First steps to Finger Independence

[@robertfantazo4751]

Thank you. You have what I call normal hands like mine there's nothing more frustrating than have a tutorial teaching of a person with 10-inch long fingers. To Barre they use less than half a finger. You give me hope.

[@MerceFont]

hahhaa very true... On top of that, I have seen that big/small handed people need many different adjustments for technique which are barely mentioned, so I'm glad I can help you out there! 🤗

[@burtmantooth8913]

You’re a very skilled musician! I enjoy your lessons a lot. 😊

[@josemiletrodriguezborbon4139]

Practical, succinct, and well-documented exercise! Great Channel, thanks Merce.

[@chuan-kangshih78]

Merce is such a wonderful teacher. Everything that a student needs to know is not only clearly demonstrated, but also thoroughly explained.

[@MerceFont]

thank you! glad my videos are useful to you guys!

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Nice exercise. I'm playing the ukulele but have learned much from classical guitar players. Merci beaucoup.

[@MerceFont]

You're very welcome!

[@JayManWolf]

Thanks for your guidance! Humbling.

[@MerceFont]

My pleasure!

[@JayanthKDass]

You are a very good teacher Merce! All the beginners who are learning from your videos must be grateful to you! God bless you!😊

[@MerceFont]

Thank you! Glad they are useful☺️

[@raylt7]

New to guitar, very helpful, much appreciated

[@mockiii]

Thank you. I am going to try this in my next practice session.

[@markj7924]

I’m finding this exercise very difficult, way harder than it looks, but seeming very beneficial while doing. Thanks so much!

[@anthonymukombwe8177]

Thank you so much Merce. It's just my first time on this channel but already I have learnt a lot really.Love the way you reach.You so calm and composed and above all very clear with what you making effort to convey to us guitar learners.

[@MerceFont]

You are so welcome :)

[@Gr8FriknApe]

I play the piano & keyboard (3 years). I am 3 months into acoustic and electric guitar. This exercise reinforced my need to do this exercise every day until it becomes fluid. Right now, my fingers are "tired" and they shouldn't be (chuckles). It also helps my left hand on the keyboard. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@mostaley5049]

I’ve been taking classical guitar lessons a few months now, this exercise is great. You’re a talented guitarist. Thanks for sharing with us. 👏👏🎼

[@rabendranath]

Thank you very much for this lesson Merce! I always learn something new with your videos. Cheers!!

[@MerceFont]

thanks a lot rabendranath! so glad you found it useful! :)

[@Olyxes]

great exercise, ring finger is quite tricky. Thanks!

[@hemantaghimire1431]

Thank u for wonderful lesson

[@rahuldeshpande3516]

this is a good exercise thank you for posting

[@UndefinedSlope]

Thank you so much for your videos! You are very helpful

[@MerceFont]

You are so welcome! :) Best wishes to you Thomas!

[@vonmilash823]

I’ve been playing for a long time. I’m not formally educated as in classical guitar, but I took lessons for several years as a kid. I know first hand the many difficulties facing guitar players when it comes to the third finger. There have been times when I want to rip it right off my hand. So I watch this vid and thought, that looks too easy. And then I tried it. Shockingly more difficult than I thought it would be! I will work on this and report my findings in a week or so. Thanks for the suggestions!

[@MerceFont]

I'll be looking forward to your message about how is going!!! All the best with it 🤞🏻 and have an awesome weekend!

[@sneekyy1990]

So, hows it going over there :P ?

[@blackieja]

I'm so happy to read that me having problems with my 3rd finger wasn't just a problem i alone was having in this moment in time, but I told myself I would keep at it because I believe it to be very beneficial in the long run💯💯🤔🕊🇬🇧🇯🇲

[@vgfjr505]

I was taught this exercise. At first I founded it really hard but with patience, going slow, and keeping proper technique, I was able to do it. Notice that through out the explanation, Merce kept her fingers separated and properly arched. Also, try to keep the moving finger from touching the adjacent string. This is really important. This exercise helped me a lot with finger independence. It took me a while but it was worth it.

