Technical Exercises #1: Left Hand

This post will be the first in a series of technical exercises to build up on technique and coordination for guitar playing. When played slowly, it also doubles as a warm-up exercise.

This exercise is a common one where you fret one finger per fret. You put each finger down, one after another, picking or plucking each note. After fretting each note, you leave the finger touching the string (pressing it with just enough pressure).
One should try to position the fingers over the fret to prepare for the next note. Ideally as well, the fingers should hover over the frets as close as possible.

At all times, one should keep your fingers and hands loose and relaxed.

Here are pictures of how my fingers look when doing this exercise:


View from the front.


View from player's perspective.


Fretting fingers exerting just enough pressure to let the string touch the fret.


Fretting fingers using too much pressure. Notice the string bending inwards because of the finger pressing too much.

What follows are different permutations for the left hand. I would normally pick one of these permutations and practice one of them for about 2 to 3 minutes when I'm warming up. It is not essential to every single one of them all the time, but it is good to know that you have all these to choose from.

I would either start of the 1st fret going all the way to my highest fret or start at 12th fret and work down to the 1st fret.

Exercises using all four fingers

1234
1243
1324
1342
1423
1432

2134
2143
2314
2341
2413
2431

3124
3142
3214
3241
3412
3421

4123
4132
4213
4231
4312
4321

Exercises using two fingers

12
13
14

21
23
24

31
32
34

41
42
43

Exercises using three fingers

123
132
134
143
124
142

213
231
214
241
234
243

312
321
324
342
314
341

412
421
413
431
423
432