! This is totally okay!! You don't need to be completely over the frets to transistion to the next note. As your hand and finger muscles loosen up and your skills improve, you'll find the'y will naturally stretch wider. Just keep practicing the best you can. It will all come in time!! Hope this helps!

11 months ago
I'm having the same issue. I keep practicing the One finger per fret, up/down, but am having a lot of trouble positioning my fretting hand without it moving up/down the fret board neck. For example, the instructor seems to keep his thumb positioned at the back of the neck without much movement, yet his fingers move easily to the next fret. How can I correct this?
Mike Olekshy 11 months ago

Hello - thanks so much for the question! At this stage, it's more important to be able to play the notes by any means necessary, so don't worry so much if your hand (or thumb) position must move to accomplish this. That is totally okay right now. Once you gain more skill on the instrument, it will be easier and easier to stay in one position to do this exercise. Hope this helps!

1 year ago
Hello! I find this very challenging because of a thing I'm considering very important, but not mentioned in this video or any videos before this one, which is the LH thumb position through the excercise. I mean, does it needs to move? I feel like placing it in the right way in every step should improve the learning curve and also the hand pain... Sorry for my bad english guys, I'm from italy! hope to get an answer! Thank you!
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for your question! A good starting point is to position the thumb on the upper part of the back of the neck - roughly behind the A string, or 5th string (2nd from the lowest, thickest string). The thumb doesn't necessarily need to move, but it's totally okay if it does a little as you play through the notes. You will move your entire hand up one fret at a time as you make your way through the exercise, so the thumb will move then just to change position. This is only a guide, as everybody is different. Find the thumb position that feels the most natural for you! Hope this helps!

1 year ago
I have to say that I find this a little advanced for my beginner fingers! I wanted to criticise myself but realised there is actually rather a lot going on: + the LH fingers need to get used to the spacing- and the skinny E string is a shorter reach than than the other one. + the LH fingers need to get used the space between the strings- including a jump from fret 4 to fret 1. I’m making this easier by working on just jumping across the frets. + the RH up down picking is another complication. I’m working on just downs initially- no pick. In general I’m throwing out some encouragement I think to other beginners that they would not be alone in breaking this down and building up to lesson standard. Tutor comments would be very welcome. Thanks .C
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for your comments! Indeed, this exercise is challenging at first. Go slow at first, and be sure to work on this every day. It takes time for the technique to settle into the muscles of your hands and fingers. Keep at it - and you'll find it becoming easier and easier the more you practice!!

2 years ago
My pinky is not getting placed at proper positions whatsoever. How much I try, I am unable to put my pinky properly on strings. The pinky fingertip is not touching the strings, rather than the right side portion of the pinky tip (of my left hand finger. It is like the pinky is kinda getting in a bent shape while touching the string). How can I improve?
Mike Olekshy 2 years ago

Hi thanks for your question! You can improve this by going slowly through the exercise. Try moving the position of your hand slightly to accomodate the pinky fretting the note straight on. Aim to get your pinky pressing down on the string at a 90 degree angle onto the fretboard as best you can. Keep working on it - with all the repetition, the pinky will start to loosen up and make this easier and easier. Keep at it!

2 years ago
Hello, when playing the notes, does it matter if your fingers touch the string below or should you aim to curl your fingers so you play each note without touching the string below? It doesn't seem matter if you do touch the string below as that isn't the note you are playing, but I want to make sure I am training my hands and muscle memory correctly for the future. Thanks.
Josh Workman 2 years ago

It's more efficient to leave the fingers pressed down as you ascend and then peel them off as you descend. Notice Anders' fingers remain pressed down as he ascends and only lifts the first finger in order to prepare to switch strings.