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Lesson 4 of 4

Fretting-hand spider

The spider builds finger independence: two fingers move while the others stay still. It sits at the 5th fret, where the frets are closer together and easier to reach than in first position.

Use one finger per fret: index on 5, middle on 6, ring on 7, pinky on 8. In the first exercise the fingers alternate between two neighboring strings, so your hand "walks" across the neck. In the second, index and ring play a pair, then middle and pinky. In the third, index and pinky, then middle and ring.

Pick strictly down-up, two notes per click. It isn't meant to sound musical; it should sound even, like a ticking clock, with every note the same length and volume.

The most common mistake is fingers flying away from the neck when they lift. Keep each finger hovering just above its fret, ready to drop. Your thumb sits behind the neck, roughly behind the middle finger, not wrapped over the top.

Play each exercise slowly for a minute, shake out your hand, then repeat. Stop if anything hurts.

Exercises

Spider across string pairs

50 → 90 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 5
    2. A string, fret 6
    3. low E string, fret 7
    4. A string, fret 8
    5. A string, fret 5
    6. D string, fret 6
    7. A string, fret 7
    8. D string, fret 8
  2. Bar 2
    1. D string, fret 5
    2. G string, fret 6
    3. D string, fret 7
    4. G string, fret 8
    5. G string, fret 5
    6. B string, fret 6
    7. G string, fret 7
    8. B string, fret 8
  3. Bar 3
    1. B string, fret 5
    2. high E string, fret 6
    3. B string, fret 7
    4. high E string, fret 8
    5. high E string, fret 5
    6. B string, fret 6
    7. high E string, fret 7
    8. B string, fret 8

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Fingers 1-3 and 2-4

50 → 90 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 5
    2. low E string, fret 7
    3. A string, fret 6
    4. A string, fret 8
    5. A string, fret 5
    6. A string, fret 7
    7. D string, fret 6
    8. D string, fret 8
  2. Bar 2
    1. D string, fret 5
    2. D string, fret 7
    3. G string, fret 6
    4. G string, fret 8
    5. G string, fret 5
    6. G string, fret 7
    7. B string, fret 6
    8. B string, fret 8
  3. Bar 3
    1. B string, fret 5
    2. B string, fret 7
    3. high E string, fret 6
    4. high E string, fret 8
    5. high E string, fret 5
    6. high E string, fret 7
    7. B string, fret 6
    8. B string, fret 8

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Fingers 1-4 and 2-3

50 → 90 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 5
    2. low E string, fret 8
    3. A string, fret 6
    4. A string, fret 7
    5. A string, fret 5
    6. A string, fret 8
    7. D string, fret 6
    8. D string, fret 7
  2. Bar 2
    1. D string, fret 5
    2. D string, fret 8
    3. G string, fret 6
    4. G string, fret 7
    5. G string, fret 5
    6. G string, fret 8
    7. B string, fret 6
    8. B string, fret 7
  3. Bar 3
    1. B string, fret 5
    2. B string, fret 8
    3. high E string, fret 6
    4. high E string, fret 7
    5. high E string, fret 5
    6. high E string, fret 8
    7. B string, fret 6
    8. B string, fret 7

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Checkpoint

Move on when you can do all of these.

  • All three spiders clean at 90 bpm for 4 loops
  • Lifted fingers hover just above their frets
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