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GMC Forum _ CHILL OUT _ The Pinky Thread

Posted by: Skewlbuzz Nov 13 2007, 09:54 PM

Alright. Ever since I started playing guitar I've had problems with my pinky. It's not that I have a hard time moving it around, it's doing fine at that
BUT I've always found it difficult to use it when playing the E and A string. When playing these strings with my pinky I have to bend the other fingers alot and angle the hand in an awkward and strain position, eventually resulting in a little pain.

Well, I think I've finnaly found the reason: My pinky is really small compared to my other fingers!
It measures around 6,5 cm while my middle finger is 10 cm long :s

The pain and lack of being able to paly the thick strings well just annoys me!

Is this purely a mental issue or anyone else experiencing it?

Cheers!

Posted by: kevin-riff-after-riff Nov 16 2007, 05:08 AM

my hand is too small, related b/c my pinkie is part of my hand
i hate my little hands

Posted by: Owen Nov 16 2007, 05:16 AM

My pinky is 7cm long, my hands are about the same size, I've never had any problems, I can easily do streches from the first to the fifth fret for example.

I found that to introduce my pinky more easily into my playing it was good to start playing powerchords with it in standard e tuning using it as the second finger pressing down instead of one of my centre two.

Initially I never used it at all, but now I find it extremely useful in almost every piece of music I write or play, its probably my most predominantly used finger apart from of course my index!

I think you can overcome your problem, it just takes time to get aquainted with the streches, its like turning your guitar upside down and playing left handed (or right perhaps), you will feel uncomfortable because its not something your body is used to!

If you've ever seen Elton John playing the piano you'll notice that he has really small stubby fingers, but that does not stop him playing with all of them at a very high speed and doing big stretches.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents!