right handed finger style - pinky?

[amyFB]

I came from piano to guitar and thought I was short one finger for really easy guitar playing!

in any case, way back in the beginning, i assigned my thumb to the two low strings and gave each remaining finger one of the other strings.

so yes i use my pinky mostly on the high e string. sometimes it jumps in to play the b string if i've got a lot of 'stuff' going on in the piece i'm playing.

i have a teacher now who would really like me to stop using the pinky, and give the thumb three strings to work. And get my thumb out in front of the other fingers (not tucked behind like i taught myself),. and train my fingers to return to 'home base' of whichever three strings I'm using for the 'top notes' of the chord voice.

it's hard as heck to relearn this kind of stuff, but, i am persisting, because, after a few weeks, I'm at least/at last feeling the love for the change in thumb position.

jury still out on the pinky loss.....

yours in tune,
amyfb

[TBman]

Why does your teacher want you to stop using your pinky?

[amyFB]

Originally Posted by TBman

Why does your teacher want you to stop using your pinky?

I think it is mostly because it is how he was trained and how he plays and therefore how he teaches.

My pinky plays the high E mostly, the pad side plucks up, the nail side flicks down; the thumb does the opposite on the low E and A strings. It's just what seemed to work for me.

I am always looking to improve my playing, and if there is merit in this "lose the pinky", then I'm sure to find it after some time in the woodshed.

But I have to admit that it seems more productive for each finger to have as much string to itself as possible, so that's my primary argument against the change.

Ok, back to the practice room with me!

yours in tune,
amyfb

[Bern]

If the right notes come flying out of the box who cares how many fingers are used.

[jthorpe]

Originally Posted by Bern

If the right notes come flying out of the box who cares how many fingers are used.

+ freakin' 1

[TBman]

Originally Posted by amyFB

I think it is mostly because it is how he was trained and how he plays and therefore how he teaches.

My pinky plays the high E mostly, the pad side plucks up, the nail side flicks down; the thumb does the opposite on the low E and A strings. It's just what seemed to work for me.

I am always looking to improve my playing, and if there is merit in this "lose the pinky", then I'm sure to find it after some time in the woodshed.

But I have to admit that it seems more productive for each finger to have as much string to itself as possible, so that's my primary argument against the change.

Ok, back to the practice room with me!

yours in tune,
amyfb

Yep. Probably all of his exercises are notated with i m a and he doesn't want to rewrite them,

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by TBman

Yep. Probably all of his exercises are notated with i m a and he doesn't want to rewrite them,

Hi Barry...

I had a student who came to me to learn a particular technique I teach, and he is a thumb-n-four player. I worked with him for several months, and recommended he switch to thumb-n-three.

He could play notes thumb-n-four just fine, but his string balance changed, and in all the months I worked with him, his 1st string (pinky) never was loud enough to balance with the rest of the fingers.

He could play loud enough with slow and deliberate exercises, but as soon as he started playing actual pieces, the notes on the 1st string dropped to about 60% the volume of the rest.

He was aware of it, but practice as he would, it never gained the proper balance. But he was great when he'd play the same pieces thumb-n-three. Hence my recommendation.

Thom Bresh (Merle Travis' son) has a DVD on his Dad's thumb-n-one finger picking, and he can explain it and even play thumb-n-one till he stops thinking about it and then he reverts to thumb-n-three.

Thom is an amazing picker, and had thoroughly adapted and integrated all his dad's original pieces to thumb-n-three fingers. I'd imagine if a thumb-n-four finger player has all the techniques worked in then it would be simple to adapt to any music, and there would be less shifting of the plucking hand around the string bed.

If I were Amy I'd probably tell the teacher I'm going adapt all the exercises to thumb and four fingers unless he/she can show a good reason not to. And if the teacher is unyielding, then a new teacher would possibly be in order.

[Random1643]

All 5 bare fingers picker. Got some other bad habits related to right (picking) hand position, string muting strategies,... Self taught at the age of 12 - and probably coulda learned from others smarter ways to play, but I'm 60 now and happy just to play and sing.

[ffinke]

Originally Posted by Bern

If the right notes come flying out of the box who cares how many fingers are used.

Classical players use the PIMA assortment and they might get the pinky in the resquado technique but the reason most people don't use the pinky is that it is, by far, the weakest finger available. My last classical guitar instructor (head of guitar dept. at U of MO, KC) always said "make it easy on yourself". If you can get sufficient volume out of your pinky... do it.

[jersey]

When I first started playing fingerstyle I planted it all the time, but I've been gradually bringing it into action depending on the tune.

[815C]

Here's a video from last night where I was hanging out with some friends playing some blues. Around 0:50 on the video there is a good view/example of my pinky finger being used.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater

I didn't consciously use it - just noticed it saw some action when I viewed the video.

I'm a planter. Pinky on guitar, thumb on bass (except when I slap).

[amyFB]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

... but his string balance changed, and in all the months I worked with him, his 1st string (pinky) never was loud enough to balance with the rest of the fingers. ....the notes on the 1st string dropped to about 60% the volume of the rest.

That's the best argument in favor of dropping the pinky that I've seen, so far.

I'll put that under the "work smarter, not harder" advice column.

yours in tune,
amyFB

[Bern]

Originally Posted by 815C

Here's a video from last night where I was hanging out with some friends playing some blues. Around 0:50 on the video there is a good view/example of my pinky finger being used.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater

I didn't consciously use it - just noticed it saw some action when I viewed the video.

Like I said, you do what you have to do, even if it's subconsciously.
There millions of guitar players and everyone has his own technique based on his physical makeup.

[rogthefrog]

I don't understand instructors who tell students not to use the pinky. Even in classical. It's absurd. You have 4 perfectly good fingers, but somehow you're only allowed 75% of your potential? By whose decree?

I use the pinky. All the time. You should, too.

Sorry about the rant, I've just been exposed to a lot of stupid myth and idées reçues about guitars and "proper technique" (whatever that is) lately it's taking me over the edge