One of the trickiest parts of playing the guitar is playing notes in the same fret but on different strings. As with most guitar issues, there are different ways to overcome this problem. 

Most often people just practice hard to use a different finger for each note, but you could take the finger rolling approach to solving this problem as well. It is definitely worth trying out – if it’s not your thing, you can always learn something different. 

Finger rolling is a great technique to learn. Image courtesy of simon_music, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr. 

Here are some exercises to help you master this finger rolling technique. 

Practice, Then Practice Some More 

First, you should get the hang of what finger rolling is all about before you move on to more demanding exercises. It’ll take some time, so just keep practicing until you nail the technique! 

Start by playing the notes G and C on the 5^th fret. You’ll find the note G on 4^th string and the note C on the 3^rd string. 

Position the tip of your finger on the note G, meaning on the 4^th string and 5^th fret. As you’ve played the note, roll your finger to note C, which is 3^rd string and 5^th fret.

While you roll part of the finger to note C, you’ll still keep your finger in contact with the 4^th string as well to mute it. 

Play the note C, and roll your finger back to note G. Again, the bottom part of your finger needs to mute the 3^rd string now. 

You can even practice the finger movement without the guitar. Place your fingertip on a flat surface and slowly flatten the finger. Try keeping the tip slightly in the air, while pressing down with the middle part of the finger. 

It might sound complicated and it is – just stay patient. The most important, and the most difficult, part of the technique is the muting part, so pay a lot of attention to it.

Mix the notes and the frets a bit to add more depth to your finger rolling. 

Add the Minor Pentatonic Scale 

Once you’ve made the most of the above practice and developed your finger rolling a bit, you can enhance your technique by practicing with the minor pentatonic scale. 

Of course, you don’t necessarily need to roll the notes, but the practice will give you more of a challenge. 

Here’s one tab you can add to your practice routine. It uses the basic finger position in the A Minor Pentatonic:

————————————   |——————————————–    |

————————————   |——————————————–    |

————————————   |—————————–5——–8—    |

———————–5——-7–    |——–5——–7—-5——–7———    |

——5——7—5——-7——-   |—5——–7—————————–    |

–5—– 8————————-   |——————————————–    |

 You can look at other scales as well and even play them in reverse order. The main thing is to find these note connections and practice them until you get a better hang of the finger rolling technique. 

As mentioned above, finger rolling technique is a nice addition to your practice, but it isn’t the only method of dealing with these notes. Yet, it is still worth checking it out – it might feel a lot easier to master these notes with this technique. 

Quite a big selection of songs use this technique and you’ll quickly discover them as your skills progress. For instance, the Spanish Romance, or Romanza, uses the rolling technique. 

Just remember to practice a lot until you feel comfortable with the technique!