Which fingers do you use?

Hi!

Lets say your playing a simple little scale like this:

e|--
B|--
G|--
D|--
A|--
E|--5--7--8--

Reapeted up to the high e string.

I use my index on the 5th-note, ring on the 7th-note and pinky on the 8th-note. But should I perhaps use my middle and ring instead of ring and pinky? I have alot of friends who doesn't use there pinky, during such scales. They rather have it besides, prepared to take extra high notes whenever they want to, and they strech there fingers which is always usefull..

If anyone understood what I ment, please help me..

Use your pinky dewd! You'll know why once you start playing more difficult and faster passages, and your friends will be pissed that they didn't use it.

Yes, definitely use the pinky.

As NTM said, you'll notice it when you have to use it.

If you shy away from using it, you'll more than likely become slower, because you're trying to do 4 fingers worth of work with 3 fingers. Once I started using my pinky regularly, I notice I was becoming faster, each finger has their own little spot.

Try doing exercises just for the pinky as well, and good dexterity exercises will help.

Like this:

e|--0---2--1--3--2--4--3--2--0--3--2--4--3--5--4--3


and so on....using the fingers like this (middle, index, ring, middle, pinky, ring, middle)

The only time that I wouldn't use my pinky for that was if I were playing a 4 note per string scale. Like your Am example, it would be

--5--7--8--10

one finger per note. Otherwise, definately use the pinky.

Originally posted by TheDirt
The only time that I wouldn't use my pinky for that was if I were playing a 4 note per string scale. Like your Am example, it would be

--5--7--8--10

one finger per note. Otherwise, definately use the pinky.

This I don't understand. What fingers are you using exactly to play these four notes on the string? I thought the point of four note per string riffs was to use all four fingers. This is a bit off subject perhaps but it relates to the thread I started down the list which I am now going to delete.

Originally posted by daveasdf

Originally posted by TheDirt
The only time that I wouldn't use my pinky for that was if I were playing a 4 note per string scale. Like your Am example, it would be

--5--7--8--10

one finger per note. Otherwise, definately use the pinky.

This I don't understand. What fingers are you using exactly to play these four notes on the string? I thought the point of four note per string riffs was to use all four fingers. This is a bit off subject perhaps but it relates to the thread I started down the list which I am now going to delete.

5 = index
7= middle
8= ring
10 = pinky

He says: "one finger per note. Otherwise, definately use the pinky."

Well, it seems that everybody agree that I should use my pinky, and I guess I will continue with it..

But I gotta ask you once again (I did it some months ago), how do you play this?

e|--
B|--
G|--
D|--
A|--
E|--5--6--8--9

I try to do it like this (and not moving my wrist at all)

5= index
6= middle
8= ring
9= pinky

But when I asked you last time, some of you thought it would be bette doing it like this, sliding with the index

5= index
6= index
8= ring
9= pinky

Well, please, tell me your opinion once again..


/Anders

Inisfail, I'd say the second one where you slide your index up a fret (5-6). Think of your index finger as your placement finger, it's always on the lowest fret in a box. After that it's your call to whatever feels more comfortable. 6-8-9 looks like a minor sequence (1-2-3), the 5 is like a leading tone to that so I would slide it up. I don't stretch my pinky unless I absolutely have to.

use watever fingering feel more confortable to you..learn to use both..that will serve a better purpose and improve your playing ability in both ways

Allright, thanx, I was just worried I'd either would miss a big fingertechnique by sliding or learn the stretching in vain if I never had to use it again..

Perhaps I could continue asking you questions:

If you play something like this:

e|--12--17--16--19--12--16--17--12--
B|--
G|--
D|--
A|--
E|--

Where do you position your hand?
1. Directly under the 12th fret and angle (turn) your hand so you can reach the 19th note with your pinky?
2. Somewhere under 15th-16th fret and stretch your index as much as your pinky?

I've seen both techniques from a lot of musicians and I suppose I should play as feel for, as most of you use to say, but is there any risks I may take and may there be any consequenses for choosing between these to positions?

Uäähh, just tell me how you play..

Unless there is some reason why you need to play the 12th fret on the high string, I would play it on the 17th fret on the B string. Ta-Da no more stretching.

well that somwat resembles the tremelo picking of eruption and might find it hard to switch strings while doing tremelo..beets me why he doesnt use the 17th

hmm...

I have seen it done where you play basically with all 4 fingers, one for each fret in a given position up to the 12th fret. For example strating from the 5th position play 5th fret with index, 6th with middle, 7th with ring, and 8th with pinky. And do that from open to 11th fret.

A lot of technique books tend towards this practice cause once you get past the 12th fret your fingers get crammed together and using al four in a given position can get really uncomfortable. I personally have small hands so I taught myself to play with all four fingers past the 12th fret. others use mostly index, middle and ring to handle all the insane stuff up there.

Play wahtever comes natural or you practice the most. No sense in ruining a good thing if it works.

Yeah. I play more the Classical way. Each finger has a fret in a series of 4. If you go beyond that, you slide your finger up into a new position. Tremolo picking that part I would slide it. 12th fret with the index, and slide up til my middle was on the 17th fret. Then again string skipping while tremolo picking isn't to difficult for me (I play metal also). Whatever feels comfortable to you, and you can play well. On the high strings you can stretch your pinky, and sometimes have to like in Flight of the bumblebee. It's not wrong to in my opinion.