One of the important parts of the guitar is your guitar warm up routine.  I cannot stress to you beginner players how vital it is that you warm up before each play session.  I know that you are excited to get going and learn some songs, but you must understand that the warm up is what’s going to strengthen your fingers, forearms, picking hand and habits.  So always devote some time to warming up, even if it’s only for 5 minutes.

One of my favorite exercises to warm up with is what I will call the 1-2-3-4 step ladder.  I totally just made that up right now because I don’t know the exact name for this warm up.  You can find a similar warm up exercise over at ultimate guitar that I would recommend you try.  But what you do is you start with your fingering hand (the one that holds down the strings) and you place it at the 1st fret (the fret closest to the end of the neck).

You first place your index finger on the 1st fret on the fattest string.  With the string held down, pick that string with your other hand.

Now, the next move is to take your middle finger and place it on the 2nd fret on the same string.  So, you’ll be placing your middle finger next to your index finger, essentially.  Now pick the same string again.  Make sure that the note is ringing clear.  It may hurt to press down, but that’s why you warm up everyday   It is important to get your fingers used to this feeling and to strengthen them.

The next move is to place your ring ringer on the 3rd fret of the same fat string.  Once again, pick the string again making sure that it is ringing clean.  Are you starting to understand the pattern here?  I hope so!  I’m sorry for not providing pictures or videos.  In the future, I will add video.

The next move is the hardest.  You must take your pinky and place it on the 4th fret of the fattest string!  This will be a tough stretch for you, but it is WAY worth practicing.  There are many players that neglect their pinky, which they regret later on.  Do not neglect the pinky.  Learn to love the pain because it will make you a great player

For the next step, you’re going to repeat this whole pattern for the next string.  So take your index finger and place it on the 1st fret on the second fattest string (the 5th string).  Strum it and then move on to your middle finger, ring finger, and then pinky again.

Do this pattern on all of the strings for this warm up.  This is a great warm up that will literally make you a much better guitar player than 95% of beginners out there.  Most beginner guitarists do not practice correctly.  It is important that you do this warm up every day before playing.  I still do this warm up every single day.  I guarantee that you will have great speed and strength within just 1 month of doing this which will make you a great country guitar player.