-
5 day blues stretch challenge
Is there anyone who at first thought that they would never be able to do the pinky stretch who eventually could do it? If so please give advice on how to get there!?….
-
3 Replies
-
@BobMallord I would love to know this as well. I’m inches away from being able to do it. Seems impossible that my hand could ever stretch that much!
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Amy V.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by
-
@BobMallord & @avandewater1gmail-com Well, it is possible, and your agility will get better as you progress. My first suggestion is to not over stretch to where you cause tendon damage. I did just that and got tendinitis and tennis elbow from over stretching. I was waylaid for nearly 6 months while I went through physical therapy, acupuncture and injections. So, how to avoid you ask?
1, Stretch before and after playing. If you haven’t taken the stretching course in the Skills section, please do so. Always make sure you’re stretch and your muscles and tendons are warm.
2. Do finger agility exercises. A good one that I do is to start at the 7th or 8th fret. Keep the pinky planted on a fret (do not lift it). Then take the index finger and start at the fret next to the pinky, press down and lift up, go to the next fret and same thing – press and lift, then the next. Do this as far as you comfortably can. Do this for each finger while the pinky stays planted. As it gets easier, move the pinky up a fret and do it from there.
Your ability to stretch will get easier as you move on, but sometimes it is what it is and the stretches are just too much, and if that is truly the case, then you’ll need to find alternate ways of playing certain chords. You can always capo on 5 to practice. You would then just treat the 6th fret as your 1st fret. I often do this when doing scales, or because the stretches for some of the lessons are just too much for my small hands. The frets are narrower further up the neck, so it’s easier to do many chords and stretches.
-
Thanks so much for your feedback! I will give it a try.
Log in to reply.