The very technique of flatpicking makes it one of the most physically demanding guitar styles. To play music with dexterity and at the right speed, you need to prepare your hands with proper "gymnastic" warm-up exercises.

In "guitar slang", some of the more difficult stretch and agility exercises for the left hand are called spiders because, when performed at moderate to high speed, the fingers look like the moving legs of a spider.

The following two examples were derived from some of the first spider movements I learned from guitar friends when I was a teenager; they are still among my favorites.

The usual recommendations for this kind of exercise include the use of a metronome and variations in dynamics and pick directions: with all down strokes or all up strokes, with alternating strokes, with "staccato" strokes, with muted strokes, etc...

Enjoy being a Spiderman!

Ciao,
Beppe

Spider Exercise 1


Spider Exercise 2

Photos by Stefano Goldberg.