TAC Family Forums

Share your wins, get unstuck, or see how others use the TAC Method to create a fulfilling guitar life!

  • finger positioning growth

    Posted by amanda e on May 13, 2021 at 9:45 am

    should i, when starting these blues riffs lesson one….use my pinky finger if its faster and more clear or should i use my ring finger even if it doesnt reach, and i have to completely shift my hand?

    amanda e replied 3 years, 8 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • JohnV

    Member
    May 13, 2021 at 11:23 am

    Hi Amanda. I would say, unless there is specific reason to use a particular finger, then I say use the one that is most comfortable for you to use.

    There are times when in the course of a chord progression that uses melody lines you may need to use a certain fingering to move to the next note in the melody.

    The thing I struggle with is consistency. So I tend to confuse myself when muscle memory has not fully engaged.

  • Loraine

    Member
    May 13, 2021 at 2:32 pm

    Hi Amanda – As JohnV stated, use whichever finger gets you to where you’re going. However, two things. 1) We often find that having the pinky free is beneficial for playing the high e string in accompaniment of a chord; 2) Learn the correct way and alternate ways of forming chords and use whichever one fits into a progression and allows you to move between chords the fastest. An example of this is how we play the A major chord. There are multiple finger positionings that can be used.

    I often thought my hands were too small and I could stretch between frets. You’ll be surprised over time at how limber your hands and fingers become and the stretch you can get. I suggest taking the stretching course that is found in the skills section too. It is beneficial to stretch before and after playing, and it will help with those large stretches between frets. You can also capo to a higher fret (such as the 5th string) and practice from that point, because the frets are much closer and it’s much easier to stretch between them.

  • amanda e

    Member
    May 25, 2021 at 8:06 am

    thank you!

Log in to reply.