My Pinky don't Work!

My guitar teacher always guides me away from using my pinky.

I don't have a great reach yet, and tend to want to plunk down my pinky rather than stretch my ring finger out that far, and he's always correcting me on that.

So there may be some schools of thought that discourage pinky-use.

Margaret

It depends on what you are doing. Most people will agree that the pinky is pretty integral, but its a matter of context. For example, to play the first three notes of an A major scale in rooted in 5th position involve a finger stretch that, to me, wasn't readily apparent. For that sort of interval, you are supposed to use the fingering 1-2-4, which is a stretch for the middle finger. But I, like a lot of people, used 1-3-4. I now use 1-2, since it is a bit more even in the long run. Generally, there are set fingerings for scales, etc. which are meant to be most effecient in the long run. But its all a matter of how you practice things As a matter of fact, I probably use my pinky a bit too much! I learned to try to use the same fingerings for passages, regardless of position, and until recently I would play a blues lick at the 15th fret (rooted at the 12th) with my pinky! 1-2-3-4, right? I use my ring finger for that now, but it took some practice.

Muscle memory applies to guitar in a big way, especially in terms of hard stuff. If you want to strengthen the pinky, try trilling between fingers, that is a good way to build strength.

Now that I think more about it, my teacher may have been guiding me away from the pinky and toward the ring finger in preparation for bending, which is probably not usually done with the pinky.

Guess I should pay better attention during lessons, huh? :oops:

Margaret

my pinky has a tiny brain. I use it for open chord embellishments mostly. it reaches two frets.
like you, my other fingers have bigger more dominant brains.

sometimes those suckers have a mind of their own.

I use my pinky all the time, chording and playing lead. I even bend with my pinky with the middle and ring fingers assisting, especially a bend like this down low:



Bend in F Minor Pentatonic

~~~~~
e-------1---------1------------
b—4^(6)-----4^(6)-------4^(6)--
g------------------------------
d------------------------------
a------------------------------
e------------------------------


I do not have large hands, this would be a difficult bend for me using the ring finger for the bend on the B string. But also, I find I can put much better vibrato on a bent note using my pinky with the middle and ring fingers assisting. Just more strength. So I use my pinky for this bend almost all the time.

My teacher said that the pinky is one of the differences between a good and great player. It's funny how there are such different views among teachers.

Wow, 20 years and just now realise?!?!
Though I agree with one of your repliers that it depends on the player. I've noticed that alot of these nu-metal and new rock bands these days NEVER use their pinkies, not for chords (unless absolutely has to) and not for solos.
I taught my rythm guitarist and best friend, Jon, to play guitar about 4 years ago, and yah he picked up really quick and once he got the basics down, he began doing what all guitarist have done or are doing, he began learning songs of his favorite bands. One day we were playing together, practicing, whatever you wanna call it, and I stopped to watch him play, to see if he's developed his own techniques or if he sucked still. Well, he sounded good but I couldn't stand that he never used that pinky, so from that day forward I would jump his ass about it, (not really 'jump' but kind of like griped)
Well, after 4 years of chewing his ass and trying to get him to use that pinky, I realised that Jon got good, while watching play again, I noticed he still wasnt using that pinky. I gave up, he can play with or without it.

Anyway...
I was taught right off to always involve your pink when you can. I was taught this and that and that and this to improve your pinkies strength too.

Though in my opinion the pinky will always depend on the ring and sometimes the middle finger just a little for anchorage, doing power exercises with it about 5 minutes a day will get that pinky caught up with your other fingers really fast.

Dimebag Darrel has an exercise infact, that is made for it. Try this:

Pick a string, I prefer strings 1 or 2. but whatever suits ya.
After you pick a string, put your index on a fret, I use frets above 7 ..for no good reason really.
Now, with your index finger on a fret, begin doing trills, start with index, pinkie, then do middle finger, pinkie, then do the HARDEST ONE.. Ring, pinkie.

By ring, pinkie or middle finger, pinkie or index, pinkie I mean the first finger typed is the finger thats fretting the lower note in the trill, or the base note of the trill... just so ya know if ya didnt.
Anyway..
I'm bored

Later

One of my fellow guitarist friends once told me that Eric Clapton doesn't use his pinky when he solos. I didn't believe him, but after watching Clapton a few times on tv, I think my friend was right! Check out his solo, which starts at 1:15 - I didn't see him use his pinky once!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekHkUYo1g10

I wonder why he never bothered to correct this "weakness" in his playing? My guess is, that he thinks he does just fine without it! And, I doubt anyone has the courage to point it out to him!

CFD, you are right.Its tough to believe how clapton can afford to play those leads without using pinky !