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Pesky Little Finger...

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(@shredhed)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 30
Topic starter  

I'm trying to play the phrase:

E- - - - - - - - - - - - -
B- - - - - - - - - - - - -
G- - - - - - - - - - - - - X4
D- - - - - - - - - - - - -
A-7-8-7-8-7-5-7-8-7-5
E- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It goes really fast and its mainly an excercise to get my little finger stronger. I play the 8th fret with my pinky, the 7th with my ring finger and the 5th with my index. Thing is after I've played the 8th fret my little finger kinda straightens out meaning that when it comes round to playing it the second time I have trouble getting it back to position in time. It's necer posed this problem before but then again I've not really played anything this fast before.
I have been told that this is impossible to solve because both the little finger and the ring finger move as one and it is very rare for someone to move them independantly. Anyone else have this problem? any suggestions on how to fix it?
cheers,

Shredhed


   
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 rip
(@rip)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 42
 

Are you keeping your fingers as close to the fretboard as possible when they are removed? That is something to practice. Most people play a riff like that by swinging their fingers away (due mostly to rushing for the fast tempo). Try concentrating on keeping your fingers right there hovering just above the fret.

How long have you been practicing this little number? Give it some time...

Also, did you start out practicing it slowly? If you are having problems playing it correctly, you are playing too fast. Slow down your metronome or rhythm track and play it PERFECTLY. If you make ANY mistakes, slow it down some more. Once you find a pace where you can play it perfect, practice at that pace for several sessions, before adding a little bit of BPM.

recap: slow down until you play it the way you feel it correct. keep you fingertips close to the fretboard when they are not holding a note.

Good-luck and keep us posted on your progress.

-Rip

Author of "Survivor" - http://www.vaughnripley.com


   
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(@shredhed)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 30
Topic starter  

Ok, thats makes sense. I've only been practising it for about a couple of days, guess I'm just frustrated because it doesn't take to long to perfect the music I normally play. Thanks for the help :D


   
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(@embrace_the_darkness)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 539
 

Rip is right - try slowing it down, and gradually work your speed up, making sure you can play it right before getting faster.

Depending on how you want it to sound, you could play the notes as hammer-on's and/or pull-offs, which might help you speed up a bit.

As for;
I have been told that this is impossible to solve because both the little finger and the ring finger move as one and it is very rare for someone to move them independantly.

I disagree completely - the whole concept of playing guitar is based around moving fingers independantly. After all, if the two fingers could only move as one, it would be impossible to even play a Cmaj chord, as you have to have the two fingers on two different strings at two different frets! It just takes practice to get this individual fingers thing going, especially with the those two fingers. You could try running drills with scales, using all of your fingers in the correct places, to help you develop more flexibility and individualism in each finger.
guess I'm just frustrated because it doesn't take to long to perfect the music I normally play

I find this when learning new, more complex pieces; the good thing about it is it *forces* you to play better, as you might even have to take that next step (in terms of skill) to play what you want. But surely thats better than playing the same stuff over and over just because its become "easy" to you? After all, you'll never stop learning when it comes to guitar!! :D

Pete

ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"


   
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(@hobbypicker)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 62
 

Check out the sample from this dvd (link below), it shows an exerecise that I found useful for developing independent left hand fingers. One additional tip, start out with very little pressure on the strings if you have trouble with the ring finger and pinky, don't bother about getting clean tones until you can move the fingers as you should. Generally you should use no more pressure on the string then just what you need to produce a clean tone, the fingers move easier the less force you use. Experiment a little, and you'll find it's really not much force needed when you place the fingertip right behind the frets, given your guitar don't hav extremely high action. :wink:

homespun.com/prodpg/prodpg.asp?prodID=858&prodType=


   
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(@shredhed)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 30
Topic starter  

wow you've all been so helpful! the community on this forum is great much better than previous ones I've been on.

All your suggestions have been useful. I think the problem stemmed from my old guitar. It was basically a toy with a huge action so I probably just got used to having to press really hard. I only got my new guitar a couple of weeks ago (Washburn X50 Pro, awesome guitar btw) so I'm probably pressing too hard out of habit.


   
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(@embrace_the_darkness)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 539
 

I'm probably pressing too hard out of habit

Ah yes, the "Death Grip" :lol: I used to do this too; just work on relaxing, and whenever you pick up the guitar, take a minute to see just how little pressure is actually needed to fret the strings - if you do this every time you pick it up, it'll sink in without you really knowing, and you'll soon come to loosen that grip.
wow you've all been so helpful! the community on this forum is great much better than previous ones I've been on

YUP! GN is the best around - you'll never need another guitar site now! :D :D :D

Pete

ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"


   
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(@shredhed)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 30
Topic starter  

I found a couple of really good sites to build up finger independance

http://www.harmony-central.com/Bass/Articles/Hanging_Ten/

http://www.uri.edu/comm_service/cued_speech/ringfing.html

http://www.zentao.com/guitar/lesson7/left-hand.html

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

A lot of these arn't specific to guitar but I don't think that matters :o


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

I have been told that this is impossible to solve because both the little finger and the ring finger move as one and it is very rare for someone to move them independantly.

That's sorta true - without training. Every finger has its own tendons, but the ring and little finger tendons meet up in the palm of the hand - all the others go straight through to the wrist. (Here is a website with illustrations of hand anatomy - you can see the flexor tendons meeting up in the illustration on the left in the second row)

So there's a reason it's physically hard to do, and some folks have said for years that it's impossible. Yet people DO it, especially pianists, who are trained early to "lift your fingers".

That actually led to an entire book on the subject of finger indpendence and training in the 1930s: The Riddle of the Pianist's Finger by Arnold Schultz. It's out of print, but a somewhat interesting read if you can find it.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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