Guitar Warmups / Drills

[StriderShinryu]

For the guitar playing Escapists out there, what sort of warmups / drills / routines do you use when practicing?

I'm not really looking for actual lessons or anything, I'm more looking for somewhat fun ways to work on my dexterity and fretboard familiarity.

Also, any particular sites worth recommending for someone who isn't exactly a stone cold beginner but is still a far from accomplished player? There are a ton of guitar sites out there but most I've seen either try to be everything for everyone or are notably more aimed towards the more experienced among us.

 

[Instinct Blues]

Learn scales and then just play through them with a metronome.

 

[SovietX]

I would suggest practicing scales. Theres also a really simple warm up which I like to call the "Crawling Spider"

Simply go anywhere on the fretboard eg. 4th fret
Now strum and move up to 5th fret and strum.
Move to a diferent string and repeat.
Keep doing this with all strings, gradually increasing in speed.
Do so for about a minute.
I know its not a crazy skills warm up but it wakes the fingers up. Works everytime for me.

 

[Lybs]

Working up and down scales on the guitarneck till you come full circle are always a good warm-up and Arpeggios are quite good to but the technique i prefer is just playing any song you know of the back your and then transpose it with either a clam or without it like play Enter Sandman first in standard E minor and then change it to D minor and then F# minor.

 

[thedeathscythe]

Scales, scales, scales, scales. Eventually, when you get really efficient at scales, try learning to sweep pick. To do it, pick the notes of a bar chord going from bottom to top, sweeping your pick. The trick is, you have to let go of the previous note before you pick the next one, so it sounds like one fluid transition. Once you reach the top, sweep backwards. Sweep picking is a very difficult technique (I mainly use it for metalcore/deathcore playing, but I'm sure you could find any uses for it. It makes for a killer solo), and practically the only way to get it down is to practice the hell out of your scales. Once you get really efficient at position your fingers for scales, you should be sweep picking in no time.

EDIT: Didn't see you were an amateur (imo, that's not an insult, it's above beginner but not quite intermediate). Nevertheless, scales! Memorize them, practice the hell out of them. If you're up to it, try sweep picking after you have your scales down.

 

[BonsaiK]

For the guitar playing Escapists out there, what sort of warmups / drills / routines do you use when practicing?

None.

"Warming up" anything at all is a silly concept to me. You might as well just jump into practicing whatever it is that you want to practice and forget the "warmups", because the actual stuff you're working on will "warm you up" anyway. It's like warming up your car, which is equally stupid. You can let it idle in your driveway for a minute or two, or you could use that minute or two to actually get somewhere you want to go with your car, and by then it's warm anyway and you're closer to where you wanted to be.

The exception is if I'm just about to go on stage, in which case I'll warm up with something I'm going to play when I actually get on that stage, just to make sure I'm ready to do it and haven't forgotten anything important.

 

[Hashime]

Well first I heat the guitar using a heat gun and some blankets to get it at the right temperature. I find a regular cordless drill to work quite well, though a drill press will make a straighter hole.

My sister just plays, no warm-up.

 

[CptRumGuy]

I don't always use a "warm-up" but when I do, I find that Losfer Words by Iron Maiden (if you like them, of course) is a great warm up for all of your basic techniques.

 

[Cazza]

I check it's tuned. Strum some cords then get into it.

 

[MetalMaz]

For the guitar playing Escapists out there, what sort of warmups / drills / routines do you use when practicing?

None.

"Warming up" anything at all is a silly concept to me. You might as well just jump into practicing whatever it is that you want to practice and forget the "warmups", because the actual stuff you're working on will "warm you up" anyway. It's like warming up your car, which is equally stupid. You can let it idle in your driveway for a minute or two, or you could use that minute or two to actually get somewhere you want to go with your car, and by then it's warm anyway and you're closer to where you wanted to be.

The exception is if I'm just about to go on stage, in which case I'll warm up with something I'm going to play when I actually get on that stage, just to make sure I'm ready to do it and haven't forgotten anything important.

I disagree, warming up a car is important (well, the engine anyway). I'm not going to get into the technical details, however I do believe you are right about jumping in and just playing. I play scales before anything else, but that's my personal preference as it does loosen up my fingers (I have poor joints) and also has the effect of drilling it into my skull.

Basically I'll warm up with the scales, then fingerpicking then sweep picking before playing what I wanted to play.

 

[skitzo van]

Always warm up before playing or you could end up destroying a tendon, for me I a few chromatic thangs, play Eruption, and the riff from I Can't Play The Blues. I don't advise the last part though, since the riff takes some pinky strength and hand stretching, I have big hands so stretches are easier.

 

[MisterGobbles]

For the guitar playing Escapists out there, what sort of warmups / drills / routines do you use when practicing?

None.

"Warming up" anything at all is a silly concept to me. You might as well just jump into practicing whatever it is that you want to practice and forget the "warmups", because the actual stuff you're working on will "warm you up" anyway. It's like warming up your car, which is equally stupid. You can let it idle in your driveway for a minute or two, or you could use that minute or two to actually get somewhere you want to go with your car, and by then it's warm anyway and you're closer to where you wanted to be.

The exception is if I'm just about to go on stage, in which case I'll warm up with something I'm going to play when I actually get on that stage, just to make sure I'm ready to do it and haven't forgotten anything important.

Exactly. While playing and learning scales is extremely important, I find that just playing for a while warms me up and I'm a better player 15 minutes after beginning than I was when I started. It's a natural process, and if you normally start off your practice by playing scales, that will warm you up just as well as playing whatever you wanted to be playing for a while.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I've never warmed up in my life...

Call me unprofessional, I just dive in.

 

[Samwise137]

I usually just play but lately I've been practicing some of my favorite intros and solos before I dive into a song. I have poor circulation so warming up somewhat less than figurative for me. If I haven't been playing video games or something immediately prior, my hands/fingers are often stone cold when I start. I sometimes wear fingerless gloves to alleviate this problem too.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Scales, really. They're good for dexterity and the more you practice your scales, the more you know them, and the better stuff you can then come up with. Other than just scales, quite a few Pantera riffs make for good metal-warmups, and the Crossroads solo is good practice too, but I always fuck it up.

 

[Raven's Nest]

Yeah no warming up here either, I simply play what I want to play until it sounds better, then I'm ready...

exercises are a different story. If you want to improve technique, increase speed, flexibility, stretching etc then there are plenty of exercises to be found in guitar playing magazines which are pretty good. I subscribed to Total Guitar for 2 years or so and have a wealth of songs and exercises to choose from, with backing cd's and even videos...

Not that I used them though. I just kept playing the songs I wanted to play and eventually became awesome... Though it's always good to pick up a few tips from other guitarists or teachers who might spot mistakes or faults in your technique and offer some tips. No amount of diy internet learning will make you a great guitarist, only playing more will, and with a band if possible.

 

[TeeBs]

When masturbating, pretend your using your doodle as the top 3 frets of a guitar. Great way to learn the chords.