Using your pinky higher up the neck

[Gazza 2905]

I've been messing about lately leaving fingerprints all over the dusty end of the neck. - In other words, I've been exploring the upper reaches (quite literally, as it happens) of the fretboard.

Now, it seems to me that it is not so easy to use ones pinky higher up the neck. Particularly on the E string, I find it almost impossible to fret, say, a G at the 15th fret with my index finger, then a Bb at the 18th fret with my pinky. Now, I know that the Bb is available elsewhere on the neck, but I'm talking here about practising scales, for example, and trying to use the same fingering pattern as you would lower down the neck. And also the fact that your arm moves in closer to your body, seems to change the natural angle of the wrist, which just adds to the problem.

Maybe it's because I have small hands, (my pinky is only 65mm long), but it just seems to me that there are some notes you just can't reach with your pinky!

Am I right in this assumption?

[Blademan_98]

Just keep practising and stretching your fingers.

It helps if you 'forget' the thumb in the middle of the neck routine!

[Hobbayne]

This post had me thinking about up the neck playing. I never really play beyond the 10th fret in normal gigging mode, although I occasionally do a little lick in E which ends up on the G# 13th fret G string

[Bilbo]

The pinky rools up there!! God Bless the pinky!!!

[Linus27]

I like my pinky up high especially when a G string is involved

[Alun]

How high/low to you hold your bass? If it's low then the wrist angle makes using four fingers high on the neck very tricky. May be worth raising your bass or lifting the angle of the neck to make it more comfortable.

Cheers
Alun

[thisnameistaken]

I usually drop my thumb up the dusty end and use the knuckle instead, it's got nowhere to go on most basses anyway.