Pinky slide

[gnelson651]

OK, I've decided to advance to the next level from advance beginner and attempt intermediate songs. So I'm tackling "Jerusalem Ridge" from Monroe Instrumentals-25 Bill Monroe Favorites.

I am having problems with the pinky slides in the 3rd part, especially with a double stop. I practice Aonzo scales daily and have a pretty strong pinky finger at the 7th fret for a single note but sliding seems to take an even stronger motion.

How to you train your pinky to slide for a double stop and not mute the string below? The tab requires it done on the D or A string (depending on the note played) at the 7th fret. Are there any exercises for this?

[groveland]

I'm not sure what exact pinky slide you're trying to do (don't have the Monroe stuff you mentioned) but for pinky slides in any direction: Support the pinky with the other fingers of the left hand. Don't try to make the pinky work alone on a slide, particularly double stops. #Hold all 4 fingers up flat on the neck right next to each other so they're all one unit; the pinky is the only one connecting the string(s) to the fret; the other fingers are just there for support and to mute the unwanted strings. You'll get a whole lot more strength and control that way.

If you want to keep the lower strings ringing, the above technique absolutely applies. #Have the pinky and 3rd finger work together as a unit in that case. #Principle's the same.

[Vincent]

I've been working on pinkie sliding up (towards the bridge) with the ring finger following on the next fret down - imagine an A arpeggio on the G and D strings. I'm working on fretting as straight down as I can to get clearer notes, and like a lot of things, doing it slow at first, relaxed as possible, over and over and over and over...The pinkie on the seventh fret seems to produce a fair amount of Monroe sound.