3 daily exercises to improve DEXTERITY & STRETCH (+Free PDF)

[@ryansenadeera9770]

I play this 3,4 month now. I regularly do that finger exercise .

[@scottkleyla7752]

Made it at 7th fret stretch. Indiana 05/30/2022- a year of perfect practice to work perfect.Thank you Maestro!

[@Ruby_The_Dog]

Thank you

[@robertominjares228]

I am a beginner on the guitar. I have been practicing at home for about 30 days. During this time I have seen various exercises for the right hand from other classical guitar teachers. However, I recognize that this exercise by Merce is difficult for a beginner, but in addition to skill and flexibility, it helps with finger mobility for changing chords. Other exercises like the "spider" seem monotonous and boring to me, however, this exercise seems interesting, challenging, and very complete. And the exercises that can be added (degrees of difficulty) to it seem excellent to me. I had lost a bit of interest in having boring exercises, now with this one I have become interested in moving forward. Merce, I congratulate you for your ease in explaining and your dedication to teaching in an interesting way to all of us who are in the desire to learn to play the guitar.

[@tomference4618]

..I will go slowly, thank you!

[@guitarviolintr1587]

you are a wonderful human being

[@hedonistdeepak2634]

U r as sweet as C note of C major scale.❤️💕 Explained very nicely.. 👌👌😊

[@MerceFont]

Hahahhaaha thanks!

[@samnam715]

I’m preparing a warmup routine with all your technique videos

[@MerceFont]

Awesome! :)

[@joelpenazzo7248]

Great channel Thanks for your great videos

[@MerceFont]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@timjohnson3080]

Awesome! Adding this to my warm up routine. Done some stretching exercises before, but this brought some new twists..so to speak. But, you really weren't kidding about the stretch between 2nd and 3rd fingers. That one is definitely a bit....challenging.

[@MerceFont]

it is indeed! Just be careful and build up stretch slowly. I'm sure you'll see improvements in no time! :)

[@timjohnson3080]

@@MerceFont - Thank you! Yep..already after a few times, it is getting easier. Thanks!

[@GGthestoryteller]

Your fingers move flawlessly,I am hopeful that someday mine will also move like yours ❤

[@HuynhDuan303]

Tks so much. I’m very lucky to know these exercises❤❤❤

[@DrJohn-rl9zg]

Thanks so much for the videos! You are so very talented not only as a performer, but also as a teacher. I started working on this exercise and found it very helpful. For the right hand I have tried some of Guilliani's arpeggios, but what I am finding very helpful is tremolo practice while working on the stretches for the left hand. The tension from the stretches makes it difficult for the fingers in my right hand to stiffen up. No doubt it is a mental thing - all of the tension in my body becomes focused on the stretch.

[@pauldarville3843]

Thanks!

[@brysluc1]

Thanks

[@davideperotti4336]

Grazie! Esercizi sempre interessanti!👍

[@MerceFont]

Grazie mille Davide!!!!

[@burtmantooth8913]

Thank you very much for all that you do :) 😊

[@Garyplayer7]

Thanks Merce !!👍

[@MerceFont]

Thank you to you too for watching! :)

[@WCGP]

Hi Merce. I missed the live chat, but I just watched your video now and I think it will be very helpful for my "old" hands. Best wishes from California, Will

[@MerceFont]

Hi Will! yes, I missed you today! I'll be happy if the exercises help you get back some flexibility. Let me now how they work out for you :). Best wishes from the other side of the world!

[@johnlay3040]

This is very useful. Thank you. ❤

[@sjmousavi8754]

What an amazing angel. What a groundbreaking tutorial.Thanks.

[@MerceFont]

Thank you SJ!! 🙏🏻

[@stephenmichalski2643]

I'll say it again. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE these exercise/instructional video's you do. While to some they might seem basic in a sense.......even though I've played for decades.......never had any formal training......so in a way for me it's like rediscovering the instrument anew.....or getting back to one's roots. Really having fun with them.......lately been doing them on a different guitar almost everyday of the week......guess I could do do if I used my electrics.....but haven't been much into them since discovering classical and your channel/site. Anyways.....having tons of fun daily. THANKS! Luv ya💖😃🎸💖😃🎸💖😃🎸💖😃🎸💖😃🎸💖😃🎸

[@MerceFont]

Thank you Stephen for your kind words! Indeed this exercise is very simple, I like to combine more dense tutorials with simpler ones, stayed tuned for next week, Im working of part 2 of damping techniques and this one will be a bit more demanding.... :D As Patron you will be able to see it soon in the MFA Forum :) keep up the practice and I wish you a fantastic Sunday!

