Mini Pinky Ain`t that strong

[dirtybluesplayer]

I know alot of guitar players out there don`t use their pinkys so much because of weakness.
Me? I don`t use it alot, i commonly use it on chords and hammering on easy and slow guitar solos, and the rest, all of the above 
Now, lets see who has a spider fingers when it comes to guitar. To the masters, don`t be shy and humble 

[Mocho]

Mine's useless unless for barre chords, nakabaluktot na parang hipon.

[gradual nothing]

.. first of all.. i'm no master.. heheh i just love to play the guitar and i want all my fingers to be in use. but anyways, what i do to make my pinky strong(which is still i'm working really hard up until now), whenever i practice or play the guitar i often use it, even if its hard, i practice legato alot lately, also even vibrato 7 bending techniques.. i let my pinky do his own thing  its really fu*kin' hard and really painful but i like it..hahah actually i just want it to get "use to", until i get complete control of it.

[psychic_sushi]

the only master that ever was here went by the monicker of "choxter", hehehe (where in the world are you, dude?)

google the old Satriani lesson on "flutter power". that's what helped me back when i was a developing playing. after a few weeks legato became my favorite game 

look for Steve Vai's 10 hour (i think this was upgraded to 15?) work out. that'll get you in shape in no time

/end of thread

 

[Lahed92801]

the only master that ever was here went by the monicker of "choxter", hehehe (where in the world are you, dude?)

google the old Satriani lesson on "flutter power". that's what helped me back when i was a developing playing. after a few weeks legato became my favorite game 

look for Steve Vai's 10 hour (i think this was upgraded to 15?) work out. that'll get you in shape in no time

/end of thread

 

This +10,000,000.

[DiMarzSiao™]

I'm no master but I can make HIYAW with my pinky., 

[throwinshapes]

I try to use my pinky as much as possible. Fortunately, it was a habit that I picked up fairly early on. While it's still not as clean as I want it to be, my legato is waaaayyyyyyy better now than it was last year haha. I actually ended up liking the sound of legato more than speed picking in the end.

No mercy pagdating sa fretting hand strength training!

[l1qu1dr4g3]

I always use my pinky and I have an advantage because I'm left handed and I play a regular guitar.

[kaizer]

Me too. but im trying to strengthen it by practicing hammering and pulloffs all the time. im just waiting for the results. hehehe. 

Andy James, its like saying i can do this without using my pinky. although i know his pinky is not weak. but i think he is comfortable using his 3rd finger rather than his pinky.

[tsunamic]

Practice ka lang ng 1234 using all your fingers. Everyday, allot 30 minutes. Tapos minsan kawawain si pinky, I hammer hammer mo.hehe.

[guitarwiz02]

I use my pinky a lot. Thanks to EVH! And to Vai as well! And all those REH videos especially Kotzen's. He he! But if you really wanna give your pinky a good exercise, I suggest you watch and study the style of George Lynch. Lynch is actually known for his extensive use of his pinky despite having not-so-long fingers.

Dissecting Guthrie Govan's style (goodluck! He he!) would help a big deal, too. Especially, learning his "Big Jumps" technique.

Here's George Lynch for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzjtAo60ug

[throwinshapes]

I've also been practicing these kinds of pentatonic lines to incorporate into my fusion playing. Wide stretches really force you to use all of your digits, especially if you wanna play super clean legato like Tom Quayle does here. Result is you get some really neat fusion-y sounds that open up the fretboard tremendously, letting you break out of the usual minor pentatonic boxes you use.

[KASALANAN]

pedalpoint style ala yngwie malmsteen. sureball, mararamdaman mo yun paglakas ng pinky mo bonus nadin yun muscle memory ng scale

[dirtybluesplayer]

Daming masters na naglitawan, i'm so glad di kayo tumanggi
BTT: i use my pinky through legatto and appregios, but not as good as famous guitar maniacs, i'm proud i can use my pinky kahit puro sabit, ika nga nila, walang imposible kung kagustuhan mong gawin

[laurenconrad]

si guthrie kahit mga simple lang at hindi mabilis na hammer ons mahilig gumamit ng pinky. gayahin lang.

o kaya mag gitara ka lang araw araw na involved ang pinky. mga isang taon magaling na pinky mo.

