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Pinky Question
Hi! I just joined TAC this week, and I think it’s going to be what I need to get me where I’ve wanted to be for so long. I’ve been a dabbler for 20 years, learned to play a few songs, wrote a couple of songs, but I never was very good and was always scared to try things that looked too hard. I never really did any picking or anything, so I’ve been working in the Blues section. My pinky finger just does not want to go far enough into the fret to get a clean sounding note unless I move my hand over, but when I watch Tony and others play, it seems like they don’t need to move their hands to pick on four frets. Is it just me and poor finger flexibility? I feel like even with good pinky flexibility, I don’t know how my pinky is going to get over there without a little hand movement. I don’t have to move it much, and maybe that is what most people have to do, but I wanted to ask what that is/was like for you guys. Thanks!
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6 Replies
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With the big pinky stretch I have found it helpful to move my thumb down to the center of the neck rather than having it rest on the upper edge. That will give pinky and ring more access to 4 and 5 fret blues stretches. Good luck.
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Thanks! I’ll give that a shot 🙂
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Ditto what @MoochasPoochas said. This has helped tremendously.
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I think it is helping me a lot to do that. Thanks for the advice!
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You will also find that the consistency of play and using that pinky through the Monday exercise in TAC will eventually make that stretch a reality. Welcome @TravisB to TAC. You will be amazed how the 10 minutes of deliberate practice will accumulate into success
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Hey Travis @jackietrav12gmail-com , welcome to TAC. We have all found it to be the place that is taking us to where we want to be. Wonderful to be here and I’m glad you’re here.
So, the pinky. Your pinky will get stronger and gain more independence with time. You can even do exercises, like lifting one finger at a time. There are Technique warm ups that focus on the pinky which also help. But, it will happen over time here on TAC because Tony gives us enough variety on a regular basis.
And then there are the subtle things that can make a huge difference. One of the really important ones you have already been told about, to move your thumb down. As time goes on, simply experiment with moving your hand and wrist and elbow around. Adjusting your fingers to find the best spot. That will become a regular part of being a guitar geek.
But more than anything else, right from the beginning, find ways you can make sounds on the guitar you love and simply enjoy making those sounds. That’s the only rule: have fun.
MG 😀
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