[@stephenmichalski2643]

@@MerceFont My level of playing ability kinda flattened out after awhile as when playing electric I was always doing the stuff I loved and had taught myself.....never having a instructor until now I didn't really know any improving exercises except those I made up from time to time though didn't really practice much.....just played.....so even the basic stuff is fun to me. Always look forward to anything you produce. Have a wonderful week!!!💖😃🎸💖😃🎸💖😃🎸

[@arthursteenkist2595]

Thanks Merce! Super excercise! I'm working on the Em/G -> E/G# pinky stretch in HVL etude #1 atm, so this is very helpful. Sorry I missed the live chat!

[@MerceFont]

No worries at all! I'm sure this 'heavy duty' type of stretching exercises will help you with that! 😊

[@KoshNaranick]

Thank you, big help! also, if you could also show what your right hand is doing as well in these it gives a more complete understanding .. visually.

[@MerceFont]

Sure thing! I didn't have a second camera to record both back then... but will do for sure in future videos!

[@christamayo2143]

Muy buenos consejos . Gracias maestra.

[@MerceFont]

De nada, un placer! :)

[@mabblers]

Great lesson. Very helpful. A tough exercise but needed.

[@hisroyalpimpnesssirisaacal7044]

Thank you! This will help me. I'm getting old and my hands require more warm-up time.

[@MerceFont]

Having a good routine to keep your hands fit is indeed very important! Happy I could help!! :)

[@robertfantazo4751]

You seem to know how to take it right to the root of the problem. Gracias

[@clivegilmore9598]

Excellent advice/coaching 🤟🏻

[@EEEHAGY]

Thank you!!!!Had joint issues that are now gone and am gonna go at it again.Love your sincerity.Wish you great success and maybe another online student.lol

[@RafaelElizondoClasesdeGuitarra]

Fantástico video! Lo comparto

[@MerceFont]

Mil gracias Rafael!!!! 🙏🏻😊

[@tomb374]

Great video. Thanks Merce🙏👏👏👏

[@MerceFont]

Glad you liked it!

[@hokahey8051]

I like it!

[@PavanKUmar-zm4nc]

Greetings Dear Merce!! Once again, thank you 🙏🏻 so much for this wonderful video. This is going to be in my daily practice from today. I tried the exercises, and could only do the first basic step, with difficulty. Hopefully will get better at it and improve. Have a wonderful weekend and best wishes to you always!!

[@MerceFont]

You will definitely get better, is very normal to feel super stiff the first days you start playing such flexibility exercises. Let me know how it develops in about a week or two :) best wishes to you!

[@terrythomas3755]

Thank you.

[@MerceFont]

You're welcome!

[@williamfernandesdias5379]

Thanks for the class! Left hand openings were being quite for me to do in some pieces, especially on chords withs bars. Hope this will help the flexibility of my fingers!

[@MerceFont]

Best of luck William!

[@gregoryboyce6871]

I will give this a try. Thanks Merce.

[@MerceFont]

all the best!

[@gregoryboyce6871]

@@MerceFont I think I'm going to need it. Lol.

[@jaybo234]

Love it, gracias!!! xo

[@l8sk8r86]

Great exercises, thank you so much for sharing!

[@MerceFont]

You're so welcome! :)

[@وهجالضحى-و9ت]

Amazing thank you so much

[@MerceFont]

You're welcome 😊

[@Ten2More]

Thank you!

[@michaelmascarenhas1281]

Thanks merce, for this wonderful video,, now it is my routine

[@MerceFont]

You're welcome 😊

[@JP-lr8rr]

thanks!

[@mauropasserino9007]

Gracias, muy buenoo

[@bskt8919]

Probably too advanced for me at the moment, but thank you for sharing this!

[@mishanguyen7023]

Love you

[@gilferreira2869]

Gratidão!!

[@zu0832]

Your exercises featured some nice jazzy harmonies. Was that intentional? Do you play jazz?

[@MerceFont]

hahaha I can imagine, some of this positions might fit in certain harmonic runs. But no, I don't play jazz :D

[@adhimat526]

Difficult enough. Mss Merce (ind)

[@Wildmutationblu]

I didn't know that my guitar playing ability depended on what I eat. Should I eat more fish so I know all the sacales? (pun intended)

[@RobertDougherty-sd7bv]

I play guitar also. I will add fish to my diet also. Thanks for the tip.

[@freespeech3]

Lol

[@TroyLink-c7l]

Do sardines count, it is all I have 😂

[@gilson_]

Comenzaré a estudiar estos ejercicios gracias Merce 😎... mi manos son muy pequeñitas y siento que les falta flexibilidad a mis dedos

[@MerceFont]

Sii, flexibilidad siempre es un tema a desarrollar poco a poco :) buen estudio!

[@RobertoMartinez-kv5tp]

Muy buen ejercicio ✔👍

[@MerceFont]

🙌🏻

[@adhimat526]

Thank you (ind)

[@tigranayvazyan5974]

I'd suggest widening the gap between the 2nd and 3rd fingers last, since they're usually the hardest to separate from each other. Just my two cents..

