Flyaway Pinkie
 

Lately I've been lucky enough to start getting some better gigs ... which is causing me to reevaluate several aspects of performing and overall technique. Toward that end, I've been videotaping myself a lot.

One thing I've noticed that has ... well I guess "horrified " is a strong word ... OK let's say one thing that's bothered me is that I'm right-handed and notice that when my left pinkie is supposed to get out the way for certain faster runs, it seems to "flyaway" to almost full extension as in pointing up at the ceiling. Any wonder I've always felt I could be more accurate? Obviously the closer I can keep my pinkie to the fretboard, the less it has to move, and the more accurate it will be.

When I watch other players, I see their pinkies are curled pretty much in the same position as their ring fingers, or they even drop underneath the edge of the fretboard depending on what they're doing.

Has anybody else experienced this, or taught proper hand technique, who might have some tips on how best to get this flaw under control?

Any and all respones are appreciated.

I use it like I would any other finger so it lies positioned next to my ring finger when idle between uses. That's with either hand.

Could be a number of things (neck position, hand position, thumb position, etc.). Instead of getting the pinkie out of the way for runs use the pinkie during some of the runs. Perhaps just practice fretting sequence 1-2-3-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-... until reasonably fluid.

I had to put real conscious, slow and precise effort into that myself, it is correctable. I did it on fretting sequences as suggested. It still wants to drift but I can focus a little more and get it to behave. You're not alone, I am just as horrified, I tell it "HEY! We're not DRINKING TEA HERE!

Slow down. Waaay down, until you are practicing slow enough to control it.

It's starting to come around. Playing slowly helps as do fingering exercises which I've avoided most of my life. Also have tried rubber banding. Ah, well, better late than never!

The miracle is that I ever recorded anything accurately. You gotta have a lot of "want to" to get parts right with a finger moving three inches after fretting!

What fingering exercises are you doing? I have the same problem with my index finger, mostly out at the low end of the neck. I worked on it before, then decided not to worry and now since I saw this thread.

So what are you doing to fix it?

When I started out playing I used the dominant three fingers for almost everything and hardly used the fifth finger. Eventually as I figured out how to play bar chords I started shifting my technique and now pretty much reserve the index finger for bar chords and play everything else with the other three fingers. It's just a matter of continuous practice to use the fifth digit for also for pull-offs, heavy bends etc but I think it pays off in many ways to use it as much as possible.

duct tape it down