The Pinky Finger

[MoeBass6]

What,s Up Yall

I have a hard time making my pinky finger move the way I want it to, I practice my scales and exercises.
When I play slow I can use my pinky but when I try and speed up I lose using the pinky. Any suggestions anybody?

[B3Wannabe]

Just keep at it. That's all you can do.

I've been practicing that along with three-finger technique. I can do it good at a moderate pace now, but not fast, my fingers then default back to two fingers. I start bass lessons next month, so I'll let you know how that goes.

[cleveakabig]

What,s Up Yall

I have a hard time making my pinky finger move the way I want it to, I practice my scales and exercises.
When I play slow I can use my pinky but when I try and speed up I lose using the pinky. Any suggestions anybody?

take yoru thumb and press it against your pinky and hold it als oyou can work all fingers that way.
Also there is a new device to work out all ofyour fingers, you can buy in the music stores

[ladybass]

what helped me break the habit of not using my pinky at all was this:

do finger exercises up and own the fretboard every day.  What my teacher had me do was (A) play the first fret with my ring finger then the (B) next fret with my pinky, (C) then play the same fret again with the pinky and (D) back to the ring finger on the first fret.  Next move up one fret and repeat the exercise (see chart below for visual).  Use a metronome (it's your friend  ) to start off slow and then build up your speed as you work at it (say 60 to 80 to 100 to 120 bpm).

G--1-2---2-1---2-3---3-2---3-4---4-3---4-5---5-4----------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------------------
    R P   P R     R P   P R     R P    P R    R P   P R

R=ring finger
P=pinky
#s represent fret on string

[QuietSoul]

what helped me break the habit of not using my pinky at all was this:

do finger exercises up and own the fretboard every day.  What my teacher had me do was (A) play the first fret with my ring finger then the (B) next fret with my pinky, (C) then play the same fret again with the pinky and (D) back to the ring finger on the first fret.  Next move up one fret and repeat the exercise (see chart below for visual).  Use a metronome (it's your friend  ) to start off slow and then build up your speed as you work at it (say 60 to 80 to 100 to 120 bpm).

G--1-2---2-1---2-3---3-2---3-4---4-3---4-5---5-4----------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------------------
    R P   P R     R P   P R     R P    P R    R P   P R

R=ring finger
P=pinky
#s represent fret on string

I gotta try this later this evening. Thanks!

[Cherri]

Something I learned and worked for me. Hold up your hand in the high five position, practice bending down each individual finger to the palm of the hand ---do it a little everyday****this will break your pinky break from the ring finger . May seem hard at first, it gets easier the more you  practice. You have to break your finger apart for true indepence.  I learned this from the Isotonik System from ballisticdrums.com also comes with an instructional DVD, system definitely works. When I first saw how he was pulling his fingers independently down, I was like WOW! Took some practice and dedication---pride to saw I have finger indepence.

[BassAddict]

what helped me when I first got started was playing the standard shout run using all 4 fingers:

G:---------------------------------------------------------
D:------------------------------------------------5-----------2-3-4-5--------------------
A:----5------------2-3-4-5------------2-3-4---2-3-4-5------------2-3-4-5---
E:-------2-3-4-5------------2-3-4-5--------------------------------

and so on....

Just start slow and work your way up be cause I used to have the same problem until I started playing with my friend in church and he could only play in Eb so when we played uptempo shout music I was forced to work with the pinky...Either that or have my playin sound sloppy and I didn't want that...

[Da Man]

I have a hard time making my pinky finger move the way I want it to, I practice my scales and exercises.
When I play slow I can use my pinky but when I try and speed up I lose using the pinky...

Ha, Ha....This is just weird.  I'm the complete opposite.  When I play slow I drop the pinky out.  When things get fast and hectic, it comes back in to help cover territory...

Da Man

[yazakar]

the only thing you can basically do is practice my dude

[Andrzej]

For some players that have thick, short fingers this is often an issue.  Even some players with longer and more supple fingers also too have this problem.  It doesn't matter either instance...it is curable.  I posted this exercise that I teach my students on another post for a different purpose, but it is also very useful for a 'redundant pinky' problem:

This is a simple ascending and descending scale in the key of A-major that uses the Ionian major mode.  Play the notes with the fingers that I have indicated in red.  Try to keep the movement of your hand position on the neck to a minimum:

        1   4      1  2  4       1  3   4  3   1    4   2   1      4   1
G -------------------------------------------------------------------
D ---------------------------4--6--7--6--4------------------------
A --------------4--5--7------------------------7--5--4------------
E -----5--7--------------------------------------------------7--5-

Now try playing the same scale and mode, but using this shape instead:

        1   3   4   1   3   4    1   2  1   4   3   1   4   3   1
G -------------------------------------------------------------------
D ----------------------------6--7--6--------------------------
A ----------------5--7--9---------------9--7--5------------
E -----5--7--9--------------------------------------9--7--5-

Notice how you have to stretch your pinky a lot more playing the second shape.  You may notice that your thumb arc is a lot more extreme and your wrist is doing a lot more work.  You may also find that your hand position is naturally starting to travel up the neck.  Even though the second method is a bit more laboured it does give you better hand positioning if you want to explore more notes further up the scale and further up the neck.  The first method is better if you want to travel down the scale to play lower notes.

This is another good exercise that I learnt when I first started to play that you may find helpful.  It helps you to position all your fingers accurately and it helps to bring your pinky into the game and co-ordinate it with the rest of your fingers :

        1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4   1   2  3   4  1   2   3  4    1   2  3  4   1   2   3   4   1   2  3   4
G --------------------------------------------------4--5--6--7----------------------------------------------5--6--7--8--
D -----------------------------------3--4--5--6----------------------------------------------4--5--6--7-----------------
A --------------------2--3--4--5----------------------------------------------3--4--5--6--------------------------------
E -----1--2--3--4-----------------------------------------------2--3--4--5----------------------------------------------

You can repeat the same shape by going up half a step each time until you get up starting the shape on the 12th fret.  Once you are comfortable playing this exercise without hitting any bum notes you can then play it backwards descending or ascending up and down the neck using the same fingering, random positions and random strings on the fingerboard...lots of ways...have fun with it!  It doesn't make much musical sense and sounds a little silly when you are playing it, but this is just an exercise to help your finger and hand positioning as well as making use of your pinky.  I still use this exercise as a part of my warm up before I perform.  If you want to watch a good video of this in practice follow this link:  http://www.gospelchops.com/index-2.html then scroll down to VIDEO LESSON - "Bass Exercise" with "Booyah" Richard.  He show's you another practical exercise you can do using the same method I have illustrated.

As you further your playing experience you will start to develop a playing technique that better suits both your physical abilities and your style.  Your hand and finger positioning will alter depending on where you hand is on the neck, what you play and how you want to play it.  As I have said, there is no right or wrong method.  Just be sure you choose a method of playing your shapes and progressions in the way that makes you feel comfortable.  Practice your scales and modes as much as possible and explore all the different shapes you are able to play, but keep your pinky available.  When playing fast it is hard to keep your pinky on the fingerboard and you end up missing notes, which of course is not good.  Practice these exercises slowly at first and gradually pick up the speed.  It takes time and it's also a psychological as well as a physical thing...like using a 5th limb you never had before!  Keep at it...you will introduce your pinky into a lot of your playing before you know it!

God Bless.