Flailing Pinky.
 

My little finger has a mind of its own. It defaults to the straight position when the other fingers are behaving themselves above the fretboard. I still use the finger all the time but it looks messy and it's beginning to bug me and I'd like to address the issue.
There are several YouTube videos on the topic, suggesting it's a common problem, though I haven't found any that useful so far. Anyone else had this problem?

I wouldn't worry about it. In 36 years of playing and multiple learning sessions with world class instructors my pinky has never come up once. And it does some weird stuff at times.

Is your wonky pinky preventing you from being musical? If not, cut yourself a break because really imo being musical is the one true goal.

I also had a pinky finger problem, but it’s with my picking hand. I’m a flat picker and I would occasionally catch my little finger on my right (picking) hand on an odd string and completely mess up my rhythm. I just consciously made an effort not to do that and after a while my finger learned to behave itself.

Yes, I have dealt with it, and in fact I practice training the pinky every day as no doubt it is my slowest finger. Slow might be relative. I’m talking “Devil’s Dream” at 120 BPM, playing four 1/16th notes per beat. I attacked the flailing pinky after watching a Chris Thile instruction video in which he said it was one of the biggest flaws he commonly sees and a severe limit to speed. Or that was my take at least.

You're probably right. It does not make me any less musical, though better practice would likely make for crisper, clearer notes.
I have also been playing - on and off - for several decades, but i have been taking it more seriously in recent years, which is why I've only just started to notice it.

If the little one is doing its job fretting strings but has a dancing style of its own while waiting for its next task, that's not a problem to fix, it's an aspect of your personal style. I say lean into it.

Scale studies. Classical technique.

Of course, using proper form from the outset is optimal - this is the benefit of studying with a teacher, who will correct you every time your ergonomics go astray.

A flailing pinky is a late pinky. It gets to the string after the pick has already hit it. If having your notes sound different depending on the finger is a "style," then I guess the sound of Long John Silver's footsteps is a style, too.

Hi Larry,

OP is talking about his fretting hand pinky.

ljguitar - try reading the OP again ;)

*oops, posted at the same time as above - no snark intended.

For years I had no idea what my pinky was doing when I wasn't using it. And like you, it got to me. The best solution was amputation and now I always know what my pinky is doing.
But really... stop looking at your pinky while you're playing. It's weird and you're going to give your pinky a psychological complex.

Of course there is Django Reinhardt but the fretting hand pinky is a major requirement to be able to play most anything
fingerstyle which involves simultaneous playing of chords and harmony. Make yourself use it and coordination will come.

One thing that helps me is to think of the fretting hand "grip" as pinky-and-down, versus index-and-up. I'm mainly a bass player, and that's fundamental because of the silly stretches you encounter. It's a bit counterintuitive because the bulk of God's construction of your fretting hand is on the "low note" side.