Here’s a fun method that I came up with many years ago using legato exercises to dramatically increase the strength and dexterity of all the fingers on my left. I used to have all of my one-on-one students practice this every week.

This is another one of those deceptively simple exercises. And if you don’t spend a week trying things like this, you’ll never understand how important the basics of advanced guitar training are.

By now you should understand what legato technique is. But just in case.. Legato is described as a smooth, flowing manner, without breaks between notes. In this case, we are talking about a series of notes that have no picking in-between them.

Why Legato exercises are important
As guitarists, we usually have one or two fingers that are much stronger than the rest. It’s usually the third finger and the pinky that are the weakest. The following legato exercises will help you get all of your fingers to be equally as strong, while at the same time increasing your dexterity and giving you some guitar riff ideas along the way. Not to mention, if you get in a fight with a Shaolin Monk, you can beat him down, with your pinkies only…really.

(note: H = Hammer-on, and P = Pull-Off. If you need a refresher see Advanced TAB)

There are 5 basic patterns, and two ways to play each one. So ten in total.

Legato Exercises PART A

Using: 1st, 2nd an 4th fingers

A1: Ups
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —5h6h8p Repeat non-stop————-

A2: Downs
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —8p6p5h Repeat non-stop————–

A3: Up/Down
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —5h6h8p6 Repeat non-stop———–

A4: Alternating
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —8p5h6p5 Repeat non-stop———–

A5. Weaving
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —8p5h6h8p6p5 Repeat non-stop——

Legato Exercises PART B

Using: 1st, 3rd an 4th fingers

B1: Ups
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —5h7h8p Repeat non-stop————

B2: Downs
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —8p7p5h Repeat non-stop—————

B3: Up/Down
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —5h7h8p7 Repeat non-stop———-

B4: Alternating
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —8p5h7p5 Repeat non-stop———–

B5. Weaving
e ————————————————–
B ————————————————–
G ————————————————–
D ————————————————–
A ————————————————–
E —8p5h7h8p7p5 Repeat non-stop——-

FUNWORK

Practice each of these for one minute, back to back each day. That should be 10 minutes of steady drilling. Start off at a speed where you can comfortably and clearly execute each exercise. Then increase the speed each day. Also practice A & B sections on all strings of the guitar. Not just the high E.

Since there are six strings on your guitar, try the exercises for 10 minutes on a new string each day of the week. On the seventh day you can rest. 😉

TIP: Like any exercise I share with you, if you rush to play it fast, before learning to play it properly, you will develop the wrong muscle memory. And like a bad habit it will just make your playing sloppier over time. SO please take the time to start off slow, and learn it well, before speeding up.

Final Note
If you practice the exercises above, it will double the strength of your fingers in no time at all. Additionally, if you experiment with these you will discover there are other combinations you can play as well.