[@MerceFont]

yeah this is something you can do for a while and it progressively gets better, definitely not a kind of exercise to finish within one or two short practice sessions, glad it helped!😊

[@oscarcasusol5312]

Always a pleasure to learn from you, Merce! You are a great performer and a devoted teacher.

[@MerceFont]

Wow, thank you! my pleasure! wish you a great sunday!

[@blackieja]

This is a brilliant exercise for my fingers, but I'm having problems with my 3rd finger, not wanting to move as easily as the others. I've to concentrate on this finger to move its butt and tell my 2nd finger it's had its turn. I'll definitely be using this exercise for a long time because I can see the benefits it will afford me. Thanks for sharing❤️👏✌️🇬🇧🇯🇲

[@joshviggiani9844]

Beautiful sounding guitar and lady. Thank you for the content.

[@ramonejorge8681]

Cheers.

[@makotonidas]

thank you so much!! very helpfull

[@MerceFont]

You're welcome!

[@mikelnavarro69]

Moltes gràcies Mercè. Una abraçada des de Manresa!!! Em guardo el teu video a la meva llista d'exercicis. ❤️❤️😊

[@MerceFont]

Gràcies a tu per veure el video! Espero que et serveixi durant l'estudi :)

[@cabppbac]

THANKS

[@tomb374]

Thank you Merce. Great tutorial. Looking forward to the next one's.

[@MerceFont]

Of course! more to come! have a great sunday!

[@PavanKUmar-zm4nc]

Hello Merce, Thank you 🙏🏻 so much for the lesson. I got a new exercise to add to my practice now. Grateful for the effort and time spent in making this video and for sharing your knowledge and experience. Looking forward for more. Best Wishes!!

[@MerceFont]

Thank you! Keep up the practice and I'll keep up bringing new content to help you with it :) best wishes to you Pavan and thanks for taking time to write here some feedback, it keeps me on track :)

[@eugeniocastillo2424]

Great lesson and very well illustrated. Thank you!!

[@MerceFont]

You’re welcome 😊

[@ramyhassan4393]

Thank you! Really helpful to control fingers and build Independency

[@MerceFont]

nice! glad it was helpful! keep up the practice this holidays and you'll soon see improvement :)

[@pierrebroccoli.9396]

Another good exercise. Pinki easier on my big mitts but then I have other issues. 😁

[@saleemmalik4736]

Muchas gracias por esta lección

[@WCGP]

Hello Merce! Great video lesson. This will be very helpful for me (even with my old hands). Sorry I was not able to watch you live during the premier this morning, other commitment, but thank goodness I can replay it. As always, Best Wishes from California! 🍷🍷🍷 Will.

[@MerceFont]

No worries! Really hope it will be helpful during your practice sessions! :) sending best wishes to you in California!

[@Ayush_Kumar22]

Dude that's a gorgeous guitar

[@nickrobinson2023]

A good foundation is key for accuracy and correct action of the finger placemen. I can see these exercises as being very useful. Am I wrong in thinking that these are wonderful exercises to warm up with? Thanks a bunch for sharing your expertise and knowledge. Much appreciated.

[@kaadhalveri7527]

Great lesson ma'am ! Tq very much for uploading !

[@MerceFont]

It's my pleasure

[@WWS322]

Maybe make a video about repetition in practice and how many hours to play in a day. And I always wonder how many hours a musician has practiced in his lifetime?

[@siberakunesia31274]

izin nyimak dasar fingering yg tak pernah saya pelajari secara intensif

[@CTBlankenship63]

Your instruction videos are indispensable for me learning how to play classical guitar. Please keep publishing these amazing videos. Thank you!!! I do have a question. When I place my right hand as you instruct, my “m” and “a” might as well be welded together. This is a bummer. I guess I’ll keep stretching and see what happens.

