Members Jeff1979 Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Im having trouble relaxing my little finger on my left hand when playing runs, i can keep the other three close to the fretboard but my pinky sticks in the air, so takes more time to get down when its needed.In the Speed Mechanics book it mentions keeping all four just above the fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Im having trouble relaxing my little finger on my left hand when playing runs, i can keep the other three close to the fretboard but my pinky sticks in the air, so takes more time to get down when its needed. In the Speed Mechanics book it mentions keeping all four just above the fretboard. My pinky does exactly the same thing...hovers quite a bit further up than my other fingers. I did worry about this for a while..and posted here for suggestions...which could be summed up as "don't worry about it" ...so, I didn't...I can't say it's actually causing me a problem in that when I need to use it, it gets to the note as quickly as I want ...it's just when it's not being used that I notice it. I think I'm saying don't worry about it unless it's actually stopping you from doing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff1979 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Cool, ive been watching my Paul Gilbert DVD and he does the same, hasnt slowed him down really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 I forget what I'm sposed to say here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Burninator Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Keep your thumb behind the neck and make sure it's not pressing too hard, that's the tip given in speed mechanics as far as I remember. Like others said - don't woory too much about it - if you'll watch enough videos of Shawn Lane, Rusty Cooley or some aother mega-shredder and you'll see that they're not allways keeping their pinky close to the fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jasco Posted December 23, 2009 Members Share Posted December 23, 2009 Don't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scarywoody Posted December 24, 2009 Members Share Posted December 24, 2009 I have a bit of arthritis in my pinky and it tends to act like an axe chopping wood most of the time. I do focus on using it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meganutt7 Posted December 24, 2009 Members Share Posted December 24, 2009 Dude, my pinky flops around like a dying alligator or something when I play fast stuff... I never really worked on the economy of motion with my pinky, but I don't really need to get any faster, just tastier. Know what I am saying? Sometimes economy of motion makes sense and sometimes it makes it impossible to play something that is "sloppier" but has tons more vibe... Check out Stevie Ray Vaughn.... He was pretty technical, but not efficient.... But his FEEL and VIBE and ARTICULATION are a direct result of his lack of regard for economy... Same with Mingus' bass playing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kuroyume Posted December 24, 2009 Members Share Posted December 24, 2009 My pinky is all over the place and hasn't hurt my playing speed, feel, or accuracy (Metallica, Yngwie, EVH, Steely Dan as exemplar). The pinky and ring finger are linked. With time and practice, this can be partially overcome but don't think it can always be completely overcome. As someone online said (long time violin player): It's a mechanical obstruction, and you can't just "practice away" a tendon. Don't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MetalJon Posted December 24, 2009 Members Share Posted December 24, 2009 Im having trouble relaxing my little finger on my left hand when playing runs, i can keep the other three close to the fretboard but my pinky sticks in the air, so takes more time to get down when its needed.In the Speed Mechanics book it mentions keeping all four just above the fretboard. It's entirely possible you're using too much pressure to fret the strings with your other fingers. That was one of the problems I noticed I was having, so I began to consciously work on developing a light touch. Additionally, I worked on it slowly and gradually built up speed. I would watch my pinky and ensure that it wasn't doing anything crazy as I played. If you simply slow things down a bit and make an effort to keep your fingers under control you should see improvements pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulinpoland Posted December 25, 2009 Members Share Posted December 25, 2009 I agree with MetalJon.... I used to watch the antics of my little finger, and tried to bring it under control. It became more controllable after a series of exercises I did paying particular attention to it. Do scales or whatever, but very slowly, and give the little finger a lot of attention....in fact pausing with the flow of the exercise whilst willing the finger to stay close to the fretboard during its action. But I reckon you have to do this with every kind of exercise. Once I had stopped the pinky flipping up away from the board in one style of exercise, the problem reappeared when I started another kind! But I'm sure sufficient determination and perseverance would sort it out, once and for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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