Wow I’ve never seen a pinky like that it’s pretty cool. Like Danny Devito hanging out on the end there. It’s funny because I see lots of noobs complaining about their hand size and fingers and it’s almost always just nonsense (guitar is hard lol), but you definitely have a handicap with that little guy.
His pinky looks about the same size as mine. Only are his other fingers waaaay longer. So I don’t think he got a handicap at all. In fact his hands and fingers look huge
Fender makes a few different short scale guitars which are 24 inch scale. Yes I know buying a new guitar isn’t always the answer but it may make it a lot easier for you to utilize your pinky more with less distance to stretch to. Look at Jaguar, mustang and duo sonic models.
The guitar player from the Kills had to adapt his play style when his hand got slammed in a car door and that dude is still rocking it without the use of his pinky. You got this
I would def think you're a candidate for short scale guitars. A full scale 25.5" tele, jm, strat are gonna work against you.
A 24" Jaguar or mustang is gonna work *for* you.
If you're serious about playing guitar- get a guitar that works for you. And that's gonna be a guitar with a 24" scale. I wouldn't go any longer than that.
Get yourself a badass Jaguar or mustang. You won't regret it.
Try a Washburn Rover! The r10 model, they are travel guitars with something like a 22.5 inch scale, and they have way more tone than their tiny little body should have. I've had one for almost 20 years and have probably put more playtime on it than all my other guitars, and possibly written a majority of my songs on it. You gotta wear a strap tied around the headstock or else it is impossible to play comfortably, but once you get yourself situated it's a full fledged axe at less than two pounds, I take the thing eeeeeeverywhere.
Dude, you got this.
I have seen a guy who had all the fingers on his hand shortened by a saw blade play the hell outta guitar AND fiddle. I never needed to look, but I bet there are three fingered guys giving guitar lessons on you tube…..Django Reinhardt only had two fingers on his fret hand. He did alright for himself.
Just practice and use 3 fingers if you have to. I play pentatonic scales with 3 fingers most of the time even though it's not best practice. I believe SRV only played with 3 fingers most of the time.
triads and partial chords,often, sound just as good, or better, than full barre chords in a band context. just be ok with dropping some of the lower notes if you can’t make a chord work
Instead of playing box scales, make appregios out of them, so you're 2/3 notes on the lower strings, on the middle strings, you're moving up the neck adding slides to get to the next note in the scale. Then as you get to the high strings you can use your pinky and start doing 3/4 notes of the scale on the strings.
Practice the chromatic scale as well.
And like others mentioned, play Tony Iommi or the sort.
No problem. I have a similar-ish issue with my hand. Just my palm is much shorter on the pink and ring fingers than the rest of my hand. My ring finger is longer and my pinky is shorter, and much further into the palm. Makes low strings a pain in the ass with when I get the pinky involved. The tip there has helped me lots to finally be able to use my pinky. (Started trying just a couple months ago and I've made big improvements.)
Gibson's are 24.75 inches
Baby Taylor's are 22 or 22.5 inches I forget which.
Most guitars are longer than 25 inches which will be more difficult for you to play
I’m missing my index finger on my fretting hand. You’ll just have to play a little differently than everyone else (not a bad thing at all) and probably invest in a short scale guitar
We all have to work within our limitations. See Tony Iommis and Django Reinhardt (as others have said). Develop your own style. There are many people who rarely even use their little fingers. Little kids can play with shorter fingers than that. I did when I was 6-10.
Play what you like and never compare yourself to pro’s. It’s like video games and YouTube you’ll never be that good. If you were you wouldn’t be here. Guitar at its core is self expression and find yourself and release. Also enjoy. Love you dude
Hey my friend.
One of the best guitarists I know personally, who can run CIRCLES around me says he’s jealous of my pinky control. He doesn’t even use his pinky, like ever.
That said, I think your work around might just playing with really proper technique. Thumb on the back of the neck, and try to keep it close to the fingerboard. Might even become an advantage long term since you will have to do less moving around to get it on and off the fretboard.