[@flaviamuccini5681]

Thank you Merce. I found an exercice similar to that, but it wasn't so effective because there wasn't the passage in wich you set the hand after the movement of each finger.This passage is very important and I found that it makes the difference, so Bravo!!! And thank you so much👏

[@stephenpominski8328]

This is a great exercise!! I just wish my pinky finger would stop being a jerk and get with the program!!

[@Expedient_Mensch]

Muchas gracias, Merce.

[@MerceFont]

you are welcome :)

[@ZIONSCHRISTIAN]

Gr8 lessons Merce...keep em coming!

[@MerceFont]

More to come for sure! 🤞🏻

[@gitarci213]

This channel must be grow , awesome !

[@MerceFont]

I hope so too! :)

[@SS-fs5tw]

so cool.. thank you so much.. can you please do a play along guitar exercise routine and cover every other techniques so that we can follow your video everyday and practice after you.. i know its too much to ask but it will help.

[@ps8716]

Thanks n appreciated your knowledge sharing👍

[@MerceFont]

:)

[@antoniodurao]

Thanks ❤

[@davidha7096]

I'm grossly deficient in my dexterity. This is a great exercise to fix that problem!

[@davidha7096]

Ok ring finger is difficult but getting easier with practice.

[@AlbertoGuitarrista]

Genial el vídeo. Ho posaré en pràctica tan aviat com pugui. A veure si aconsegueixo que el dit petit no se separi tant del diapasó. Moltes gràcies. Una abraçada des de Madrid! 🙂

[@MerceFont]

Genial Alberto!! bon estudi i et desitjo un feliç any nou! Una altra abraçada des de Barcelona (temporalment)! :D

[@breakthelegacy]

Thank you for putting up these super high quality tutorials. So much to learn. I've been trying to get through this exercise for a while now but it doesn't seem to work. My third finger (ring finger) can absolutely not move independently. I've tried and tried. Any hopes?

[@MerceFont]

Thank you for your comment Sara! I will be uploading a tutorial this Saturday to help a bit your flexibility if this exercise is a bit too much of a stretch for you at this moment :) Good timing there! 🙌🏻

[@breakthelegacy]

@@MerceFont thank you. Can't wait ☺️

[@sajiguitarist]

Very good exercise for beginners.

[@MerceFont]

Yes it is!

[@TheAndrej30000]

Great exercise, thank you! 👍👍👍

[@MerceFont]

Glad you liked it!

[@udayanmustafi3963]

Wonderful tutorial..

[@MerceFont]

Many many thanks

[@devanand5031]

It's very useful,thank u

[@MerceFont]

You are welcome Dev! 😊

[@lateshiftx]

as you move the designated finger across the strings to the target note, are the other fingers just in staying contact with g string or pushing down to the fretboard? Either way, great exercise, thank you for sharing it.

[@stefanhansen5882]

Thanks! I first watched your tutorial about right hand technique, using P, M and I. Now I noticed you used your thumb on the right hand here ("chicken picking"). So, I have a question: When is it best to use P, M og I for the high strings, and when is it best to alternate between the thumb and e.g. M? Thanks!

[@MerceFont]

That would depend on where you want to put the musical accents. P tends to be a heavy finger, so if you need to put accents every two notes, then P-I or P-M (whichever feels best to you) can be a good choice. On the other hand, if you are looking for a smooth run of notes maybe I-M, I-M-A-I, or any other combination can get you covered.

[@stefanhansen5882]

@@MerceFont Thanks!

[@genustinca5565]

Does anyone have tips on finger independence etudes? So you can practice it in a more musical way?

[@ivanxxxzzz]

Hello. Thank you for the lesson. Please tell me, can I use these exercises to play the acoustic guitar? After all, you need to hold an acoustic guitar differently. I am sorry for my English.

