Finger strength and finger skills are crucial for musicians. Their fingers must be quick and dexterous and able to move independently.
But what is the best way to strengthen and condition your fingers?
Is it to practice on your instrument? Or should you have a dedicated exercise program for your fingers?
Let’s take a look.
The Traditional Way Musicians Develop Their Hands and Fingers
The typical way most musicians exercise and develop their fingers is to merely practice on their instruments. One specific type of practice that they have found to be effective for this is progression exercises.
On a guitar, for instance, they could play the first fret on the Low “E” string, then the second fret, the third fret, and finally the fourth fret. They could then repeat this sequence with the “A” string followed by the “D” string, the “G” string, the “B” string, and finally the high “E” string. They could then work backwards, going from the fourth fret to the first fret and from the high “E” string to the Low “E” string.
In each progression, each finger could be lifted after playing the note, or held in place until all four notes are played on a given string. The latter approach is better for increasing finger strength while the former approach is better for increasing finger speed and agility.
This type of progression exercise is not limited to the guitar. It could be played on any kind of stringed instrument. And it could be similarly done by playing successive keys on a piano, keyboard, saxophone, clarinet, etc. These exercises are applicable to virtually any instrument.
Although progression exercises on your instrument will help to condition your fingers, it isn’t the ideal way because you are restricted to a single level of resistance and one magnitude of vertical finger movement. This is similar to working out your body with one dumbbell and one exercise. It’s better than nothing, but definitely not optimal.
The Advantages of a Dedicated Exercise Program With a Hand Exerciser
A much better way is to use a hand exerciser and a dedicated exercise program with quantitative and measureable goals. Dedicated exercise programs are the way athletes build their bodies and the best way for musicians to develop their hands and fingers.
The hand exerciser you use is very important. You want the type with individual buttons for each finger. You also want to use the most recent models having variable resistance on each finger and preferably, that have a fifth button so that you can do finger extensions in the exercises.
Hand exercisers are versatile devices and are ideally suited for performing progression finger exercisers.
Their advantages include:
• The resistance can be controlled on each finger, which allows you to optimize every exercise for each finger. By slowly building up the resistance as your fingers get stronger, you can increase finger strength well beyond what you could just using your instrument.
• You get significantly more vertical movement of your fingers. This helps to build strength and promotes independent action of your fingers well beyond what you could achieve on your instrument alone.
• On the new 5-button units, you can do these exercises with your fingers extended, which promotes even greater finger strength and independent finger action.
• Hand exercisers are small, so you can carry them with you everywhere. This allows you to do the exercises any time you have a few minutes to spare, not just when you are at your instrument. This provides many more opportunities to do the exercises, thereby increasing the probability that you will stick to a dedicated exercise plan.
Performing Progression Finger Exercises With a Hand Exerciser
Setup:
The first step is to set the resistance so that it is optimum for each finger. The effort needed to depress a button should be somewhat challenging, but easy enough that you can push the button down quickly without excessive strain. If you are using a fixed resistance unit, its resistance must be low enough that your pinky and ring finger can push down their respective buttons without straining.
Start with lower resistances and gradually work your way up to higher resistances as your fingers gain strength. It is easy to strain a finger, so don’t push it. Use only the resistance that is comfortable and no more.
If you feel pain, stop exercising and lower the resistance. If the pain persists, consult with a physician before continuing to exercise.
When you have the resistances adjusted appropriately, you are ready to grip the exerciser. Form and finger posture are very important to get the most out of these exercises.
Place the thumb below the base of the exerciser and place your finger tips on the individual buttons. The fingers should be upright and as parallel as possible.
Many will find it easier to hold the exerciser with both hands to help maintain it in the correct position. This is perfectly okay to do.
Performing the Progression:
Start the progression by pressing down the first button with your index finger, holding it for 1-3 seconds, and then releasing. Repeat with the middle finger, then the ring finger, and finally the pinky. Then reverse the process, progressing from the pinky to the index finger.
Numbering your fingers 1 to 4, with the index finger being 1 and the pinky 4, this progression would look like this: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1.
Holding down the buttons longer helps to increase finger strength. Releasing them quicker builds finger agility and speed.
As you go through each progression, try to keep your finger tips in contact with their respective buttons at all times and, as you press down one button, don’t permit any of the other buttons to go down with it. You want each finger movement to be performed independently and for your other fingers to remain still as one finger moves. You will typically find these things difficult in the beginning, but performing the exercises in this way greatly enhances your finger agility and independent action.
A typical exercise session consists of 3 sets of 10 reps. Rest your hand between each set. Alternatively, you can switch to the other hand so that one hand is exercising while the other is resting.
To build strength and better finger action, more reps are always preferred over higher resistance. This approach also reduces the risk of injury.
Some Effective Variations:
A variation to further help build finger strength is to hold each button down instead of releasing it through the forward sequence and then release the buttons one by one in the reverse sequence.
A second variation is to change the sequence of the fingers. For example:
• 1 – 3 – 2 – 4 – 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
• 2 – 4 – 1 – 3 – 3 – 1 – 4 – 2
• 4 – 1 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 4
• Etc.
Changing the finger sequence further helps to improve finger agility and independent action.
The last variation is to perform finger extensions, but this requires an exerciser having five buttons.
For instance, to extend the pinky, lock down the fourth button using the metal clip provided with the exerciser and position your pinky on the fifth button instead of the fourth. Then perform the progression finger exercise in the normal manner. This puts additional strain on the pinky, so you may need to lower the resistance so as not to injure your finger.
Extension exercises can also be conducted with the index finger and ring finger by locking down the second and third buttons, respectively.
An Added Benefit of Finger Progression Exercises
Progression finger exercises not only improve your finger skills, but they also help to enhance your concentration. This is a great side benefit of these exercises.
You will discover that it takes a lot of concentration to maintain good form and finger posture and to keep all your fingers still and on their respective buttons as you move through the progressions. Altering the sequence takes even more concentration.
Summing Up
As you can see, progression finger exercises are an excellent way to strengthen and tone up your fingers and to improve your finger skills. You can do the exercises on your instrument, which will give you some additional practice.
However, the very best way to do progression finger exercises is with a hand exerciser where you can adjust the resistances and give your hands and fingers an optimal workout. And, best of all, you can do this at times when you are away from your instrument, such as while watching TV or riding in a car.
As a musician, your hands are important. Just like athletes strengthen and condition their bodies to achieve peak performance in their sport, you must strengthen and condition your fingers to achieve peak performance with the instrument you play. The best way to do this is with a hand exerciser and progression finger exercises are one of the best exercises you can do.
Take Action:
So, don’t let your hands hold you back. Here’s what you need to do:
• Select the ideal hand exerciser for your needs. You can learn how to do that here: The Secrets To Selecting the Ideal Hand and Finger Exerciser For You.
• Check out the Innovease Hand Exercisers.. These are the best available today and are ideal for musicians.
• Order your hand exerciser.
• Once you receive your hand exerciser, establish a systematic hand and finger exercise program and stick to it.