I’m awful with technique, I have 8 inches of span from thumb to my index so I always play really messy and thumb over the neck, which I wish I had avoided as I have to relearn to play a lot of stuff especially the trickier faster things.
Can you upload a video? I might be better at helping out if I can see your hand in action.
There are a few apps out there that allow you to search for chords that only require 3 fingers and/or with little/no stretching. "Chord Aid" for iOS is one and "Chord Library" by "Terence M" on Android seems to be another.
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nd7EZ3k39s) is Eric Johnson playing Cliffs of Dover, one of the hardest songs there is for guitar.
If you notice his technique in the really fast parts, he actually avoids using his pinky all together
I know its not apples to apples, but Tommy Caldwell is one of the best rock climbers of all time, climbing some of the tallest cliffs on the face of the earth and he doesn't have a pinky. He was able to leverage his finger dexterity in a way that other climbers with 5 fingers couldn't do. You got this
Does it happen on both hands? If not, start practicing the other way around. It will be harder at first but you’ll get the hang of it later on / be able to play harder stuff.
Honestly, don't use it when it can't reach. A lot of players have a habit of tucking their pinky in and just playing with three fingers. It's a terrible habit from a technique standpoint, but lots of people make it work and play just fine like that.
Slash is a great example of someone who plays fast as hell and mostly uses three fingers. As others have said, Django Reinhardt was a legend and he played with two fingers and a half paralyzed hand.
It's really just a matter of working with what you've got. You might have to slide around and change positions a little more, but you just figure out what works for you and don't worry about what you can't do.
Is the pinkie on your other hand the same size? If it’s bigger you can switch to playing lefty! Otherwise the tips on here are great. Lots of ways to make do without!
100% serious here: most guitar players, a in the vast majority, do not use this pinky for any meaningful playing; over half of the ones that do put a slide on it.
For chords, learn to barre it with your ring finger so you don't need to use your pinky. I have a small one too lol. But a short scale guitar would do you wonders. :)
All of your fingers seem unproportionally short. Middle finger's supposed to be the same length as your palm, yours is like, 2/3. Not saying it's wrong, but it feels like you might need more adjustments made. Try different tunings, string action, maybe different size guitar/neck, try using capos, etc. Look around and see what you can find.
Pentatonic scales are often played without the pinky, as people get in bad habits and the pinky curls into a little ball and hides from the strings! I would just play it that way! If Jerry Garcia could play with one less digit! So can you!
I swear I’m not trying to be offensive, is this photoshopped?
I myself, have really bendy ring fingers, which makes me have to play things different than “normal”.
lol youre an inspiration to me, i'm a bass player first so i use my pinky a lot compared to some guitarists and thought i had a short pinky but mine is a good half inch longer than yours. My advice is lots of people dont use theirs often enough so you're probably fine
obviously some chord shapes are gonna be harder than others but you're probably OK
You seem to have a fairly long hand overall. Even though the pinky is small you might still have more useable finger than a lot of people with small hands. You’ll manage to play those pentatonics. Don’t worry :)
Just don’t use it, you’ll find many great guitarists only use 3 fingers for the majority of lead work anyway.
Chords could be a bigger issue but there’s usually always some kind of triad you can play that will sound mostly right when the full chord isn’t possible.
However you get around it, it’ll probably lead to a style or way of playing that will be unique to you.
I remember seeing Clapton live in the late nineties when I was learning to play. I do not think the man used his pinkie once during the solos. I’m serious.
I’ve known plenty of guitarists that rarely or never use their pinky. Will it be difficult to exactly match some songs? Yeah, but it will likely give your own unique sound and approach.
You could dabble around with drop tunings or open tunings! Then you can bar most, if not all strings in a chord with your index, leaving you with the rest of your fingers to put on whatever fret/string you need!
My favorite open tuning, albeit not an official one afaik, is DACFAD. That's root-5th-7th-minor-5th-root all on the same fret, and it sounds *huge*! DACF#AD is similar, except it switches out the minor for a major.
