Warming up before each playing session is essential — consider it the musical equivalent of stretching before a workout. However, many musicians skip this all-important step, viewing it as a chore rather than routine maintenance. ‘Ukulele warm ups don’t have to simply be scales, in fact there are plenty of fun exercises out there that will limber up your fingers before you dig into a practice session.

ArtistWorks ‘ukulele master Craig Chee is here to demonstrate one of his favorite warmup exercises, “Aldrine’s Spider.” Hopefully this exercise becomes a part of your daily practice regiment, much like ‘uke tuning.

The main goal of “Aldrine’s Spider” is to move your fingers in pairs up and down the fretboard, much like a spider’s crawl. “This exercise really does prove that we don’t have as much control over our fingers as we think,” says Craig. “This is really going to break the mold of how we pair certain fingers up with each other.” “Aldrine’s Spider” only takes a few minutes to complete, but after a week or two of daily utilization you will see a dramatic improvement in your finger movements.

Check out Craig’s full video lesson on “Aldrine’s Spider” below.