TERE A VERSION of a finger-inde- pendence study a guy named Alf Cormier showed me about 14 years ago, and ‘that appeared ina slightly different form ina Bob Baxter Guitar Player column back in February of "75, A friend of mine, Andy Brakas, teaches high school and uses this ‘exercise a part of his beginning guitar class. Its relatively simple, bur its applications are many. This is what it looks like: egcce Ifyou star at the bottom and go all the way to thetop, but skip playing the open Bstring, it's chromatic scale climb through the first position—and, you're right, it suredoesn't Sound like much. But, man, i's useful Alfie's version was to put all four fingers down on, say, the 4 string. Then choose any ‘other string you like(the more masochistic youare, the farther youstretch— initially, justtry moving one sing over), and individ ually move one finger at atime overto that other string, Thetrick is of course, to keep allfingers down, in place, and in control at al times, Youcan vary the game by changing. the order of finger movement: say, 3, 1,2, 45 then2, 4, 1,3, or whatever. (This is strictly for lefhand independence, so don't even worry about picking just yet—thisis something you ‘could do while siting around watching TV.) ‘Bob's version in "75 was the opposite. He suggested that you locate and anchor the thumb for first-postion fingering, then slam the digits down one at atime, never having RIK EMMETT ‘gm, BACK TO BASICS Chromatic Finger Exercises up the neck and repeating the exercise in onder o develop speed and accuracy in ine fering single note lines. gave seminar at Andy’sschoola while backand tookadvantageof thisexeriseto introduce some other techniques through variations onthe theme Hammer-ons Pick the open sting(say, the Eyorsinth),thenhammer” down your Istfinger atthe Ist fret hard enough to ake the F nots ring out without picking the String. Then piek the Fnoteand hammer down the 2nd finger atthe 2nd fret ofthat, Sinth string to produce the F& note, ete Initially, thehammer-ons sound morelike slurs, Bu i's a start ata very important ‘spect of modern gitar plying, and event- Ally the goa ifr the hammerons to und a loud a picked notes Pall-off Start with all four fingers down in place, fretting slong the string, Pick the 4ti-finger note then snap or pul off that string withthe éth finger hard enough (0 make the note being held bythe 3rd finger Fingout (without picking the string. Pick the 5 then pul of thos picking the string, ste. This eatoughieandawkwardat firs, but the trengthin those fingers wllcome, and with ct command of another new and ‘seful echnige. Other variations onthe original sale include up-and-down ight ‘hand picking and alternate fingering eg, open, 2nd Is 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd, nextsting open, back tthe thon the original string, next string Ist finger, and startup henew string repeating the pattem (Stating withthe open 4 string. forintance, this would ead: BAG CB CE CDC D}—upawhole-tep, down a hal step each ime) lementary and junior high) are wonderful ‘and worthy of alot more widespread recogni- tion, Students are more willing and eager to conscientiously study music because they relate tothe guitar as a vehicle so wel: Ithas ‘modern cultural and social status, and pro- vides relatively easy way for abeginnerto achieve musical results (vis-a-visa violin or French horn, for example, which ae difficult to sound good on initials). "The guitar offers many musiceducation advantages: Itsnatural apabilitiesinelude ‘chording, melody, harmony, counterpoint, ‘and vocal accompaniment; plus it's portable and has real ensemble and group potential It offers practically all of the benefits ofa piano ‘education without the huge expense and the logistical problem of static practice and performance locations Treally want to urge interested parties to approach department heads at schools (use the ammo provided here!) and broach the {dea of guitar programs. Quality literature for courses of study are proliferating, and most teaching staffs nowadays have some- ‘one with at least elementary guitar skills. Or ‘what about programs where ambitious local private eachers rotate through the district's Schools? These propositions are all well within even today’s shrinking budgets and might even be deficit-financed by enlight- ‘ened parents “There's no question thatthe guitar isthe ‘most popular instrument in our culture today. [think it'simportant that kids who sight turn off to a traditional music educa- tion bereached, and all the self-taught axe- | slingersshould also getexposure tocorrect technique, sight-reading, theory ang har- ‘mony, and music istory (llth benefits ofa ‘comprehensive, uitar-oriented educational program), because these fundamentals hold such promise of real musical results, Govers $15 Les ‘ickguards $30 sent ke ane Order to: CONE@IAY PRODUCTIONS 0. Boxee pas 8078 Inde your mesg ye hl Bre rem Part ag aed Wr Sat Us, Wel erste engrave guia eed potuels of apocaeqeste 112 GUITAR PLAYER/JANUARY 1984 bege | east | $ Toes Wace nae ‘hee ‘sre von ‘Were $6, now just $3 each. nj more than onefingronteboard atone dont know about you, but ihink that" NextmonthOff thesoapbox and back time. 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