Short Pinky Club

[antlercody]

You laugh... You who have length.

Well, I'm short and born crooked... My pinky, that is.

I Was, and I still am, working on this piece of music where I have to go from eighth fret pinky to five fret index, plus hammer off... Any suggestions???

Most likely I will improvise somehow... That's what I do....

Please, you short finger (pinky) players HELP!!!

[nascarbean_97]

Reaching from the 12th fret to the 24th has been a skill I've possessed for many years.

I do have some suggestions though. Run scales. Use patterns that span more frets then you're used to. Like a G major with four notes on the E string, starting on the third fret ascending to a C, then shifting to the D on the 5th fret of the A string, ascending to the 10th fret G. Or shift the whole thing up to wherever is comfortable for you, and then shift down a half step to stretch yourself.

Practicing Shawn Lane/Allan Holdsworth/Andy Summers chords really helps, too.

[ted]

Tapping can be your friend.

Nobody's left hand pinky is as long as the your right index finger can be.

[antlercody]

One thing I know for sure... It's boils down to the amount time invested playing and the shear determination to succeed. ... Unless you are a "blessed" prodigy genius who doesn't have to work at anything to be brilliant! ... And that's sure not me, so, back to work.

[spudmunkey]

Tapping can be your friend.

Nobody's left hand pinky is as long as the your right index finger can be.

Ha! That's like saying something like, "you might be able to outrun a police car, but you can't outrun their radio."

[antlercody]

Might depend on the station.... If it's tapping rap, I can run away very fast...

[antlercody]

Where's my damguitar? I am going to video not only the unboxing, but the build as well... If I live that long

[antlercody]

BTW... Everyone who posts on this thread is automatically entered to win five choice Carvin guitars!

I'm just kidding... But talk to Jeff, maybe he can make it happen...

[antlercody]

Hey there, ... Still putting coats of tung oil on my guitar..... It's like watching grass grow!!!

Meanwhile.....

http://youtu.be/M2Pha2cs4s8

[Koshchei]

Is this still an issue? If so, practicing your scales, sevenths, ninths, and arp shapes up and down the neck should definitely help you out.

Naturally, if you start to experience any pain in your hand, stop immediately and take a break. While you'll eventually loosen up your tendons if you practice safely, pushing yourself too hard can cause permanent injury.

[antlercody]

It is... But it's not so much my small, short fingers as it is my hands just going numb.
I have been working aggressively hard with my hands for over forty years. ...not complaining. And darn thankful for the bounty of "blessings" that I have been given along my path.

I have been working scales.. a little... But not sure if I'm doing that correctly? Playing simple cords like in the stuff I'm doing seems to be my musical ability at this point in my life.

...guess I'm just a dreamer. I want to play like Eric and Van Halen... But, maybe it's just wishful thinking?

For now, I'm having a hell of a lot of fun, not pressuring my self into some impossible task... Yet, I know I can get to a point, with practice....

Can someone make a request to add 30 hours to each day rather then 24?

All good... Have four coats of tung oil on my Carvin kit... I think I'll let them finish it next time

[wickid]

....
Can someone make a request to add 30 hours to each day rather then 24?
..

My boss(es) - upper mgmt anyway, already believe this to be the case.

[antlercody]

........So, as I am still applying, I lost count of the number of coats of tung oil... It's at least nine or ten now! Yet, the shine isn't there... Maybe I'm missing something? I just finished the first of four kudu chandeliers for the Memphis zoo, and I can't finish a guitar? (http://youtu.be/oeZH7jzesqw)

Well, my life is extra busy! By the way, I hope I'm not ding, ding, dinging...

I am really closing in on finishing my kit.... Yo. All you kit potential kit builders out there... It's a loooong haul. But patients always prevails. And guitar players ALWAYS WIN!

[nascarbean_97]

Is this still an issue? If so, practicing your scales, sevenths, ninths, and arp shapes up and down the neck should definitely help you out.

Naturally, if you start to experience any pain in your hand, stop immediately and take a break. While you'll eventually loosen up your tendons if you practice safely, pushing yourself too hard can cause permanent injury.

This is also true. I spent one summer doing like, 8 hour days of guitar practicing and after a month I had to take a month off with no playing because of tendon issues. Don't do that.

[Levelhead]

Tapping can be your friend.

Nobody's left hand pinky is as long as the your right index finger can be.

Ha! That's like saying something like, "you might be able to outrun a police car, but you can't outrun their radio."

What an awesome quote Spudmunkey!

[bandit2013]

Tung oil does come in a high gloss form. However, the wood will suck it up. That reminds me, I need to refinish my DC200Koa.

As for short pinky, I rarely use mine unless it is for chording. Not much used after it got smashed and broken a few years back. I have been able to get it working again but still not as good as it was 20 years ago but that does not matter anyway, my pinky fingers are much shorter than my thumb even. I thing those awesome guitar players have Alien hands as all their fingers are freakishly long and how they move, is that really human or an illusion?

[skully13a]

Meh. Short, stubby, rebellious pinky. Too used to reaching over & under it with my ring finger. Bad habits are bad, M'kay?

[John B Jr]

Pick up a bass. After a few days of it, your huge, extra long 27" scale will seem like a uke. Any and all of your fingers will be able to smash bar chords with no issue. Even better is the upright bass, those will give you a super-pinky in no time.

My tung oil finish is more of a sheen than a shine; slick as buttered butter.

[jfo3000]

Don't let your thumb go above the skunk stripe on the back of the neck, or imaginary skunk stripe if your guitar doesn't have one; use a classical left hand position.

You say "Yeah, but rockers don't do this!". Well watch Dimebag Daryl play lead, his thumb is rarely visible from the from of the neck. His necks had a hard v profile and his thumb got much leverage perched on that relatively flat under-surface of the v profile.

Holdsworth's thumb is also rarely visible from the front; there's a guy that knows legato!

Make sure your pinky is as perpendicular as possible (APAP) when hammering and pulling of. Practice trilling with the pinky APAP two frets from your first finger. When that move is strong and consistent in volume and tempo trill with the pinky three frets up from the index finger then four and five and six frets; why stop at only three frets?

Practice these trills with both a light touch and a heavy touch. Tall frets make it easier, low action with a nearly straight neck makes it easier as well.

You can raise the action as you get comfortable with the mechanics and get stronger with the mechanics.

Please do let me know how this works, I am truly interested in helping you; hence the long detailed message.

[Doctor Turn]

Even with big hands that's a rule of thumb I find impossible to hold to all the time, and is especially hard to stick with when the lone player in a power trio, where "Wind Cries Mary"/ "Little Wing" style riffing while holding down bass notes with thumb is so deeply ingrained in the muscle memory (Jimi was the reason I started playing years ago).

But you're right. For slinging out complex jazz-rock leads, it's a lot easier. There are little girls with the tiniest baby hands who play in that "proper" position with the thumb on the back of the neck and they fly all over the place playing Becker licks to the tee. SMall hands do NOT have to be a hindrance if you use proper placement, you practice a lot building up your muscles and tendons and keep your thumb in the right spot. If you don't, and have small hands or short fingers, and still keep the thumb up in bridging position... it's going to be very hard on you.