Left Hand Finger Exercises
by Bob Kensinger*
Note: These exercises are written here for banjo but apply to any stringed instrument please make changes accordingly. For lefties these are right hand exercises.
Spider walk exercise:
Put all four fingers of
your left hand on the high D string each one fret apart. For example place the index at
the 5th fret, 
the middle at the 6th fret, the ring at the 7th fret and the little at the
8th fret. Then, at the same time, lift your index and ring fingers up leaving the other
two fingers on the fret board and place (plant) them both, at the same time, on the next
string down (the B string). If you can't lift the fingers at the same time, with your
right hand touch the fingers to be moved so your brain can feel the fingers. Remember lift
and plant. Now lift your middle finger and little finger at the same time and place them
on the B string. Continue alternating these 
two combinations until you
reach the high G string, then return down the strings. You will feel real spastic at first
and your fingers, the back of your hand and your forearm may hurt a little. Do this only a
few minutes a day and in a months time you will be amazed at how your left hand responds.
By the way, this exercise is for creating finger independence, making it easier to grab
chords and change finger positions more quickly. Also this exercise does not include any
right hand rolls so your better half will love this one. :-)
Finger spacing exercise:
Put
your left hand fingers on the fret board high up the neck somewhere (the 12th fret will be
fine) with the index on the D string, the middle on the B string but one fret higher, the
ring on the G string but one fret higher than the middle finger, and the little finger on
the low D string one fret higher than the ring finger. Your hand position should look like
the chord position for a Major Seventh Chord on the guitar. Then, and this is important,
move your index finger down one 
fret not letting the other
fingers move and being sure to have a space between the index and middle fingers. If you
can't move your index finger reach over with your right hand and move it. This is OK to do
as the important thing is to have a space. Follow with the middle finger then move the
ring and then the little. Keep moving down the frets until the you reach the nut. Then
reverse and go up the neck. The important thing here is to have a space between your
fingers as you move them.
At first these two
exercises will feel very strange but will pay off big time.
Good Luck!
