Strengthening Pinky Finger- Resources, Practice Techniques?

[mambo4]

This is the way Rocco (RIP) used to do it.

I as lucky enough to witness Rocco live. It was watching him and Ray Brown
that lead to my assertion that you are allowed to move your left hand to reach a note

Freezing your palm in one spot and tormenting your fingers to reach
is IMHO the biggest misconception in one finger per fret techniques

 

[wysiwyg248]

Freezing your palm in one spot and tormenting your fingers to reach
is the biggest misconception in one finger per fret techniques

James Jamerson use of only one picking finger is another example that are more than one way to skin a cat.
I was lucky enough to meet Rocco (RIP) during one of TOP shows in Detroit and asked him about the shifting and how that came about. He started playing guitar, but had to switch to bass and learn rather quickly, so he focused more on the end product rather than the method. I think he exceeded all expectations.

 

[thunesBARROW]

I think stretching is only really necessary when playing legato (hammer-ons), or sometimes when playing chords.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Here you go…

Awesome

 

[TheSeagoats]

I know it’s SB here, and I’m just some dude from the internet, but I find this exercise to be potentially dangerous, and also not super musical. You can gain all the technique you’d ever need from practicing your repertoire and scales, arpeggios, and more musically useful sequences.

I definitely felt like I got a level up when I learned this technique, I'm intrigued as to why you find it potentially dangerous? I won't dispute that practicing songs, scales, and arpeggios are also extremely helpful, I just feel like my fingers truly became independent this way. The finger independence and strength was the main goal which is why it wasn't important to me that it wasn't necessarily a musical activity, the end result made music easier overall.

 

[the_Ryan]

I definitely felt like I got a level up when I learned this technique, I'm intrigued as to why you find it potentially dangerous? I won't dispute that practicing songs, scales, and arpeggios are also extremely helpful, I just feel like my fingers truly became independent this way. The finger independence and strength was the main goal which is why it wasn't important to me that it wasn't necessarily a musical activity, the end result made music easier overall.

For me what makes it potentially dangerous is that in order to hold both 1 on the G string and 2 on the E string down while playing 3 and 4 on all the strings I have to really put a sharp bend in my wrist; this is less than optimal for finger movement because it constricts the amount the tendons can move and it makes them harder to move, and it is also much harder for me to keep the string down using the weight of my arm, so I have to press harder with my fingers. Both of those reasons lead to my forearm hurting pretty much the moment I attempt to play 3 and 4 while holding 1 and 2 down, and after having an RSI scare a few years back I have a hard rule of not doing anything that causes me pain in my forearms or wrist because that's a big warning light from my body saying that I'm doing something wrong.

 

[thunesBARROW]

I definitely felt like I got a level up when I learned this technique, I'm intrigued as to why you find it potentially dangerous? I won't dispute that practicing songs, scales, and arpeggios are also extremely helpful, I just feel like my fingers truly became independent this way. The finger independence and strength was the main goal which is why it wasn't important to me that it wasn't necessarily a musical activity, the end result made music easier overall.

I’m glad that you found it helpful. I think the planting and stretching is what does it for me. It seems like it’s placing increased strain on the naturally weak ring finger.

 

[SkylineFiver]

I’m glad that you found it helpful. I think the planting and stretching is what does it for me. It seems like it’s placing increased strain on the naturally weak ring finger.

Placing increased strain on the naturally weak ring finger so that it becomes naturally strong…

 

[thunesBARROW]

I come from a classical piano background. Some of the greatest pianists ever have explicitly said they never practiced exercises, ever. Both Argerich and Barenboim are against them. My professors in college, both classical and jazz, were against them. Scales, yes. Exercises? Not really necessary. Even Hanon, which I’d consider more musically useful than Steve Bailey’s exercise due to the fact that they’re diatonic sequences, I was heavily cautioned against. I think the focus should always be musical. If it’s not musically useful why practice it?

 

[GreyBeard]

I never use my ring finger or pinky by them selves, I always use them together. This comes from my days playing upright.

 

[antfarm]

The Prelude to J. S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G major is a good exercise for using all four fingers of your fretting hand.

A great resource for learning the Cello Suites is Bach Cello Suites for Bass Guitar | All Movements..

 

[SkylineFiver]

I come from a classical piano background. Some of the greatest pianists ever have explicitly said they never practiced exercises, ever. Both Argerich and Barenboim are against them. My professors in college, both classical and jazz, were against them. Scales, yes. Exercises? Not really necessary. Even Hanon, which I’d consider more musically useful than Steve Bailey’s exercise due to the fact that they’re diatonic sequences, I was heavily cautioned against. I think the focus should always be musical. If it’s not musically useful why practice it?

Have you warned Hadrien of the danger?

 

[thunesBARROW]

Have you warned Hadrien of the danger?

I was talking about Steve Bailey’s exercise. Hadrien’s exercise is focused on finger independence, and not stretching like Steve’s. Also, it’s a chromatic pattern (musically useful) and not just a visual fingering pattern. Hadrien is playing a sequence through the chromatic scale that evenly incorporates all four fingers.

 

[Aaron Singer]

I never use my ring finger or pinky by them selves, I always use them together. This comes from my days playing upright.

So there is a common bass line in blues/jazz/rock that most have played. Over a G7 the line would be (ascending in second position) G B C C# D E F F# G
So, you would play the C#, D, F# and G with both fingers 3 and 4?

 

[thunesBARROW]

So there is a common bass line in blues/jazz/rock that most have played. Over a G7 the line would be (ascending in second position) G B C C# D E F F# G
So, you would play the C#, D, F# and G with both fingers 3 and 4?

Or play B to C, and then E to F with the first finger?

 

[TheSeagoats]

So there is a common bass line in blues/jazz/rock that most have played. Over a G7 the line would be (ascending in second position) G B C C# D E F F# G
So, you would play the C#, D, F# and G with both fingers 3 and 4?

I'm not the person who posted about using ring and pinky together but it's possible they just slide their fingers from fret to fret on the chromatic notes.

 

[SkylineFiver]

I was talking about Steve Bailey’s exercise. Hadrien’s exercise is focused on finger independence, and not stretching like Steve’s. Also, it’s a chromatic pattern (musically useful) and not just a visual fingering pattern. Hadrien is playing a sequence through the chromatic scale that evenly incorporates all four fingers.

Sorry, my bad.