Welcome to this lesson on how finger combinations work and one of my favorite drills, the Finger Gauntlet.
In this video lesson, we'll be going over the Finger Gauntlet, one of the best drills for building finger strength and dexterity.
It basically systematically takes every single finger combination and drills it in. So once you master this drill, when you're playing a song, every combination of notes will feel smooth and “at home”.
Note: this lesson is taken straight from my Technique Mastery program, so I may reference other lessons from that course.
The Finger Gauntlet Fingerings:
First Finger: 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1
Second Finger: 2 1 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 4 2 3 2 1 2
Third Finger: 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 5 3 4 3 2 3 1 3
Fourth Finger: 4 1 4 2 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 2 4 1 4
Fifth Finger: 5 1 5 2 5 3 5 4 5 3 5 2 5 1 5
Rhythms:
1. Long, short long, short…
2. Short long, short long…
3. Long, short short short long, short short short…
4. Short short short long, short short short long…
PDFs
If you want to print off for this exercise, click the link below to download the sheet music, or if you don't read music download the “Non Sheet Music” PDF.
The Finger Gauntlet (Sheet Music Version)
The Finger Gauntlet (Non Sheet Music Version )
Key points from the lesson:
1. Every melody can be broken down into two note chunks. By solidifying every combination of two note chunks, you'll be able to learn any melody much faster.
2. Practice the Finger Gauntlet using the 4 different rhythms.
3. Go through each finger combination one time with each rhythm and finish with one time normal.
4. Play loud and focus on really lifting and playing each note to build finger independence.
Action Step:
Add this drill to your daily warmup. Do your scales, then run through the Finger Gauntlet drill. Within a couple weeks of consistently doing this, you'll start to see some very noticeable results.
Complete Technique Mastery Training Plan:
Remember, if you're within your first 7 days, you can get access to my Technique Mastery Course 50% off. It'll give you the Complete technique training plan, exactly how to implement it, and exactly which practice strategies to use.
You'll start out with the beginner's section, then once you graduate from that you'll move on to the advanced section. Oh, and right now it comes bundled with Project Captivate free. You can find it here. Or to get your 50% off, go through the link on this page.
See you in the next one!
-Zach
I think I'd have to say the strongest feature of the Technique Mastery Course it's the techniques for faster and easier learning. Rather than just saying “Okay do this a bunch of times”, you give different ways to play to help pick up the technique quicker and easier, allowing more time to work on other techniques.
Lanchan S. – Technique Mastery Course Member