[dirtybluesplayer]

I just remembered my ring finger is too much hard(matigas) when i was starting to play guitar, tapos habang tumatagal, di ko napansin na nag o auto bend na siya ng strings hanggang na master ko na siya, si pinky kaya naman, pero pag pinag bend mo si pinky, wala na puwersa, pero madalas ko siya gamitin sa hammer on at chording    yung ibang player kasi na gusto ko tutukan sa ngayon ay mga kagaya ni zakk wylde but not as fast as that, what i want in him is his easy access on strings up and down

[maniacally_cool]

when im in workout mode, i do all the premutations of the 4 fingers.
2 sets on all frets & strings (one going up the board and one going down.)
5 reps each permutation on each string & fret set.
making sure that each fretted note is as clean as possible.

pag tinatamad, my slow warmup would be Every breath you take by The Police. 

[fizz450_03]

same here my pinky is not yet that strong but what i do to make it better is to just use it...very useful for legato playing tapos hilig ko pa style ni satriani..........

[tonwins11]

I'm left handed but I play like right handed players do. I use the pointing and middle fingers, and pinky a lot. The problem is, when I make fast repeating licks, wala na minsan sa timing. I use my middle finger and pinky for hammer ons and pull offs. I tried to solve that problem, it was then that I've realized na dapat pala yung ring finger yung mas gagamitin ko for fast repeating licks to which, most players do (basing on what I watch on youtube). Mas nasa timing pag yun gamit ko. But still, involuntarily, yung pinky yung nagagamit ko.

Well, parang i have a strong pinky and a weak ring finger. hahahaha... 

[DiMarzSiao™]

when im in workout mode, i do all the premutations of the 4 fingers.
2 sets on all frets & strings (one going up the board and one going down.)
5 reps each permutation on each string & fret set.
making sure that each fretted note is as clean as possible.

dito din ako nasanay.,  what's good about this is that, you can do this exercise while watching TV...

pag tinatamad, my slow warmup would be Every breath you take by The Police. 

or the 1st part of guitar solo and the outro of Floods by Pantera.

[Poundcake]

Use the Gripmaster. It worked for me. Once your fingers are physically strong enough, PRACTICE.

[makkkkk]

Use the Gripmaster. It worked for me. Once your fingers are physically strong enough, PRACTICE.

sir Poundcake salamat po sa info,
ngayon ko lang nalaman yang gripmaster.
Ang practice ko lang po kasi sa pinkie finger eh sa matataas na action na electric guitar o bass ako nagpapractice, yung pwede nang sampayan yung string sa sobrang taas.
yung praktis method na ginagawa ko pinkie at ring finger lang ang ginagamit, two notes per string tapos string skipping.

Gusto ko naman itry ang Gripmaster.
Saan po kami pwede bumili nyan??
salamat po ulit


.

[Poundcake]

sir Poundcake salamat po sa info,
ngayon ko lang nalaman yang gripmaster.
Ang practice ko lang po kasi sa pinkie finger eh sa matataas na action na electric guitar o bass ako nagpapractice, yung pwede nang sampayan yung string sa sobrang taas.
yung praktis method na ginagawa ko pinkie at ring finger lang ang ginagamit, two notes per string tapos string skipping.

Gusto ko naman itry ang Gripmaster.
Saan po kami pwede bumili nyan??
salamat po ulit


.

No problem!

Ang alam ko binebenta ng JB yun dati ah. Wala na ba dun?

[Gunslinger]

I use it most of the time for riffs. More variations, less hand movement, less noise, more fun.

[tahty1910]

Maybe some finger independence issue?!

I always thought that pinky finger is strong, its the ring finger that sucks, that the pinky finger tend to make tension when ever ring finger is used, due to ring finger's weakness.

There might be a sympathetic tension going on to your pinky and ring finger.

Also try to center the thumb to put more leverage when using the pinky finger specially on legato.

I'm no master but i think it might help.