GuitarCardio – Work Out Those Fingers!

As a rhythm guitarist, I hate playing in funny keys such as F# as it usually involves lots of bar chords, which gets the left hand tired really quick.  I usually resort to sneaking a capo in when no one’s looking, but I know some would just tsk at me disapprovingly, and tell me that I need to build up my finger/hand strength.

But I digress – what I really wanted to talk about was a site I stumbled across called GuitarCardio.com, which according to the author, is a:

Practice tool that keeps my practice sessions and warm-ups fresh and challenging. I tell it what keys I want to work in, what scales I want to practice, and how hard I want the exercise to be, and I get a customized practice regimen on the spot.

These exercises are supposed to increase the accuracy and speed of your fingering, while helping you learn scales in different keys at the same time.  It allows you to vary the difficulty as well, and choose different types of scales and keys to practice in.

What you end up with a is series of tab sheets that will keep you occupied for a few minutes.  Do this each day and you’ll be banging out those scales blindfolded in no time!

How about you?  What is your daily or weekly practice regimen?  How frequently do you practice, and how long do you go for?  Do you concentrate on technical playing and scales, or just hit the songs or solos and let your fingers work themselves out?