Three or four fingers when playing lead work?

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by stanron

Watching a recent Queen concert on TV and noticed Brian May, when soloing, only used the three main fingers. No pinky. Now I,ve never listened to Brian May and thought "Not bad but it would be so much better if he used four fingers". I'm usually thinking " F*** me, that sounds good."

....and Django Reinhardt was playing with 2 and a half fingers

[Bob Womack]

People have played either way and done great, so the only limitations are self-imposed ones. I think of Dickey Betts who last long said he doesn't use his pinky. The reason I got into using four was to be easily able to integrate scales other than the pentatonic box. In my case it just makes it easy to add a sharp or a flat wherever I need to.

But to each his own.

Bob

[AX17609]

The previous poster nailed it. If you play primarily pentatonic scales with only minor deviations, then three fingers work just fine. In fact, using only three fingers makes string bending a lot easier. Many high-profile classic rock and blues players played that way. But the minute you start using full diatonic scales, you'll want to add the pinky. It's standard for jazz players to use four fingers, and you'll even see modern "shredders" using four, as well.

[RevGeo]

It's easier to use all four - and sometimes the thumb as well.

Rev George

[JanVigne]

How many fingers do you use to eat a hot dog and fries?

Same rule applies here.

[JanVigne]

Unless, of course, you use a knife and fork.

[DupleMeter]

I get this from my students all the time when I start them on the 4th finger. They complain and insist they are just fine with 3. Then I pull out some relatively simple music that is nearly impossible to play without the pinky and about a dozen great licks you would have almost no hope of pulling off without the pinky...and they get it.

Why limit yourself? The guitar is hard enough to play as it is...use everything you've got to stay one step ahead of the instrument. Any time spent on working that 4th finger is paid back with interest by opening up your playing with greater fluidity, speed & ease.

Just my opinion...of course.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by DupleMeter

…Why limit yourself? The guitar is hard enough to play as it is...use everything you've got to stay one step ahead of the instrument. Any time spent on working that 4th finger is paid back with interest by opening up your playing with greater fluidity, speed & ease.

Hi DM…

Not just your opinion, it's the right advice.

I have students who are willing to stop at just 'good-enough' so I remind them they are paying me top dollar to motivate and teach them to be their best not just 'good-enough'…

I've even been re-training myself to implement some better techniques into my own playing the past few years. I'd been settling for 'good-enough' for some techniques which at least now I know how to do more than one way.

And I'm better off for it...

[rickwaugh]

There are always things you can do make yourself better as a guitar player. This is definitely one of them. There are times when I play when I am mostly using three. But you open up new worlds by using four.

One of the biggest problems we all have as players is we don't push ourselves into new areas, try things that are different because we're "comfortable". This is one of those things that provides the "step up."

[IndianaGeo]

But here's also another way to view this: Okay, I've been using 4 fingers (pretty much going with one finger per fret much of the time as I mentioned in my original post), but what I've NOT been doing (I think) is MAXIMISING the use of three fingers. In a way, I feel like I've been a bit lazy and uneconomical. I've been watching and studying this video of Mark Knopfler playing "What It Is" at the Royal Albert Hall and I'm just amazed at how he uses (most of the time anyway) 3 fingers to get done what takes me 4 fingers to do. So while I agree with others in this thread that using 4 fingers can take me places that 3 fingers can't, I also think I'm not getting all the use out of 3 fingers that I possibly can, if you know what I mean. Again, I'm just amazed at how much Knopfler can accomplish with three fingers. So I'm sitting here thinking maybe I've been missing a trick for all these many years. Maybe I've not max'd out what I can get done efficiently with three fingers (?). Quite possible I think.. I've been trying to contain myself a bit and have been practicing with three fingers lately to stretch and get creative using just those to see where it takes me.

IG

[Paikon]

I watched the video. Mark is holding the guitar so low that even if he wanted to use his pinky he couldn't.

I say stick with the 4 fingers technique since you are beginner .

[JanVigne]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrHL0BrbLOk

[IndianaGeo]

Originally Posted by Paikon

I watched the video. Mark is holding the guitar so low that even if he wanted to use his pinky he couldn't.

I say stick with the 4 fingers technique since you are beginner .

I guess 30 years of playing makes me a beginner? ha.

IG

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by IndianaGeo

I guess 30 years of playing makes me a beginner? ha.

IG

oops I didn't understand that you play for so long but your first comment sounded to me like a beginners question ...

[Gerald Sheppard]

This used to haunt me too but now whenever wonder about this kind of thing I think of Wes Montgomery and his right hand - he played everything with his thumb, nothing else. Or Richie Havens and his up-side-down fretting hand. Now, I know this is about playing leads and Wes and Richie may not be good examples, but I've seen great players run Bluegrass to Acid in many different ways. I usually use four, but if three work, I use three. Remember you don't place your fingers based on how to get there the easiest, place them based upon how you need to get where your going next.