There are literally thousands of exercises and warm-up techniques for the guitar a bass. There are many that are great for beginners who are just starting to get used to having their fingers on the guitar, while others are designed specifically to challenge and grow the technique of more experienced musicians.
But no one has time to learn all those thousands of exercises! Wouldn’t you rather learn a few simple, tried and true methods that can help push your technique as long as you continue to play?
With that in mind, we’ve got a few easy yet effective warm-ups for both the guitar and bass. Each of these exercises can benefit musicians of any level.
Guitar
Guitar Warm-Up 1: Left Hand String Skipping
We’re starting with one of the simplest guitar warm-ups that you can use every day. It begins with your index finger on the first fret of the lowest string.
Next, you “hop” the same finger to the fifth string on the first fret.
Continue moving up one string at a time until you’ve reached the first, or highest string, and then return, one string at a time, to the lowest. Repeat this process on the first four frets each time with a different finger.
This is a wonderful technical guitar exercise that ca seem almost too easy for more seasoned guitarists. If you feel like this exercise is too simple, make sure to pay close attention to the articulation and connection of each note.
Play it slowly and try to make each note connect to the one that follows it, with no gaps in the sound that can be caused by lifting your finger too early.
Guitar Warm-Up 2: Chromatic Scales
This is another favourite guitar warm-up that you can use throughout your career. In fact, this is probably something you started with in your very fist lesson! Chromatic scales can be played in a number of different ways, but let’s start with the most basic.
This can be played with any string, but let’s use the second string as an example. Begin on the open note, and follow it with the notes of frets 1, 2, 3, and 4, played with the index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers, respectively. Once you reach the highest note, repeat the same pattern on the way back down.
It’s simple, uses each pf the fingers on the left hand, and it’s super easy to memorize – sounds like the perfect warm-up technique to us!
Once you’re comfortable playing this on every string, you can combine the patterns and move from the low E all the way to the G# on the fourth fret of the first string. And once you get the hang of it, there are plenty of combinations and permutations of the same basic pattern to try.
Guitar Warm-Up 2: Accent Patterns
If you’ve been following along with us so far, trying out our suggestions, your left hand has probably gotten quite a workout. This warm-up technique is designed to give you better control of over the accenting of notes no matter how they’re struck, and what the notes before and after them do.
It’s an easy concept. All you’re going to do is play a group of 2 to 10 notes with certain ones accented, or played more loudly, and the rest kept at a more quiet level.
Start simple. Play a group of two notes, and accent the first one with the second played more softly. Repeat this pattern until you’re comfortable and can do it without focusing on it.
From there you can try more complicated patterns!
Bass
While the above techniques can easily be adjusted for the bass guitar as well, we have a different suggestion for the bass players (and of course, these can also be adapted for the guitar as well!). Try going through this checklist before each practice, jam session, or performance to stay healthy and avoid injury:
Stretch Before and After
Stretching before and after every time you play is just as important as an athlete stretching before physical activity. Think of it as warm up and cool down periods.
Start Slowly and Progress
When you’re learning something new or challenging, start slow, and build of speed to give your muscles a chance to properly warm up – avoid strain from doing too much too fast. Doing this can help reduce the stress we all put on ourselves when we can’t play something as well as we would like the first time around.
One of the advantages of starting slowing and then building speed is that it helps ease your muscles and joints into the activity. Without it, they’re much more likely to lighten up and get fatigued. This goes hand in hand with the fact that practicing more slowly helps build your muscle and motion memory, which makes it easier to play later on.
Start at the Top
A lot of bassists like to start their warm-up routine at the nut and run scales, working their way up the neck. Instead, try starting at the top of the neck – by the pickups – and work your way down towards the head stock. This can help increase blood flow and stretch your hands and forearms in a more gradual manner. Starting where the distance between the frets is smaller and working your way to the larger spans makes it easier on your muscles before you actually start to play.
Pay Attention to Pain
This is a big one for both guitar and bass players. When stretching before you play, you need to know the difference between healthy stretching and painful stretching. Stretching is a good thing – pain is a warning sign. Whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of “no pain, no gain.” That sort of “advice” isn’t helpful to anyone, musicians or athletes. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong and needs to be changed. Pay attention to any pain you might feel, assess your technique, and make and changes you need to avoid future problems.
What techniques do you use to get yourself warmed up?