To Pinkie or Not Pinkie is my Question

[Buck]

No one at all is saying "don't use your pinky". I'm just saying some very fine players rarely use their pinky for fretting when playing melody, especially in Bluegrass and related genres.

So you're saying that if I don't use my pinky the best I can hope for is to be as good as Adam Steffey? I can live with that.

FWIW, I do use my pinky. Never had a problem doing so, at least that I can remember. Having no real formal training at all, I've typically done what worked for me and learned what I could from other players. Maybe it's just a Bluegrass thing, but I've never been too concerned with the "right" way to do anything, other than keeping time.

[Paul Busman]

I can't imagine not using my pinky even though I don't need it really often. It's also especially useful since I also play tenor banjo and tenor guitar (well, actually an octave mandolin strung with only 4 strings). Why leave a perfectly good finger just waving in the breeze doing nothing?

[rfd]

is this a trick or treat post? if not, it's just ridiculous NOT to use ALL the digits at yer disposal for fretting. yeesh.

[Jstring]

Hey, this is an important debate...

Half of us believe that the pinky is important and should be used whenever it helps us to be smoother + faster...

The OTHER half believes that the pinky is important and should always be used to play smoother + faster...

Don’t you see the difference?

Anybody want to fight about pointed picks vs slightly less-pointed picks?

[Stevo75]

I prefer a pick that falls somewhere between pointed and slightly less-pointed. That's the only way to play fast AND get good tone. :-)

[OldSausage]

Hey, this is an important debate...

Half of us believe that the pinky is important and should be used whenever it helps us to be smoother + faster...

The OTHER half believes that the pinky is important and should always be used to play smoother + faster...

Don’t you see the difference?

Anybody want to fight about pointed picks vs slightly less-pointed picks?

Indeed, the battlefield is littered with all the straw men who have been defeated.

[T.D.Nydn]

Threads like this are really great,everyone gets involved and says their piece,it goes on forever and it makes the forum interesting...

[dan in va]

A few historical points come to mind:

Andres Segovia started picking with a combination of flesh and nails, just flesh, or just nails. This was against tradition at the time, but everybody's doin' it now.

Julian Bream was conducting a master class when a student asked why he used a particular finger for a certain note, as that broke the rules. He replied that the note was important and needed to stand out, so he used his best nail for it.

A number of classical violin teachers are now teaching more than one way of holding the bow, as folks' hands are shaped differently.

There are a number of great guitarists that have broken lots more rules and played great music because of it. Merle Travis comes to mind.

Johnny Smith was asked why he didn't play bar chords. He replied "I don't like them so I don't play them."

And the Great Picker (BM) would let other strings ring open instead of damping out all other notes. i kind of like his playing a lot, too.

[DavidKOS]

Hey, this is an important debate...

Half of us believe that the pinky is important and should be used whenever it helps us to be smoother + faster...

The OTHER half believes that the pinky is important and should always be used to play smoother + faster...

Don’t you see the difference?

Anybody want to fight about pointed picks vs slightly less-pointed picks?

I get the point....

Threads like this are really great,everyone gets involved and says their piece,it goes on forever and it makes the forum interesting...

Hear hear...

[Bernie Daniel]

Threads like this are really great,everyone gets involved and says their piece,it goes on forever and it makes the forum interesting...

But is anything resolved...ever?

[Bernie Daniel]

Indeed, the battlefield is littered with all the straw men who have been defeated.

However the next time the topic comes up all the straw people return to the fray seemingly unfazed?

[T.D.Nydn]

But is anything resolved...ever?

Does it really matter?..people express themselves,other people get ideas..

[OldSausage]

[chuck3]

Interesting thread. With upright bass being more my "main" instrument than mandolin, I have the opposite problem. I'm used to upright bass fingering in which (south of an octave up the neck) the ring finger is just a support finger for the pinky - your fingering is all 1, 2 or 4, with 4 being the pinky which is used constantly.

So my mando teacher is always reminding me to stop using my pinky so much and use my ring finger more ...

[Jim Franey]

My middle name is Pincus
I have been called Pinky all mylife
Just saying 😂

[catmandu2]

...and besides, if you *don't* use it, it will just slough off eventually. Wouldn't that be something unpleasant to wake up to?

