Do you use your pinky?

[Kap'n]

First thing I correct on a new player is to make the open G chord using the pinky on the sixth rahter than the ring finger. They bitch, and then I make them swtich chords from G to C to G to Am to C7 and they become pinky converts pretty fast.

That is still my weakest point. Somebody before me scratched out the 2,3,4 on my Mel Bay book, and wrote 1,2,3 on the G chord.

Thirty years later, I still play the chord wrong 95% of the time.

[Offshore Angler]

That is still my weakest point. Somebody before me scratched out the 2,3,4 on my Mel Bay book, and wrote 1,2,3 on the G chord.

Thirty years later, I still play the chord wrong 95% of the time.

Well, you can do the Texas G!

[Kap'n]

Well, you can do the Texas G!

What's that? Thumb on the sixth string, deadening the fifth, and index on the first and second?

[Offshore Angler]

That is still my weakest point. Somebody before me scratched out the 2,3,4 on my Mel Bay book, and wrote 1,2,3 on the G chord.

Thirty years later, I still play the chord wrong 95% of the time.

Kap'n thats a good example though. Did you ever notice that when you watch great players they seem to have a real economy of motion in their hands regardless of how technical the peice?

To me it's like shooting pool. At first all you worry about is putting the ball in the pocket. After you get better, you realise that where the que ball ends after the shot is just as important.

Like going from a 123 G to a 123 G7. That's A LOT harder than going from a 234 G to a 123 G7.

Same applies to using all four fingers in soloing, IMHO.

[ES350]

I met Guitar Junior when I was in my teens and he showed me how to bend with my pinky but back it up with the ring and index finger...

[refin]

For what?

[68Bassman]

The pinky gets no break. I use mine all the time, although it was harder to train than the other fingers.

BW

[jerryjg]

..only in the stinky.

[FrankJohnson]

I use my pinky A LOT......

On guitar....for stuff , but in Bass....ALL THE TIME!

I have fairly narrow hands, probably not more than most folks...but not a wide hand at all...

I make up for the lack of normal reach on bass with my pinkies.....which must be fairly strong at this point becaus of all the extra they have to do. Not proper form, but funtional.

If I had ever bothered to learn ANY proper form, I am sure my playing would be cleaner.

[NTBluesGuitar]

Well, I'm pretty dexterous in general, but I have small fingers, so when I got started on guitar a few years back, I knew I needed to keep my pinky in the mix.

Since I like jazz and blues a ton, it's a good thing. Hard to play good 13 and 9 chords, or any rich chord with extensions, with a weak pinky. But try doing Message in a Bottle, Every Breath You Take, or any Andy Summers riff without your pinky (unless you have Robert Johnson-length fingers) and you risk an injury.

Honestly, for me, it's one of those "Hell, I've got a pinky, may as well make sure I use it" sort of things.

As a trumpet player all those years, there was a weird consciousness about the tendons between the ring and pinky finger though. Try the exercise of touching index finger to thumb, middle finger to thumb, ring finger to thumb, and pinky to thumb in various and quick patterns. You'll always want to pull your pinky along with the ring finger in those...just one of those anatomical things. When playing trumpet, the pinky is anchored in the lead-pipe clasp, so doing any third-valve fingering thing makes you aware of your pinky and having to physically compensate for that; so I've had that muscle memory thing in my head anyway.

Not to say there's anything wrong with not using the pinky, but whenever I watch Clapton, I feel weird seeing him do some things with his ring finger where I'd go with the pinky.

Of course, there's the variable of everyone's finger lengths in realtion to the other fingers. There are those people with longer ring fingers than index, and vice-versa which adds a whole new twist on things. I bet folks like me with a longer ring finger than index finger use different left hand approaches than others (assuming you're a right-handed player).

In the end, whatever gets you there is what's good!

[stratcat55]

Yep, always used my pinky. I hang my slide on it too.

[delae30]

I don't know how you could not use your pinky?? Some blues players really like to play those pentatonic scales with just three fingers and get those nasty pull off and hammer ons, but for chords and major or minor scales the pinky is a necessity. As previously mentioned 9's, 13's, Maj7 are all chords I use a lot, and require that dreaded pinky.

I think a good way to develop Pinky dexterity is to just play the chromatic scale up and down each string as a warm up. Its pretty tough at first, but it will really help your speed and dexterity. There are also tons of variations on this most simple finger exercise that I found have really opened up the neck for me.

[NDRU]

I was just watching a Robben Ford instruction video, and he said he wanted to use his pinky more, and he ended up using it more than any other finger (but supported by his ring finger) eventually

I use mine, but it's noticeably weaker, and bad for bends & vibrato

[Coque]

I've been using my pinky for chords and single-note runs since I was 15 years old. I use it constantly 'cause that's how I was taught to play.