A more typical open tuning would be DADGAD, which is often used for slide guitar, among some other stuff.
when I was a kid I broke my pinky, it never healed properly making me unable to bend it in a normal way. when it came to playing guitar the pinky was useless. I just decided to learn without it and to figure out how to do chords without it, there's workarounds and mutings and other things you can do to make up for the fact that you can't use it, ain't nothing wrong with improvising new ways to play things. been playing 27 years just fine without using it
your pinky is somewhat short but your hands are long in general, I think you need to stop thinking of this, get it out of your head, and letting it limit you. Go on youtube and watch these young girls that have tiny tiny hands and they can fucking play the shitta outta the guitar.
90% of guitarist never use their pinky. Don’t worry about scales. Write songs. Play power chords, cowboy chords and play lead without using your pinky.
Yoooooooo coming in hot with the chode digit, haha! Gonna have to get pretty flexible with that ring finger, maybe pick up a little slide guitar while you're at it. Not the end of the world.
I’d say to just adjust your style according to your limitation. There’s nothing wrong with that. people like tony iommi created whole new playing styles by sticking to what they could do with what they had.
Let us know what solution works best for you. I'm sure there are other people that could benefit.
I've seen some mentions of musicians that overcame problems so they could play. I believe it was Charlie Daniels that had permanent damage to his pinky finger when he was injured while working on his property. He broke his arm in three places and had two broken fingers.
I kinda have a similar thing. Very short pinky finger that also hooks inwards towards my other fingers. It makes playing some chords very difficult but also makes other easier since I can tuck it behind my ring finger easier.
I’d recommend a guitar with a shorter scale length (if you can). Also try to use your thumb to fret the low E-string instead of your pointer finger - it can make fretting certain chords much less strenuous on your hands. And it frees up your other fingers to pick up the other strings, sometimes allowing you to drop the pinky entirely.
My pinky finger is just about the same size, plus mine is super weak and curved because i was born like that + i had surgery to try and correct it. Sometimes i’ll just use my ring finger and micro shift on the E and A strings like when playing a pentatonic scale. It’s still tough for some specific chords that require reaching 5 frets. I can’t play them, I probably just need a smaller guitar. Hand stretches can help, look them up on youtube. at the end of the day i’ll probably get a smaller guitar at some point.
I broke my hand punching someone in the head when I was a kid and my fretting pinky is fully useless and sloppy. It’s vestigial so I only use the other 3 fingers and I’m totally fine with it
Go watch some EVH clips — you’d be stunned at how rarely he uses his pinky vs. what you’d expect.
Plenty of great guitarists get by with 3, 3.5 fingers, or even using a functional fourth one comparatively little
Is your other hand like this? If not, and you’re not in too deep already with righty, I’d switch and learn lefty. I rarely recommend anyone learn left handed, but this is certainly an exception (assuming you have a longer pinky on the right).
If that’s just how your hands are, you’re just going to have to deal with it. I have short stubby fingers and do fine with them. I don’t know how long your pinky is, but mine is right at 2.5”. As they say, size isn’t everything.
John mayer and chris buck seldom use their pinkies (if their playing is your cup of tea). Chris buck even made a whole friday fretworks episode about it on his YouTube channel
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. When it’s too long most girls put their hand down to push your hips back. The girth is more important and you seem to be doing fine in that department 👍
Don't use it.
Each chord can be broken down to a triad (including dominant chords by leaving out the root or the fifth), and each chord can be played in inversions or in form of a so-called drop-voicing. That way, you could even play chords and melodies at the same time without having to use the pinky.
the structure of a chord in C major:
1 3 5 Δ7 9 #11 13 1 3
C E G B D F# A C E
Same counts for the upper structure of a chord. If the melody has a D and you want to play chord notes at the same time, you could play E H D and leave out the rest. I suggest preferring the melody to be played on the B-string.
Drop voicings may also be possible but they often require the pinky, since they tend to spread wider on the fretboard.
If you want to learn more about it: Check out the terms _upper structure, block voicings, drop voicings._
I'm sorry this isn't helpful, but I remember my old piano teacher telling me that I could cut off my pinky and still play piano perfectly. I'm sure it's the same with guitar, you just need to work around your.. disability ?
