aren't fingerings dictated by what you're playing and your hands?
+1
I don't see a reason for specifying except as guidelines to aid new players ... or to help us understand how Django might have played it.
-=tension & release=-
How Django might have played it?
Well...interesting to know. But I'll probably play it a lot different- not due to fingering preferences. Due to talent, or relative lack thereof.
I feel like this thread has two principle questions-
Is it important to use the standard fingering?
FOr me, it's not. Most of what I play, I play with several different fingerings, according to where it's at, what comes before, what comes after, or sometimes just impulse and instinct. It's important to be able to use the standard fingerings, though- one more tool in the tool box.
Do you have to use your pinky?
Well...Clapton didn't use his much in the early years.
But...any one of his fingers is worth two of mine. I NEED the pinky. For a lot of stuff. It isn't easy to get it working like a regular finger, but it's coming along. And on the stuff I use it in, I have more reach, more range, and more options. To me, that's the point.
Even Clapton, as he got more musically complicated, started using his.
Best,
Ande
