The Essential “In Focus” Course
The “Walking Exercise”… and How It Can Transform Your Technique
Learn all about the Walking exercise, which is probably the most commonly taught exercise I see, BUT it is one most guitarists are taught wrongly. Learn it properly, save your finger joints and tendons, and have it actually improve your playing on a big scale.
What a good video Dan and the way it shows how to do the excerise am hoping that my pinkie will improve now I will be doing it often a fantastic lesson Thank you Dan
Thanks, David, pleased you like it. Keep it up and your pinkie will thank you for it for sure. 🙂
Again…i think this alot Dan teaches the parts other teaches dont teach! My pinkie is very weak so will do this as its whole body teaching. Ive been playing with a tense body for many years and really had no idea how much it affected my playing. This is great stuff thanks Dan!
My pleasure, Mandy. Super pleased to hear you are learning plenty and seeing great progress. Really well done applying the lessons! Really happy to know your playing is going in a really positive direction. 🙂
This was the best teaching ever on a very commonly used and often taught finger exercise for guitar!! I learned so much. I wrote it all down and will practice it this way from now on!! Starting with the pinky makes a significant difference in playing it clean and confidently. Practicing in pairs and building up to all 4 notes on a string before tackling all the strings is another amazing tip. THANK YOU!!
Thanks, Krystal. Glad to hear it. Yeah, it’s such a badly taught exercise but when done well it can be wonderful. Lots of focus, small chunks, and precision is needed as well as what you mention. Definitely sounds like you know what you’re doing with it. 🙂
I’ve always ended up skipping this exercise on my make fingers behave youtube searching days because it was so hard and made me stress out/tense more. I am glad to have someone break it down. I was feeling so good about it as I was following along on the high e and then we hit the low e. lol. In any case, I am glad to add this exercise– especially because I can work on my fingers flying off the fretboard issue.
I can imagine. This is easily one of the most badly taught lessons I’ve seen, and most people end up with all sorts of bad habits. Breaking it down into super small and focused chunks is so critical. The good news is, if you practice it like this, it will develop excellent habits. Good work and keep at it. 🙂
Good stuff… have done this exercise in the past …but so wrong!! Great technique makes for easier playing. And remember to constantly slow down and relax… came away with a warm up exercise i will use everyday.
So many do it wrong. It’s shocking how this is taught. Glad you have found this useful and keep up the good practice 🙂
Oh this is good stuff right here. I can definitely feel the workout my fingers had doing these exercises. This one goes on the practice plan.
Glad to hear it. Yeah, keep at it and be super careful to use good technique with this one. 🙂
Nearly skipped this tutorial glad I didn’t. I have practiced this most days for the last couple of years, shame I’ve done it wrong all this time. I’m now kicking myself with using this exercise in an ineffective manner.
Thank you for this important tutorial.
Pleased you gave it a go. I’d say 99% of people are taught to practice this wrong so you’re not the only one. I was there too! The main thing is, you’re on track now 🙂
I used to do this exercise every day as a warm up before starting to play. I got out of the habit. Thanks for the reminder. It is a great warm up exercise for the fingers. I also need to stop my ‘flying’ pinkie. I read your reply to Michael Schott and will try that. Thanks
Good stuff. Yeah, it’s so easy to do this wrong so please be super patient and take it slow. When done well, it is wonderful! 🙂
Dan, is there a tip to keep my pinkie from flying off the fretboard? I like the exercise and tips – still can’t figure out the secret to my little finger staying in the cup position. Thanks in advance for any help.
Try reaching across with your other hand to keep the pinkie pinned down as you fret the notes. This helps to build up the feeling in the finger. You can also work on pairs of fingers – breaking the exercise down into small chunks like this can help. Do let me know how you get on.
Hi Dan,
I was one of the folks that just ripped through this exercise each morning… After working through this lesson, I realized I was doing myself no good the way I was doing it before. Thanks for breaking this down – I actually look forward to this each day and I feel it is really helping! Take care…
Hi Logan, good stuff, so many people do this exercise badly and it can be harmful. Pleased you are on the right path and doing it well now. It is much more fun (and less painful/frustrating) this way too 🙂
Great video! Can sure see how the emphasis on technique here will lead to improvement in chords and other areas. Thanks!
Cheers, Jim. Yeah, definitely a good exercise to keep using pretty much forever. It will always remind us of the importance of good technique!:)
Excellent exercise to strengthen the finger movement on the fret and use of right methods
Glad to hear it, definitely a good one, just go super slow and be very, very focused with it for best results. Do that and you will get a lot of benefit from it. 🙂
I have most trouble coming up from string 1 to 2 to 3 etc. judging he distance between the strings 1 to 6 is a lot more difficult for me. On string 6 going down to 1, I seem to have the support or more awareness of the next string below.
It is good you are aware of this, Thomas. Shows you are focused on the movements and the precision needed. If you need to work on the exercise in pairs, going up and down, go for it. Breaking it up like this often helps. 🙂
I really thought I would never ever get to the point where my fingers would not pop! I have always dreaded this exercise . For the past three weeks I have been doing this exercise a little bit each day, listening and following your guidance and all of the sudden I am able to do level four with no popping or pain with my fingers! It’s an awesome feeling! I also have been doing the fret finger stretches you show and they are sooo helpful. I love this exercise now because it does not hurt and my pinky no longer… Read more »
Yes! Well done, Nancy. That is the aim with this. Slowly works as you have shown. It can be a horrible exercise when done the way most people practice it. Really well done, keep at it and now you will get the benefits of it going forward!
I always use this exercise when warming up, and I’ve watched this video three times. There are some great tips like essential finger shaping. I let that slip too often. Starting from the bottom and working up instead of top-down stirred things up too. Thanks, Dan…you da man!
My pleasure, Olin. Glad you are finding it useful. Most people are taught just to play this exercise at speed with no thought to technique! Pleased it is helping you.
This is excellent. As happens a lot with these lessons I found something new where I expected review.
Glad to hear it, Paul. Yeah, that is the aim – try to cement the ideas while bringing new ones in here and there without overloading you!
This is a good exercise Dan. My fingers muscles really felt that they had done a work out. I sometimes lack inspiration so during those brief periods I will fill in with this exercise and make sure I do it at least twice a week.
Good stuff, Gem. It is a great one – just make sure it is not too much like a work out i.e. no straining or anything. Keep it up, and check the video every now and then to ensure all is right. Good work!
Love this exercise
Ace, pleased to hear it. It is a great one!
This is probably the most famous of all the guitar exercises out there. Yet, most people do it in a way that can actually make their playing and their hand issues/pain worse. Ensure you watch the video above to do it correctly!