I am in the process of adding more chords to my collection after learning my first two, Em and the-wierd-one in the Horse With No Name lesson. Now I am trying to play Stand By Me, which someone posted on here, and the chords being played are G Em C D. C & D are kicking my butt trying to finger them the way its illustarted by Hodge on his beginner chords lesson. Instead of using fingers 1 2 3, I am using fingers 2 3 4 on C & D chords as they seem to fall in place better and they aren't lying on surrounding strings.
I guess my question is alot of the chords I see illustrated often are played without aid of the pink, am I hindering myself in the future by using the pinky instead of the index finger on some of them?
In some cases you are going to need to use that pinky so you might as well practice them using fingers 1-2-3
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I am no expert and only a beginner myself ..But my teacher told me if its' comfortable for me to use different fingers then what is reckamended than do it ..
2,3,4 Fingers by using them later on when you go to learn barre chords you won't have to worry about re-learning how make E chord coz you would only have to add the barre
Here is to you as good as you are
And here is to me as bad as I am
As good as you are and as bad as I am
I'm as good as you are as bad as I am
You'll eventually need to learn multiple ways to play the same chord with different fingers, because what's best very much depends on what chord was before and which one will be next. Practice both versions and use the one you'll like best when practicing songs. By the way, the pinky is by far the least well developed finger with most guitarists so what you are doing would probably be a great excerice for a lot of us. As long as you keep the alternatives open and don't totally neglect the index finger you're doing great. :D
challenge yourself by finding as many ways to finger a chord as possible, it can only make you better
#4491....
Actually sounds like a good thing to me, most people neglect their pinky and it really hurts their playing potential. Build up the strength of your pinky early and your really thank yourself later.
"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante
If you are using those fingers for those chords you will find barre chords easier when the time comes to learn them, so I see nothing wrong.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
In some cases you are going to need to use that pinky so you might as well practice them using fingers 1-2-3
Just to add to that, something which comes up in quite a few songs for example is going from a D to a Dsus4 and then back to a D. All that means in terms of fingering is moving from fretting the 2nd fret of the e string to the 3rd fret and back to the 2nd, which is incredibly easy if you have your pinky free, and quite a bit more tricky otherwise.
I tend to find that for little embellishments like that, it's generally more useful having my pinky free than my index finger. That said, I would agree with all those who said learn both, because there are definitely times where each fingering will be useful.
The C chord is one I usually play with fingers 1,2 and 3, especially in blues - you very often find it followed by a C7 chord, where you're going to need your pinky for the G string, 3rd fret. I always try to keep my pinky free for embellishments...a notable exception being the G chord, wher the first finger can be used to make a couple of extended chords, or the G7 chord.
If you learn every way to finger a chord, you'll find in time than 99% of the time you'll be thinking a couple of chords ahead, and the best way to play a given chord in that situation will come to you automatically....so I'm told!!!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
in genaral, you want to be able to play with no limitations, work on the fingarings tat give you the most problems, you will thank yourself in the long run 8)
even god loves rock-n-roll
