Small finger on guitar?

Chads · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:45

Hey,

I've been playing my guitar for several years now, and have realised that the small finger on my picking hand occasionally pushes on the guitar. This happens mostly when i'm playing something fast, it seems to help stop my picking hand from flapping around and losing speed. The down side to it is that it can cause a build up of tension, inevitably slowing down the picking in the long run.

Is this an issue? I'm wondering if it's a big faux pas to use the small finger in this way, and whether or not I should make every effort to avoid doing it in future.

Cheers,

IceBus · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:01

Most shred guitarists use their little fingers as a bridge onto the guitar body/pickguard and it's nothing to worry about.

Phalanx · 25 Feb 2006 at 18:03

If anything, i would consider it good technique

Andelusion · 26 Feb 2006 at 15:18

This is refered to as loads of things, 'pinky anchoring' for example

Some guitarists swear by it, some don't.

It's not completely necessary but if you find it helpful then it's fine.

Paul Gilbert is one example who doesn't use this method, his hand floats or he rests it on the bridge slightly.

I actually encourage this method with all my students as it's particularly helpful to begin with for accuracy of picking seperate strings. The bridge-wresting method can help but how useful a method it is is subjective depending on the type of guitar and bridge.

Dange · 27 Feb 2006 at 12:39

The other guitarist in my band does this but i don't, i find it uncomfortable. I think its just down to personal preference and if you've developed the technique yourself without hearing about it, its probably right for you.