exercises for keeping my little finger low to fret board

[bennyblu]

Hi

I really struggle keeping my little finger low to the fret board when playing. I really want to improve on this in order to quicken up my playing.

Any tips or exercises would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Sub_Drop]

Hi,

I have similar problems but I've never focused on it. If anyone has any information or tips to reduce this, I would appreciate it.

[gjones]

Try practicing the 'one finger per fret' technique. Eventually you'll train your pinky to obey your commands.

[Coilte]

I found this clip very good for developing the pinkie, and getting it to do what you want it to.


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab-dtzrAnkg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab-dtzrAnkg[/url]

[Sub_Drop]

Seems to have a lot of good ideas and exercises. Might have to try them out and see whether they do help in developing the pinkie

[BassPimp66]

Try to use your little finger more often to build a bit of strength.

[bennyblu]

Thanks for the replies, the exercises look good.

[Gazza 2905]

[quote name='bennyblu' timestamp='1349282218' post='1824276']
I really struggle keeping my little finger low to the fret board when playing.
[/quote]

A very common problem, and quite a tough nut to crack!
But luckily there are a couple of things you can do:

- Try to relax when you're playing. Tension leads to rigid, stiff, straight fingers which 'salute' away from the fretboard.

- When you're playing, try to keep your fingers like a bunch of bananas. ie. if you're not actually fretting a note with your little finger, bring it in next to your ring finger, then it won't stick out.

- And you could try an exercise (on your bass) called isometrics.
It's quite difficult to explain, but it helps develop finger strength & independence.
I'll try to explain it briefly, but if it doesn't make sense; PM me & I can post you a copy of the page of the book I got it from.

Start by placing your 4 fingers on the [b]G[/b] string at frets 9, 10 , 11 & 12.
Press down on all 4 strings. - In a way it's a variant on a 1 finger per fret exercise.
Now, place finger 1 on the 9th fret of the [b]D[/b] string, and place finger 2 on the 10th fret of the [b]D[/b] string.
Now alternate playing between the B (at the 9th fret) & the C (at the 10th fret) on the D string.
Pick up finger 1 when playing with finger 2.
Pick up each finger just enough to clear the string.
[b][i]Meanwhile, keep fingers 3 & 4 in position pressed down on the 11th & 12th frets of the G string respectively.[/i][/b]

This is your template for the remainging exercises.
Basically, you alternate between a combination of any 2 fingers on the D string, whilst keeping the other 2 fingers pressed down on the G string.
Some combinations are really tricky. In fact some fingers will refuse to move initially!
But eventually, you'll get there...
Practice it slowly, it's not a speed exercise.
And you only need to do it 5 minutes a day.

Hope this helps you.

[EssentialTension]

The little finger sticking up so you cannot use it can be caused by having the whole hand in the wrong position.

The neck will be in the way, of course, but the thumb ought to be in such a position that it can fully oppose all four fingers. Try it without the neck in the way first. Make a ball shape with the whole hand and touch the tip of the thumb and the tip of each finger. The thumb needs to be cocked. Try it again wihtout the thumb cocked and you can't do the oppositions properly, especially the little finger. Once the neck is in the way, make sure you are cocking the thumb into the opposable position and then all four fingers ought to come into play.

Works for me, might not work for you.