[@365daysgone]

I've been playing for 15 years. Never actually practiced though and now my fingers are all on these weird angles. My 2nd and 3rd fingers angle in towards eachother causing the tips to always be touching. Brutal trying to re teach NY fingers

[@scottkleyla7752]

Yes Merce, this will be a daily warm up practice exercise.04/01/2022 and yes it is the first recorded in written notes as suggested to keep track of progress of practice exercises. Perfect Practice Equals Perfect Work- old math lesson instruction from GrandFather

[@leuchuy2493]

I offten practice in morning

[@finogoge]

my Master

[@harleygrandpaernie]

Do you have a lesson on thumb independence. 👍

[@MerceFont]

Not yet!

[@Hiro.the.God.]

What if you feel pain in the wrist from doing this exercise? And my ring finger struggles to move.

[@WWS322]

I think you are cool.

[@itskailok]

Wonderful tutorial, I just added this to my collection of exercises to try. Is it bad if my fingers are touching other strings when stretching across the fretboard, especially reaching up to the 5th and 6th strings? I notice your pinky lightly touching 4 and 5 when you are stretching up to that 6th one. I'm curious if that is more of an ideal we strive towards, or a skill level to actually reach.

[@MerceFont]

Dont worry too much if other fingers are touching slightly other strings, these are intense stretches so you wanna focus on gaining mobility. Use some polyphonic excerpt if you want to practice the higher hand position for allowing all strings to sound clean :)

[@itskailok]

@@MerceFont Thank you for the clarity and such a rapid response! I'm a beginner classical guitarist and tutorials like this really go a long way. Keep doing what you're doing!

[@luke7ung]

This is encouraging. My hands are probably slightly bigger than yours, if I do this I may play as good as you one day LOL

[@MerceFont]

of course you can! its just a matter of practice and having a well thought personal development plan and you will get there for sure!

[@luke7ung]

@@MerceFont I don't know Merce, it took me so many years just to get where I am. I don't think I will ever get to your level;) Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it more when I am playing it than listen to a guitarist playing it LOL

[@williamwhittington7294]

Merce of all your exercises this is the hardest, but I am progressing and playing everyday. I can also use my right hand pinki during tremolo, only slower. I have one question, why is it easier to play and perform exercises in the morning, but it seems more difficult to practice later in the day? It seems to take more mental effort. I practice several pieces that are simple, and I try to add complexity as I go. For example, I play Spanish Romance with single note leads, or the melody at 50 bpm. Then I do the traditional piece with trippletts, and finally with tremolo. Is this a good technique?

[@MerceFont]

Hi William! We all have our best times to practice, you might be more of a morning person, I practice amazing from 11pm, we are all different :D Leave the easy stuff for the times you tend to be less focused so you can maximize your practice results :) Also, practicing adding variations and mixing up a piece is a very valid and creative way to practice :) Ideally you want to make the variations adding difficulty in that particular issue you struggle so that when you play as is written it feels a lot easier. Keep up the good practice my friend!

[@PabloSarango-gd7tw]

*TIMESTAMP* Inside each level of the exercise are more detail explanations for practicing efficiently! 0:21 Explanation of the exercise 0:53 Recomendation for the position of the hand *Exercise Difficulty* 2:00 Level 1 3:29 Level 2 4:50 Level 3 6:41 Level 4 8:00 Pinky recomendation for shorter hands 8:30 Final recomendations and outro

[@adhimat526]

Difficull so mucht

[@rhythmgarcha5918]

Ma'am you mentioned the left hand in this lesson but not the right hand. Please tell us how to use the right hand in this lesson and thank you very much for learning something new and good from you.

[@MerceFont]

For the right hand keep it simple in order to focus on the left. You could use for instance index+middle alternation for the trebble strings and the thumb for the bass ones :)

[@jamesemerson4102]

That better not be a wedding ring on that finger

[@adhimat526]

This is good but still practiced

[@plebeiangaming5625]

I'm losing more calories stretching my ring finger than doing cardio. :( When I move my 3, I can't stop my other fingers from tensing and I press them hard on the third string. Is that okay or should I try and force to relax my 1,2, and 4? Anyway really great exercise here!

[@MerceFont]

ahahahahhaa I feel you there! 😂 The best would be to start with control and movement development exercises that make you do some movement but not too much so that you put too much stress on the other fingers 'trying not to move them'. It's difficult to write it all because i would need around 30 to 45min to show you what I mean and make sure you do it right... if you have, please do ask your teacher, it would help you a lot to have somebody coach you through this in the begining :)

[@claudioguerra9287]

Hy.i have a biigger problem of the right finger right hand.it stop when i play

[@muhammadqayyum5004]

What is the backgroundmusic name that was being played during the last few minutes?

[@MerceFont]

just some random youtube library copyright free song that I found, I don't even remember the name.... haha

[@muhammadqayyum5004]

I discovered the title of the music- "El Condor Pasa". I was just searching for the title to find different variations.

[@Free_Falastin2024]

Hi, Merce. I don't know how you move your ring finger like that. From where my ring finger and I are sitting, it looks like sorcery, especially the low to high e transition :/ I tried this for a solid 10 minutes and my ring finger wouldn't cooperate.

[@MerceFont]

hahaha well that's many years of playing and the movement develops. Don't panic! 😂 Just start small, with 2 or 3 strings distance and control it, so that the fingers land always in the right spot. Slowly then increase the distance (by slowly means weeks of gradually moving to bigger extension, not minutes... 😅)

[@christofinb]

I have a problem with the 2nd left hand finger collapsing, my fingers are very rigid and not flexible.

[@MerceFont]

Then I'd suggest you to do a simpler exercise first, with just moving one finger at a time and nothing else on the fretboard, until you secure the movements. Slowly slowly you can upgrade the warm up routine to make it every time more complex and build up finger security, accuracy and mobility :)

[@christofinb]

@@MerceFont Thanks for that. I have changed my practice routine a lot now. I am given to do Segovia scales with minimal effort on the left hand but strong execution on the right. Not accepting fluffed notes only beautiful sounds allowed. Freestyle as well as slow as possible, find this works really well. Will try your exercises perhaps soon. I was definitely pressing to hard with the left hand, had wrong approach to playing.

[@anotherbigfootwithinternet2147]

My ring and middle finger keep on interfering with eachother

[@MerceFont]

pretty normal, try to start with single movements at first. I mention some exercises you can do in my latest video Q&A #3

[@DIYchannel2K3]

Plz send me Q&A #3 link

[@ashas1987]

😘💜💜

[@blankenbker]

what size is that guitar?

[@DanStratocaster1]

This is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I can’t hold my other 3 fingers close the board.

[@MerceFont]

then just remain a bit longer training on strings that you can actually reach and don't rush to enlarge the stretch :) it might take time to build up

[@DIYchannel2K3]

​@@MerceFontMany thanks

[@udayanmustafi3963]

You are so beautiful.. 🥰🤩😍😘

[@ficheye00]

Why in the heck is music playing in the background? LOL!!

[@armanas5401]

my fingers are sooooo lame :( i feel like a horse who is trying to play guitar ☹

[@MerceFont]

Hahaha very normal, I think we all feel like this in the beginning!!

[@guitarviolintr1587]

why tab? The only valid thing in classical guitar is the notes

[@MerceFont]

There is no valid or not, they are both different music reading systems that might be differently helpful to different musicians. In this case, I added the examples in tabs because it's much more graphic than to read high positions with no harmonical context in music notation. Given that is a video tutorial, I aim that everybody can quickly pick up the concepts and benefit from them rather than having people struggle to read a simple exercise. It's only a matter of simplicity. Classically trained musicians reading sheet music without problems use very often such type of graphics and diagrams for technique exercises ;)

[@guitarviolintr1587]

@@MerceFont People shouldn't get used to easy things... good for your labor. :)

[@R_en_B]

Ma quanto sei bella?