Does GUITAR Playing Does GUITAR Playing Increase the Strength Increase the Strength

of Fingers of Fingers

Chad Messner

9th Grade

Bellwood-Antis High School

ProblemProblem

Can playing the guitar increase the strength of your fingers?

BackgroundBackground

Increase body strength while holding the guitar and playing. -wikipedia

This is a tool guitarists use to build the strength of their fingers.

HypothesisHypothesis

Playing the guitar will increase the strength of your fingers.

Experimental DesignExperimental Design

Experimental Variable: Playing the guitar

Experimental Groups: Playing the guitar and not playing the guitar.

The Control GroupThe Control Group

Not playing the guitar

Experimental ProcedureExperimental Procedure

1) Subjects do not play the guitar for one week.

2) After the week has passed, record the strength of fingers.

Procedure – Strength TestingProcedure – Strength TestingPut palm at the end of the metric balance and then

push down with your finger tips to get an overall weight.

When we measured the strength of our fingers, we used our left hand. This hand was the hand hitting the frets. I chose this hand because it has more to deal with finger strength. For example, the plucking doesn’t doesn’t apply pressure and move around, it has more to do with the wrist.

Procedure- Strength Testing

Experimental Procedure-Experimental Procedure-Playing GuitarPlaying Guitar

1) Subjects do PLAY the guitar for one weekGuitar had to be played for at least a half an hour, any time of the day.

2) After the week has passed, record the strength of fingers.

Control Variables- GuitarControl Variables- Guitar

1.The same guitar is going to be used throughout the process.

2.The guitar is not going to be played more than once a day.

3.Played guitar for a half an hour each day

4.The same strings on the guitar will be used throughout the process.

5.The tuning of the guitar will remain the same.

Control Variables-Guitar

Also you need to play the same song constantly, without taking a break, playing the melody of the song smoke on the water.

I chose this melody because it was the very first song I ever learned on the guitar and I thought it would be easy for all of us.

Control Variables-Song

You want to push down with your pinkie, ring, middle, and index fingers. You only want to record the fingers on one hand. (The hand that is hitting the frets.)

Control Variables-Strength Testing

Raw DataRaw Data

4989grams 18143 grams 8618 grams

7257 grams 22679 grams 9978 grams

Week 1: Not playing the guitar

Week 2: After playing the guitar

Subject 1 Finger strength

Subject 2 Strength

Subject 3 Strength

To summarize my data, playing the guitar increased the strength of our fingers.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3

Week 1Week 2

Strength of Fingers

Mass in grams

ConclusionConclusion

My data supports my hypothesis by that playing the guitar increases the strength of your fingers.

Also, I found out that people who don’t typically play the guitar have a higher increase than some who does typically play the guitar.

Further ResearchFurther Research

Could have played the guitar longer.

Could have made it 2 weeks of not playing guitarAnd playing guitar. (Over a longer period of time)

Switch the tuning each day.

Put a different brand of strings on.

Measured the strength of fingers in another way.

Gather materials. You will need:

A guitar with strings, an amplifier, a metric scale (measuring in grams), a notebook, a chord (hooks up from the guitar to the amplifier), a writing utensil, and guitar picks.

At the beginning of the experiment you will need to: