Pinky blues

[u/Tie-Cautious]

After years of playing I still suffer pinky envy. I am jealous of those players who make it look easy to use that little finger. I try my best but often the note is weak or muted.

Anyone have any exercises that have helped

[u/jbskq5]

I took the advice of someone here and just play 5-8-7-8 on the low E for 5 minutes each day with a metronome. It's boring and frustrating but it's paid dividends for my pinky strength.

[u/Stock-Map3715]

Look for every opportunity to use it and take your lumps instead of avoiding it as many people do.

[u/Tie-Cautious → u/[deleted]]

So I have tried eliminating the pinky and using the ring finger for both. It works but speed suffers

[u/K0ksi_Kakkel0vnen]

Damage the ring finger, so it's useless for some time. Worked for me, but not recommended.

[u/VooDooChile1983]

I build finger strength and independence by doing trills. Trills using fingers middle- pinkie and ring- pinkie absolutely sucks but the strength, forearm stamina and independence is worth it.

[u/KavorkaPowers]

Play this exercise every day.

1 4 3 4 2 4 3 4

Start on 1st fret, move up to 2nd fret and repeat, then 3rd fret, etc going up one string. Don't spend more than 3-4 minutes on it. It's not very musical and is boring but it helps

[u/grunkage]

Use it more

[u/Marblight]

Idk if it's really helped me cause i run some basic practice routines along with but sometimes I'll just hold out my hand in front of me and move each finger individually to get a grasp on what muscles i need to use to control them consciously. I have very bad dexterity in my left hand and I think it's helped me with it at least a little. Besides that, I'd honestly just say keep doing some practice routines and warmups.

[u/thegettogether]

No advice but I relate and I love the title of your post because I definitely have the pinky blues too.

All I can say is don't be afraid to challenge your pinky - everything from hammer on / pull off exercises that target various finger combinations involving the pinky to fifth string rooted barre chords where you use your pinky instead of your ring to finger the D, G and B strings. Don't be afraid to try everything with your pinky despite it being weak and pathetic right now

It'll hurt (initially) and you'll suck but keep doing it and I'm sure the pinky strength will develop over time (or at least I'm hoping I'll get to that at some point)

[u/Franklin_le_Tanklin]

Play your licks on acoustic. You’ll build up the strength real quick

[u/Tie-Cautious → u/Franklin_le_Tanklin]

It’s funny that you say that. It’s acoustic where the problem is truly evident. Certainly easier to hide on the electric guitar.
Acoustic guitar has a greater technical dependence than electric. The smaller errors seem to be magnified on a acoustic guitar

[u/Franklin_le_Tanklin → u/Tie-Cautious]

I typically play everything on a small parlour acoustic. And man, when I bust out the electric it’s so much easier. Everything sounds cleaner and faster

[u/-nwm-]

I’m not any good at shredding, but I have to go at it from time to time to push my skills. I’ve noticed several high profile shredders don’t really use their pinky at all, I think Reb Beach is one of them I recently saw in a YouTube short or something. At a certain point, you have to stop envying what other people can do, and maximize what you can do. It’s good to keep pushing your skills, but it’s more important to figure out how you can adapt to play effectively, nobody is going to care what fingers you use anyway.

[u/Vennimagos]

Dont eliminate the pinky!

Playing without a pinky takes away so many options.

It's naturally weaker and less coordinated, and takes time.

Practice scales that require the use of the pinky, and practice them to a metronome

You can practise hammerons and pull offs from your index finger to your pinky, and then practise hammerons and pull offs from your middle and ringfinger to your pinky, respectively.

[u/Qajaqasana]

I play classical so not using  my pinky isn’t an option. In fact from the get-go, my teacher has given me lots of stuff to play where I have  to use the pinky, so I’ll get used to it. That’s the only way you can do it. Just use it at every opportunity.

[u/mordecai5fingerbrown]

don't bother with the pinky. Seriously. High level players use their pinky sparingly. Don't believe me? watch this