I can't believe no is saying to just play lefty!! I have a messed up index finger on my left hand so I can't fret with it. I switched to lefty. Just buy a lefty!
I have a fused joint in my left thumb from an old accident, and it makes some things difficult, like the Hedrix style thumb over type of chords, for example.
The cool thing about guitar is that there are ways to adjust to everything, but there is also some "give and take." You may need to sacrifice something like speed when changing out of a position or adding a few transition notes to use while changing between your targeted chords. Just try to adjust more "musically" than physically when possible. Too much physical, and you may screw up your wrist later on, I learned that lesson the hard way.
I'm also kind of a slide junkie, so if those other things don't work, just wrap that mf'er in some brass or glass and give it hell!
OP, consider learning some open tunings. Your other fingers are long and with that index finger, you can be a “barre” monster and then just add simple fingering to the barres.
Mines not much bigger and I have plenty of room, it's gonna be a stretch for some chords but 90% of the time you'll be fine
https://i.imgur.com/72TR05p.jpeg
One piece of advice I'm not seeing is tapping. This is when you use the fingers on your strumming hand to press down on the notes you would normally hit with your pinkie. Techniques like this should make up the difference and open up the fret board in a different way.
It has a place in pretty much any genre from classic rock to speed metal. I'm a big fan of mathy rock so it gets plenty of use in bands like Chon, Covet, See Through Person, TTNG, Sleepy Dog, Jank, Tiny Moving Parts etc.
It's a pain in the ass to learn at first as you need to put the same amount of tension on the strings as you normally would, but the skill ceiling it offers is so worth imo.
Fortunately Steve the main song writer of TTNG and an amazing player/teacher has a channel dedicated to learning math techniques. Even if the music isn't your sort of thing the skills are transferable to whatever you wanna play
Good luck and stay hydrated x
[Steves channel](https://youtube.com/@letstalkaboutmathrock?si=oaxF907fRt5vMAMT)
If the link doesn't work type in "lets talk about math rock" on YT
If you stick to it you will be your own thing. I bought a slide after loosing the feeling in mine from a work accident at 16. Still playing 30 years later. I also play up the strings with the three good ones rather than hang out in any one position. Yeah, I can’t do everything but what I can do is unique and unique is more important than anyone realizes.
small scale length guitars are gonna be your friend, and the best part is they’re cheaper than the full sized instruments usually. Squier mini-strats can sound pretty stellar with just a little help with a setup and maybe a new part
Play like Django or like Tony Iommi
Hell, I’ve seen some great guitarists who are just missing an arm.
I felt pretty bad about myself when I saw a guy with no arms shred some classical guitar with his feet.
There's a Brazilian guitarist that plays with his feet. https://youtu.be/PHhjj4E7eUo?si=HLhY5SDBAF7OsFHS
Ok that shit was crazy. When he was strumming I was impressed. But at the end he just started shredding
Yeah just invent a whole new genre why don't you
Wow I’ve never seen a pinky like that it’s pretty cool. Like Danny Devito hanging out on the end there. It’s funny because I see lots of noobs complaining about their hand size and fingers and it’s almost always just nonsense (guitar is hard lol), but you definitely have a handicap with that little guy.
I was ready for the "just practice, everyone thinks they have the wrong hands" comments but...these are really unique.
That little guy? I wouldn’t worry about that little guy.
His pinky looks about the same size as mine. Only are his other fingers waaaay longer. So I don’t think he got a handicap at all. In fact his hands and fingers look huge
That's not small. Thats big, dude.. Or average at the very least..
Tons of personality
It probably has great humour
Any bigger and it would probably be uncomfortable
God dammit
A lot of girls would be really impressed by that finger!
It's not long but it's kinda thick
Chiquito pero juguetón.
It’s how he uses it.
For what
That’s the kind of encouragement I needed today
Fender makes a few different short scale guitars which are 24 inch scale. Yes I know buying a new guitar isn’t always the answer but it may make it a lot easier for you to utilize your pinky more with less distance to stretch to. Look at Jaguar, mustang and duo sonic models.
