I realized yesterday that I'm not so grat when I press down a fret with my pinkie. I was wandering if anyone had any suggestions.

Practise, practise and practise, try to move your hand as little as possible along the neck and just use your fingers to play.
Its funny you should have problem with your pinkie, i get problems with the finger beside it, i dont seem to have as much control over it as the rest, but ive been practising and its getting better....

don't give up on the pinky! you'll come to rely on it ALOT!
-Bazz-

if it's a force issue with pushing down the string and you don't feel your pinky is strong enough, do pinky workouts :D

Good suggestions so far. Practice will give you pinkie strength and coordination. Just practice using it as much as you can.

I am moving this to the Technique forum.

Just don't fall for those Gripmaster gadgets, practicing on the bass will give you all the "fitness" you need.

Originally posted by miccheck1516
Practise, practise and practise, try to move your hand as little as possible along the neck and just use your fingers to play.
Its funny you should have problem with your pinkie, i get problems with the finger beside it, i dont seem to have as much control over it as the rest, but ive been practising and its getting better....

Your pinkie and ring finger share the same ligament, thats why you have problems getting your fingers to work right!

Be careful and don't stretch your fingers to much, you can cause permanent damage.

Steve Bailey has some great exercises on his site.

Lesson #2
Steve's Hazard Exercises
http://stevebaileybass.com/

http://www.my-smileys.de/znaika_2.gif
Treena

Definitely check out Steve Bailey's Hazard Exercises....and have a look at Anthony Wellington's website and his lessons using permutations...Adam Nitti also has some great technique ideas on his site.

Aloha, Garey

Just to add onto this post.

Should the thumb be moving at all? I'm trying to do the "finger per fret rule" and find myself moving my hand about half an inch to get my pinky on the fourth freth with my index on the first fret.

Should the hand remain stable? :bassist:

This is from Adam Nitti's website...

http://www.adamnitti.com/bass_player_03.shtml

That should help....check out his other lessons, too! He's one of the best instructors I've ever met...

Aloha, Garey