1234/4321 finger technique

[nvranka]

When I practice speed, like almost everyone else, I go up and down the chromatic scale all over the fretboard, and do variations etc...(just like from all the vai/etc articles).

my question is: when I go 1234 or 4321, should I be removing each finger from the note, before I play the next note? or should I leave them on?

take this for instance...

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

(i only put it like that if u guys didnt get what I was saying...sometimes I say things in a way that makes sense to me but no one else lol.)

anyways...when playing that, when I play the 1-2-3-4 I just leave my fingers down, and then I play the 4-3-2-1 it just depends if im there already or not, but sometimes I have all 4 fingers down and lift one off for each note.

is this the wrong technique?

I'm really technique oriented, but I am self-taught...so you know how that goes...

just looking for other opinions from people more knowledgeable than myself.

these are speed exercises..so keep that in mind.

[Axewielder]

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

When I play a run like that, I only have one finger fretted at at time. The reason is that when you get to finger 4, if finger 1 is in the air, it can get to the next string and next run faster.

[TheAmazingBlob]

I'm self-taught as well, but I would lift up your fingers as you do the first 1234 and then put them back down again for the 4321, not just leaving them there as you go. But hey, do what works for you, there's no "right" way.

[delt]

Most guitar teachers would agree that it doesn't really matter if your finger(s) behind the one playing are still fretting the notes, or still just touching the strings, or not. The important is to keep both your hands relaxed, and do the same movements when playing slow or fast.

Also try out different note orders like 1324, 2413, 1432, 3142, etc. Very good for the left hand. Odd # of notes per string is better for practicing alternate picking tho.

[Shibs]

Yes... it doesn't matter entirely... but I will tell you this! If you do ensure that your fingers come off of the fretboard before the next note is played, it will teach you to be faster while doing more advanced string skipping speed techniques later on. Your will be training yourself to be ready for a tougher technique later on!

[Special-K]

I do kinda like a wave movement..
I play like this:
1 then I play the second note and my 1st finger is still one..
Then I play the 3th note and my 2nd starts to leave the fretboard...
and then I just pop the 4th on it and the 3th starts to leave

[Digitised]

I have never used this technique at all in 10 years, i have seen it and known about it but if i spot a picking weakness i just play that shape until i fix it rather than working an odd phrase over and over.

I guess everyone is different, but ive always relied on scale practice and clarity rather than metronomes and atonal patterns.

[Spivonious]

I keep the fingers down whenever possible. It's wasted motion to lift them up again. It's also what all three of the teachers I've taken lessons from said to do. I believe it helps keep your fingers in the proper position.

[Digitised]

Its very shape dependant though, you can leave you fingers over 4 frets if you a the sort of guy who mainly uses the 2 main (as in those double octave) major/minor shapes.

I have found opening up to wide scales and 'wider' scales really gives you better leverage for things like grouped note runs as well as getting up and down the fretboard and increasing interval ranges.

I might post some shapes i use later, it would help me to have them written down for practice purposes and mind mapping the shapes.

[anuske9]

I think you're putting too much thought into it, as it really depends on what you're playing. It's inefficient *to lift your fingers* if you plan on using just one string, but mandatory to playing the others. Sometimes however, if I know I'm going to repeat something (9-5-9-5) I might keep a finger down.

[shredmonster]

I think you're putting too much thought into it, as it really depends on what you're playing. It's inefficient if you plan on using just one string, but mandatory to playing the others. Sometimes however, if I know I'm going to repeat something (9-5-9-5) I might keep a finger down.

Agreed.

[sonicsamurai]

go beyond 1234 4321. there's 24 ways fo playing those frets. try 2314, 4132, 1324, 4231, 4312, 3412, 2413 etc. they work great for ur fingers. pick em and do em legato too, and across 2 strings
32 23
14 41 etc

if u have good technique you shouldn't take them off before u've hit the next note, ou should hit the next note and remove ur fingers. its very important to technique.

i would also suggest doing these excercies for technique as much as speed. its just as important to be able to play em slow and articulate. good for building up strength in ur fingers too. they aren't just speed excercises. they also ingrain a different way of playing a scale and also playing across 2 shapes withpout juts running up and down the scale

[Sunbane]

I have classical training on the violin, and my teacher taught me to keep the fingers behind the "fretting finger" down. However, the only purpose this serves, is to keep track of the positions, since violins are fretless. When I started teaching myself the guitar, this carried over into my guitar technique - and in my opinion, it's hampered my playing for a long time.

Even before I read about people recommending lifting the fingers, I noticed that I sometimes had problems getting around to fretting new notes quickly enough during runs.

When I consciously started to try and lift each finger (that wasn't fretting a note), I also automatically started using a lighter touch. This decreases tension in the hand, and that alone increased my speed and accuracy quite a bit.

[sonicsamurai]

dude i used to be exactly the same after a decade on the violin!!

[zeegler]

I've found that sometimes, practicing chromatic runs can actually cause problems for me. I still do it, but I've had instances where my fingers are so accustomed to playing a certain pattern, that when I try something new that's a little unusual, I have to play it over and over to train them to do the new pattern.