playing after partial amputation of pinky

i would appreciate any sugestions/ 6 years ago i had my
left pinky amputated @ the 2nd joint/ i lost interest in
my passion because my various styles of playing had become
incomplete//recentely i have re-ignited the desire and pass
ion to study guitar again/i have started w/the basics/ missing the 2nd joint has made my playing incomplete and
frustrating////

My teachers best bass player has no figners at all,just stubs, if you have the passion and will you can do anything.

Pinky not an integral part of your playing? bah!

My pinky is just as strong as the rest of my fingers, because I learned that without the pinky, you are using only 75% of your ability, physically.

Now, about your amputated pinky...

If you are into the blues, well you didn't really lose much. I've never seen Eric Clapton use his pinky (he has a really bad technique though), and i have all of his DVD's. (chords don't count).

Hey man: My own situation is close but not exactly. I have lost the feeling in my left pinki;ring finger and lower palm. Making leads and the use of my own pinki while playing problematic. I have been practicing 3 finger scales in luiw of the use of my pinki. ( just move your hand to accomadate the lost pinki effect). And remember if I had no fingers I would find a way to express my soul and heart musically......ROCK ON

Didn't Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) lose a couple of finger tips in an accident? I think he experimented with a few ways of getting round the problem and found that prosthetic finger tips was the way to go. Sure that there are details on his technique and how he made the artificial finger tips on the net somewhere. Hope that is of some help.

A buddy of mine named Chris lost the tip of his middle finger down to the joint. He just relearned his technique without using his middle finger and now plays in a successful local band called "49 Fingers". Can anyone guess why this 5 member band has that name? Easy name to remember, too.

A guy walks into a bar and asks the barman who it is who is playing and where they can buy the music. The answer is that it's Django Rheinhardt and it's an impro and can't be found on tape anywhere. Andres Segovia, one of the World's most famous classical guitarists was impressed by this. And, guess what, Django had lost some of his fretting fingers in a fire in his parent's gypsy caravan. And that's no joke.

Indeed, no joke; But you didn't really give the man his credit, Django Reinhardt was the greatest guitar player on the face of this Earth, NOBODY matched his virtuousity. This man had Two fingers (Index, Middle finger), and his pinky and Ring finger were crippled. They were still there, but just immobile...

Hendrix was an innovator, I can agree to that; but listen to Django sometime, and ask yourself "could I play this with 8 fingers?", the man had the ability to be incredibly articulate, and play every note with meaning...

Sorry, Django is one of my favorite guitar players, I obsess over him.

Most blues players never use the pinky anyways; Tony Iommi had "thimbles" for his middle and ring fingers; Django only had two fingers; etc.

It may be a little frustrating for playing barre or complex chords, but all open chords can be played with only three fingers.

If, like you said, the passion is there, you can overcome any obstacle.


Tony Iommi's story is a good example of triumph over tragedy and frustration. He was just about to quit his day job and become a musician full-time. Then, on the last day of work, he gets his hand caught in a machine press and loses his middle and ring fingers. But, he rigged up some thimbles for his missing fingers and then relearned the guitar, and the rest is history!

So, keep plugging away, and you'll figure out your own unique style.

You mean to tell me that Django R. could play like that using only TWO fingers? On his fretting hand? Good God!

I know Jerry Garcia lost a finger chopping wood, but that was on his picking hand, and it wasn't his thumb or pointer.