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Left pinky finger?

I've begun to notice that when I play and I am not fretting a note with the pinky finger of my left hand, that finger tends to stick straight out. (I play right-handed, by the way.) There are three reasons I am concerned about this. One, I've read that you should keep your all the fingers of the left hand (except the thumb) very close to the fretboard when playing to make it easier to fret with the pinky if needed. Two, now that I notice myself doing it I am looking at other bass players and NOBODY I've seen sticks their pinky out, so I'm inclined to think this is something I shouldn't be doing. Three, it kinda looks stupid, like I am sipping a cup of tea or something.

So, is having your pinky finger stick out when you play a bad thing? If so, how do you correct it?
 
I'm in the same boat as you, trying to keep my fingers close to the fretboard. It just takes boatloads of practice.

Also, check out www.handhealth.com and click on the hands to check out some insane finger dexterity exercises. I'm working on the one called "pencil push-ups" to increase my ring finger strength and independance. I highly recommend this site.