[@lawrence1960]

I had mastered these on my electric, great Petrucci vid, but on a classical not easy…

[@MerceFont]

Absolutely... the alternate pick its so smooth and so much easier than i-m.... 😵‍💫

[@lawrence1960]

@@MerceFont thx for the response. I will be signing up soon. I just need to clarify my goals.

[@user-himenes]

Should we eventually move this exersixe to lower position? Or fifth is enough?

[@MerceFont]

You can of course move down until the first fret, this is just for developing finger stretch, so if you can eventually play it comfortable until the first position then it will be time for you to upgrade to a new and more challenging one :)

[@tomb374]

this is tedious work... the stretch between 2 & 3 doesn't go so well. I think it's a great exercise and will get me the results I want if I put in the work. Thanks Merce...

[@MerceFont]

You can do it!

[@manushprojatirshopnno3672]

Classical guitar and spenis guitar ar same basic?

[@josemariafitenavarro5279]

Thank you Mercé. 4yourinfo, the link provides no pdf, it gives a negative message "We Couldn’t Find This Page Check out some of the other great posts in this blog." Better check it

[@MerceFont]

Hi Jose Maria! Thanks for the notice, indeed there was some delay. Now the page and the download links are available :)

[@josemariafitenavarro5279]

@@MerceFont Thank you very much. I'll keep an eye on it

[@lawrence1960]

I do the Abel carlevaro series daily…similar, but not as big a stretch….

[@MerceFont]

One always have to be cautious with stretches, there is no need you do too big stretches for your hand if your repertoire doesn't ask for it :)

[@ramyhassan4393]

Merce, I have a question about this exercise. It seems to me, that your index and pinkie are little not bending enough however stings are not muted :))) I noticed also as if you are doing barre when you stretch your index. By the way, your name in my language is Rahma ))

[@MerceFont]

Hi Ramy! Rahma here! (haha cool, I didn't now you had a translation for my name in your language!! 😃). Answering to your question, my index seems like doing a barre but it's not, I do lower it quite to the limit to maximize my reach/flexibility but I don't set any barre down.Building a good position and movement of the left hand comes in the most handy just in these kind of moments where the hand needs to adopt a very odd position to play something without buzzes or muting undesired strings. Then one can gain a lot of stretch just by using the most efficient movement rather than just forcing your stretch mindlessly.

[@ramyhassan4393]

@@MerceFont It's Arabic which has more than 8000 common words with Spanish by the way :)) . Thanks again for reply and sorry for asking so many questions

[@MerryMonarchButterfly-vu1el]

How. In. World. To. Keep. With. All. That. Or. Slow. It. Down

[@danielhendriksen9232]

If you eat rubber bands, it helps with finger stretch.

[@pikapikasenpai4675]

I can do stretch 1 and 3 just fine but stretch 2 is just so hard for me. what should i do?

[@MikeLyncheski]

FYI: It was difficult to get the PDF from most browsers due to marketing scripts being blocked by the browser. I was to get it to work in Firefox but only in PRIVATE mode. Regards

[@MerceFont]

Good to know! I have no troubles on my end with any browser but glad you figured it out :)

[@RJTUNES]

Hi Mam I am not able to do 4th variatio ..as i do my pinky touches the string right below

[@MerceFont]

Don't worry too much for that, this is a flexibility exercise not positioning. One does technique to deal with one technical issue at a time and not all of them together :)

[@RJTUNES]

@@MerceFont Ok Mam !thanks for help...and i want to tell in these three days this exercise has been improved very much

[@josex6240]

Por favor en español??

[@MerceFont]

Hola Jose, ya me gustaría poder hacer contenido en los dos idiomas pero no tengo tiempo material para hacerlo todo doble. Quizás algún día hago algún que otro en español, pero en general lo hago todo en inglés ya que gente de una gran variedad países lo puede más o menos entender, aun que no sea su lengua materna :) Un saludo y feliz Navidad!

[@Ana_crusis]

Merce i downloaded the pdf but it's in tabs.. i don't read tabs. I dislike them. I read music . I know i shouldn't complain about free stuff🙂 but maybe you could put things in tabs and standard notation?

[@MerceFont]

Hi Khasab! Funny you mention that because this PDF is the only one that includes tabs alone given the simplicity of the exercise it makes it a lot easier to read (all the other PDFs have staff+tabs). Tabs are great pattern based exercises and many times we use other types of notation rather than music when a graphic type of notation is faster to overview. Unfortunately this is the only version of the PDF available at the moment.

[@Ana_crusis]

@@MerceFontHi Merce, it's ok I just thought I'd mention it .I never use tabs myself.

[@TroyLink-c7l]

What a beautiful little woman. Look at those tiny hands. Love little women.

[@angelderaphael4849]

You're so cute