I've been playing for the last six years, and only recently have I brought my pinky up to speed. Kirk Hammett was talking about it in an article I once read, saying he used it from the start. I first used it about a year ago mainly in chords. It sort of morphed into a soloing finger and now it's about 92% functional. I'm working on my right hand pinky now to get into all this 8-finger tapping and to be able to use it efficiently in finger picking.

Don't get discouraged. It takes a while. Just try to incorporate it however you can.

[This message has been edited by ekstasis16 (edited 10-03-2000).]