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At the start of the song, Georgy Girl, there's a riff. I found the music very hard to play, so I memorized it, and now I play that riff at the beginning of every single session, and a couple of times during the session. I can hear, and feel, the difference as my fingers limber up during the session. I also converted the music to one octave lower, and practice that too. I'm not putting that riff here, the particular song doesn't matter. Just use a riff that's hard for you – the point is to practice it all the time until it gets easier. Another riff I use is from the Paul Revere and the Raiders' Song, Kicks. I practice that often (not every session), in different keys. I never had the music for it, but was able to figure it out by ear, and now can figure it out by ear in the different keys. So it's actually an ear training exercise, as well as a finger exercise. I also practice the beginning riffs from the Beatles' Birthday, the Beatles' Day Tripper, and Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. I have figured out some of Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn, and Monty Norman's James Bond Theme, and regularly practice those riffs. I've also memorized Johnny River's Secret Agent Man (the initial riff, as well as the rest of the song), and play it in several different keys. I've memorized the opening riffs of the Stones' Satisfaction and Paint It Black. The point of riff exercises is this: Pick parts of songs that you like to play. Pick parts of songs that give you trouble. Memorize the parts, and play them a lot. Play them at the start of your practice session. Play them at the end. Play them between songs. Shift the riffs up or down an octave. Play them on different strings. Move them to different positions along a string. Eventually the riffs will become easy and natural. |
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