[Tim N]

I've read the whole debate, and respect the overwhelming view that the Pinkie is there to be used, with a few caveats. So far, I am a three finger player because when playing melody (which is my main interest - and it's not very fast yet) I have to stop for a few seconds to uncurl the pinky from wherever it's hiding and get it in place. For instance, trying to get that aforementioned high B note on the E string.
It's not just about strength; I just can't even imagine teaching it obedience on it's own. So, now you've surely exhausted the theoretical issue....(or maybe you've barely started ) could anyone give me any practical advice as to how I might be able to train the little finger? I've generally retreated behind the excuse of a temporary teenage paralysis which left my left side a bit eratic, and sometimes over-reactive, but maybe there are some excercises worth trying? (I'm now 54)
Thanks. (If it doesn't work, I won't be too sad!)

[foldedpath]

Tim, I think the best advice I can give is to work at it, but be patient and realize it will come slowly with practice, not right away. Especially at your (our) age when most of us start to lose some flexibility in the 'ol joints.

I started on mandolin at around age 54. I'm now 64, and I'm still not 100% happy with the strength of my pinky sometimes on fast fiddle tunes. I have to make a conscious effort when I know there's a high B note on the horizon, and make a little extra effort to hit it nice and strong with my pinky when it comes around the bend.

Maybe someone here can point you to exercises, and many will recommend learning the FFCP method, which is good for scales and chords up the neck. But if you want to work on that high B note out of first position, I think there's nothing better than just playing a bunch of fiddle tunes that include that note.

I usually mention Silver Spear because most beginners to Irish trad (and sometimes OldTime) know that tune, but there are thousands of great fiddle tunes out there. Find ones you like to help keep motivated. Don't get too discouraged if it doesn't come easily, and back off when it starts to hurt. You'll get there eventually.

[AlanN]

Johnny Smith was asked why he didn't play barre chords. He replied "I don't like them so I don't play them."

Just about what Jethro said about the big G chop chord. And who's gonna argue with The Legendary One?

[sbhikes]

fwiw, i came to mandolin after playing classical viola very seriously for most of my life. i think that thinking critically about fingerings (as opposed to the path of least resistance) would benefit most mandolin players. and learning/practicing how to shift positions properly.

I wish I knew how to change positions. We have some old-time tunes that go way the heck up there and I havn't a clue how to get there.

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition

[Tim N]

But if you want to work on that high B note out of first position, I think there's nothing better than just playing a bunch of fiddle tunes that include that note.

I usually mention Silver Spear because most beginners to Irish trad (and sometimes OldTime) know that tune, but there are thousands of great fiddle tunes out there. Find ones you like to help keep motivated.

Thanks. So far I've encountered the problem in "The Merry Blacksmith", and I do a sort of slide... I'll look up "Silver Spear"

[DavidKOS]

So far, I am a three finger player because when playing melody (which is my main interest - and it's not very fast yet) I have to stop for a few seconds to uncurl the pinky from wherever it's hiding and get it in place.

Tim, one way to overcome that is to learn to keep the little finger right over the fingerboard and NOT let it hide.

One exercise would be to hold a high B on the E string 7th fret with finger 4 and then use fingers 1, 2 and 3 to play the notes B, C and D on the A strings at frets 2, 4 and 5 while still holding the 4th finger on the E string 7th fret B note.

You can play double stops or alternate the upper and lower notes, but keep the whole left hand in position.

This is just one of many exercises to train finger 4 to stay over the frets where it is needed.

[rfd]

coming from a guitar background that started in 1953, and with over a 1960's decade of gigging for a living, it's quite surprising to see the number of posts in this thread that dis the use of the fretting hand pinky for mandolin playing. if there is no physical ailment with any of yer fretting hand digits, to not engage the fretting hand pinky on any fretted instrument is simply silly. there are fretted instrumentalists who would also argue about not using that 5th fretting hand digit - the thumb. a mando is a fretted instrument that's not unlike most any other fretted instrument, and to purposely avoid using the pinky will put you, the mando player, at a better playing potential disadvantage/risk. stop the nonsense. engage yer pinky and open up a new mando playing world for the better.

[Mandolinespieler]

When I took up playing Irish tenor banjo, I found out the hard way that it is imperative to use the pinky. In the style of fingering on the TB, the pinky basically becomes the ring finger for the same fingering As would be played on the mando. I at times really hate my pinky. I wish i could find real exercises to strengthen it on and off of the mando. I also have the annoying habit of moving it when i use my ring finger on the fretboard. Is there a way to "unlearn" this reflex?

[Stevo75]

Blackberry Blossom is a good tune for a pinky workout. I also have a few practice exercises that are good for the pinky. I'll take a video of them and post later today...