AT .. As I stressed in bold letters, stop immediately if you experience pain. The exercise is recommended by some of the most renouned teachers, John Knowles being one. There is a definitely a fine line between pain and discomfort, and you have to be the judge when it goes from being discomfort and being painful. Start by going only a fret or two and build up gradually. You will eventually be able to go much further down the fretboard than you ever thought you could.
When I was playing regularly, I would use these exercises as part of my warm-up along with playing some six string scales for finger dexterity. I am returning to this regimen now that I have started playing again.
I totally agree with Bob that finding alternative fingerings is always the best approach. For instance, I try whenever possible to avoid thumb over fretting, but sometimes it is about the only way. For instance in Kirk's Blackwood Stroll he uses thumb over in several places. Some I play that way, but others I have had to locate a different way to play the bass note with out using the thumb. The first thing I do with anyone else's arrangements is find fingerings that match my style of playing.
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