# Soloing- Pinky vs. Ring finger- Question...



## piranha (Dec 11, 2007)

Hey guys. This last year I have been getting into soloing. I can finally play well enough to do some soloing covers. It's like being paroled from guitar jail.  I'm really loving this new level. But I am curious about one thing though...

I notice that on youtube or other lesson videos that the guys playing the solos use their ring finger on notes that you could otherwise use the pinky. 

Like, say I was doing *alternating pull offs* on the G and B strings.
I'm using frets 5 and 8 on string B and frets 5 and 7 on string G. Barring the 5th fret with my index finger.
I would think you would use your pinky to pull off on string B (Frets 5 and 8) and your ring finger to pull off on string G (Frets 5 and 7).

However I see players using their ring finger for both. WHY?
I see it in a lot of blues licks and rock solos. It just seems inefficient.

I want to know what's right as I don't want to get in any unorthodox or bad habits. 

Thanks ahead of time.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

The pinky is the weakest finger so some people never learn to use it, or they ignore it.
For some people that works out okay---but I say, why limit yourself on purpose?
I use my pinky.

I'm no great player--but it helped to stick with it.

Besides if you know how to use it, and can use it--you can still use your ring finger if you want to--now you have options.


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## Bobby (May 27, 2010)

what zontar said.

id add that that if its in range,use the ring finger,particularly for pull-off or hammer-ons. the extra force makes the notes ring out better.if its too much of a stretch,use the pinky.

and in perhaps a partial answer to your question,i remember reading once that like a significant percentage(it was like 15 or 25%,cant remember exactly) of people are actually missing a tendon in their little finger,which would bassically stop them from using it with any authority,no matter how much they tried.

Bobby


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

The pinky can easily be trained to do hammer ons and pull offs -- I use mine all the time, and it's pretty gimpy. I've never had any success using it to bend, though.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Andy said:


> The pinky can easily be trained to do hammer ons and pull offs -- I use mine all the time, and it's pretty gimpy. I've never had any success using it to bend, though.


Argh, I HATE when I have to use my pinky to bend, but usually if the rest of my fingers aren't busy holding other notes I can slide the ring at the very least in there for some support.

As for using the ring finger, like others have said, it's just plain stronger. In the example you cited, I would do the same thing as you and use the pinky on the B string. But yeah, it takes some practice to get that pinky doing useful things like hammer-ons.


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## ne1roc (Mar 4, 2006)

Watching You Tube videos always surprises me to see some of the great guitarists use the ring finger where I would use the pinky? I always felt it was important to train the pinky to do more but I've discovered that is not necessarily the case because it is good to train you ring finger to stretch a distance of 4 frets, which I can't do as comfortably as I use to because its so much easier with the pinky.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

My pinky doesn't quite make it to the knuckle of my ring finger. That's a bit of problem to start with. I use it for power chords or single notes (in the major scale) on the bottom three strings. Other than that (and chords) it doesn't get used much. I don't do bends with it and I couldn't do a vibrato to save my life with that piddly little thing.


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## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

pinky is just tough to rely on for me. harder to get strong sustaining hammers. I know it should just take practice, but it's a bitch to do.
the pinky for me anyways, is just a spazzy little number. Plays by its own rules.


even someone like Eric Johnson, look at his runs starting at about 3:00. the pinky is flailing all over the place, but only occasionally in use.
[video=youtube;VnqpOFcBiMM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnqpOFcBiMM[/video]


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## geezer (Apr 30, 2008)

Lately I've been practicing lots of Paul Gilbert licks to force myself to use my pinky more.
He does lots of wide stretches in his playing, and has a freakishly long pinky...so it's
quite a workout.


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## audioassassin77 (Jun 8, 2010)

if you can make it work more power to ya
...i cant, broke my left hand once or twice as a kid. now my pinky really only catches the odd note here an there...b
but really not a big deal. django only had use of the first two an i think he played kinda alright...tony iommi's kinda missing a little somethin too. never slowed him down.
however if YOU got it flaunt it.


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## monty (Feb 9, 2009)

I use my pinky alot, sometimes too much I think because sometimes I worry it effects my reach because I usually dont do alot of reaching with my ring finger.
It is just how I taught myself to play, I shake notes with my pinky just as well as my ring.


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