Finger independence

[moro]

I've noticed that when I fret with my middle finger, my pinky shoots up about an inch. It doesn't matter how slowly I do this or how hard I concentrate--there's my pinky flailing away. Does anyone else have this problem?

Is there anything I can do? It just seems like it's just the way my brain / hands are wired. (Just for laughs, I tried fretting with my right hand and the same thing happens with my right hand too.)

[megadeth]

put your 4 fingers (Assuming u have 4) on frets 1,2,3,4 respectively on B string. Now move finger 2 on string G-Fret 2. and quickly interchange with finger 1 moving on G string (no pun)- Fret 1.
B-1--2--1--
G-2--1--2-- ......and so on

repeat this for all combinations. BUT MAKE SURE THAT NO OTHER FINGER IS LIFTED EXCEPT ONES IN INTERCHANGING.
also u'll be raped to death when you work on ring finger-little finger.
damn painful but helps. stop and relax when it pains. do it 10 mins everyday.
PS - I read this lesson online somewhere. Amazing It is.

[Ferrous Lepidoptera]

Maybe this will help, I'm not sure, it's not precisely the same problem, but related.

When I was learning to play banjo (ok, go ahead and laugh) I had a problem with my picking hand. When you play the 5-string banjo, Earl Scruggs style, you're supposed to pick with your thumb, index and middle fingers, and keep you ring and pinky fingers planted, immobile on the surface of the drum head.

When I was first starting out, that was impossible, moving my index or middle fingers automatically made my ring finger move. So, one day when trying to learn this, I took my left hand and used it to just hold my ring and pinky fingers on my right hand immobile while I sat there and did picking exercises for a couple of hours. After doing that for awhile I was finally able to keep my righthand ring and pinky fingers immobile while picking without the help of my left hand.

Maybe something similar (swapping left/right hands, of course,) would work for you? Just an idea.

[krizz]

I have always done this excercise to improve finger independence:

This is the movement going from lower to higher strings:

E-|-----------------------------------------2-3-4-1-|
B-|---------------------------------1-2-3-4---------|
G-|-------------------------4-1-2-3-----------------|
D-|-----------------3-4-1-2-------------------------|
A-|---------2-3-4-1---------------------------------|
E-|-1-2-3-4-----------------------------------------|

And this is the one going from higher to lower strings:

E-|-4-3-2-1-----------------------------------------|
B-|---------3-2-1-4---------------------------------|
G-|-----------------2-1-4-3-------------------------|
D-|-------------------------1-4-3-2-----------------|
A-|---------------------------------4-3-2-1---------|
E-|-----------------------------------------3-2-1-4-|

It might look like a complete random version of the '1234,1234,1234' exercise, but actually you're just changing the starting point of every '1234' sequence.

Do it slowly in the beginning and take care just to move the finger you want to. In the beginning this exercise is hell.

I hope it helps.

Kris

[moro]

Originally Posted by Ferrous Lepidoptera

When I was first starting out, that was impossible, moving my index or middle fingers automatically made my ring finger move. So, one day when trying to learn this, I took my left hand and used it to just hold my ring and pinky fingers on my right hand immobile while I sat there and did picking exercises for a couple of hours. After doing that for awhile I was finally able to keep my righthand ring and pinky fingers immobile while picking without the help of my left hand.

Lol. You know, I was actually wondering if this would work but it seemed so ridiculous that I didn't mention it. I'm glad to hear that it worked for you--I'll try it out. Thanks!

[Azrael]

On the other hand.....look at Satch and Vai......they both lift there pinky (sometimes it's not even close to the string) alot of times and play fine. So I don't think it's a problem.

[krizz]

Yeah, or Marcel Coenen, if you check out his pinky; you'd say he never uses it. It's always pointing to the stars

[Azrael]

Originally Posted by krizz

Yeah, or Marcel Coenen, if you check out his pinky; you'd say he never uses it. It's always pointing to the stars

But when he needs it he uses it fast. So it's not a problem at all for him.

[krizz]

Originally Posted by Azrael

But when he needs it he uses it fast. So it's not a problem at all for him.

Of course, that's what I mean

[moro]

Yeah, I realize that it probably doesn't matter too much. While I don't want to get into bad habits, I don't ever expect to be playing so fast that the time it takes my pinky having to travel an inch and a half is going to be critical.

I have to admit that a big part of my wanting to keep my pinky still is vanity. I get tired of seeing my pinky flailing around. It's ugly. If I could keep it sticking straight out, Vai-style, that'd be cool, but it wiggles around everytime I fret with one of my other fingers.

[Drew]

"Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar" - buy it. It's an entire book dedicated to cleaning up the physical side of guitar playing.

(hint- or you could just check out the preview pages on amazon.com, which have most of the information you're asking about... )

-D

[moro]

Originally Posted by Drew

"Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar" - buy it. It's an entire book dedicated to cleaning up the physical side of guitar playing.

I got the book, which is why I asked the question. I was physically unable to fret with my middle finger without my pinky popping up.

I've found that if, instead of trying to hold my pinky in place, I think of it more as pushing down with my pinky simultaneously with my middle finger, my pinky will stay still.

[Drew]

Interesting.

You know what I tried that seemed to help? Since you're playing legato anyway, you technically have a free hand, when you're doing that first page of drills. Simply hold your picking hand behind your fretting hand as a sort of "wall" to prevent your fingers from going back, to let them get used to the "feel" of staying close to the frets. I have trouble on pull-offs keeping them close, and this seemed to help. You shouldn't need much pressure, just a but of light resistance.

Also, Stetina's right, if you have trouble keeping your figners close, you're probably fretting too hard. Focus on keeping your hands relaxed and playing with as light a touch as possible - hint, a few drinks might help you relax your hands.

-D

[moro]

Originally Posted by Drew

You know what I tried that seemed to help? Since you're playing legato anyway, you technically have a free hand, when you're doing that first page of drills. Simply hold your picking hand behind your fretting hand as a sort of "wall" to prevent your fingers from going back, to let them get used to the "feel" of staying close to the frets. I have trouble on pull-offs keeping them close, and this seemed to help. You shouldn't need much pressure, just a but of light resistance.

Yeah, I've been doing something similar.

Something else that has helped me a lot is just stretching my fingers throughout the day. Whenever I'm in a meeting, I put my left hand flat on the table, and pull up on my ring finger with my right hand. Just a few days of that have made a noticeable difference.

Focus on keeping your hands relaxed and playing with as light a touch as possible - hint, a few drinks might help you relax your hands.

Please. I have enough trouble playing cleanly when I'm sober.

[moro]

In Troy Stetina's book, he talks about lifting each finger as you fret the next note (so you only have one finger touching a string at any given time).

What's the point of this? Is it just to strengthen your fingers or are there situations where you'd actually play like this?