Spider Drills

Description

This is the only drill I did consistently but it had a huge effect on my development as a guitar player.

Basic Instructions

1. Start high on the fretboard, 9th to 12th fret is a good place to start.
2. Place all 4 fingers on the high E string, one finger per fret.
3. Move your fingers one at a time to the next string, without lifting any of the other fingers as you move each one.
4. Do this until you reach the opposite side of the fretboard, then do it back down to the original string.
5. Do this exercise with all the different combinations of fingers as listed below.

Notation

• Index Finger: 1
• Middle Finger: 2
• Ring Finger: 3
• Pinky Finger: 4

Index Finger First

• 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
• 1 - 2 - 4 - 3
• 1 - 3 - 2 - 4
• 1 - 3 - 4 - 2
• 1 - 4 - 2 - 3
• 1 - 4 - 3 - 2

Middle Finger First

• 2 - 1 - 3 - 4
• 2 - 1 - 4 - 3
• 2 - 3 - 1 - 4
• 2 - 3 - 4 - 1
• 2 - 4 - 1 - 3
• 2 - 4 - 3 - 1

Ring Finger First

• 3 - 1 - 2 - 4
• 3 - 1 - 4 - 2
• 3 - 2 - 1 - 4
• 3 - 2 - 4 - 1
• 3 - 4 - 1 - 2
• 3 - 4 - 2 - 1

Pinky Finger First

• 4 - 1 - 2 - 3
• 4 - 1 - 3 - 2
• 4 - 2 - 1 - 3
• 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
• 4 - 3 - 1 - 2
• 4 - 3 - 2 - 1