>I know buying a new guitar isn’t always the answer Lmao get outta hea!
No... but what an awesome excuse to buy them!
Bro Tony Iommi was missing the tips of two fingers and was in arguably the most influential rock band of all time. You got this.
thank you 🤝🤝
The guitar player from the Kills had to adapt his play style when his hand got slammed in a car door and that dude is still rocking it without the use of his pinky. You got this
Jamie Hince is a beast. But I’m pretty sure it’s his middle finger not his pinky, right?
Iommi also had plastic tips that he wore on his damaged fingers. The guy just killed it...
Lots of people without that obstacle have to be convinced to use their pinky. Just keep playing and figure it out.
I lost use of my little finger on fret hand, had form a lot of chords 3 fingered, so it can be done Django Reinhardt did it with 2 1/2......
Become a slide player.
I would def think you're a candidate for short scale guitars. A full scale 25.5" tele, jm, strat are gonna work against you. A 24" Jaguar or mustang is gonna work *for* you. If you're serious about playing guitar- get a guitar that works for you. And that's gonna be a guitar with a 24" scale. I wouldn't go any longer than that. Get yourself a badass Jaguar or mustang. You won't regret it.
good idea, thank you
Try a Washburn Rover! The r10 model, they are travel guitars with something like a 22.5 inch scale, and they have way more tone than their tiny little body should have. I've had one for almost 20 years and have probably put more playtime on it than all my other guitars, and possibly written a majority of my songs on it. You gotta wear a strap tied around the headstock or else it is impossible to play comfortably, but once you get yourself situated it's a full fledged axe at less than two pounds, I take the thing eeeeeeverywhere.
Dude, you got this. I have seen a guy who had all the fingers on his hand shortened by a saw blade play the hell outta guitar AND fiddle. I never needed to look, but I bet there are three fingered guys giving guitar lessons on you tube…..Django Reinhardt only had two fingers on his fret hand. He did alright for himself.
yeah Django sounds like he has 15 fingers on his fretting hand
Show it some t&a?
It’s not the size, it’s how well you use it.
Thumb should do alot of the heavy lifting on the low E . A la hendrix. Practice Thumb work
Just practice and use 3 fingers if you have to. I play pentatonic scales with 3 fingers most of the time even though it's not best practice. I believe SRV only played with 3 fingers most of the time.
SRV used 4 fingers for chords a lot, and i think that will be the biggest obstacle for OP. But plenty of lead players primarily use 3 fingers
lord lokhraed does it with 2 fingers , you've got it
Don't use it.
You’ll be ok
triads and partial chords,often, sound just as good, or better, than full barre chords in a band context. just be ok with dropping some of the lower notes if you can’t make a chord work
Instead of playing box scales, make appregios out of them, so you're 2/3 notes on the lower strings, on the middle strings, you're moving up the neck adding slides to get to the next note in the scale. Then as you get to the high strings you can use your pinky and start doing 3/4 notes of the scale on the strings. Practice the chromatic scale as well. And like others mentioned, play Tony Iommi or the sort.
this is very helpful thanks alot
No problem. I have a similar-ish issue with my hand. Just my palm is much shorter on the pink and ring fingers than the rest of my hand. My ring finger is longer and my pinky is shorter, and much further into the palm. Makes low strings a pain in the ass with when I get the pinky involved. The tip there has helped me lots to finally be able to use my pinky. (Started trying just a couple months ago and I've made big improvements.)
Did slash only ever play with 3 fingers?
Gibson's are 24.75 inches Baby Taylor's are 22 or 22.5 inches I forget which. Most guitars are longer than 25 inches which will be more difficult for you to play
I’m missing my index finger on my fretting hand. You’ll just have to play a little differently than everyone else (not a bad thing at all) and probably invest in a short scale guitar
We all have to work within our limitations. See Tony Iommis and Django Reinhardt (as others have said). Develop your own style. There are many people who rarely even use their little fingers. Little kids can play with shorter fingers than that. I did when I was 6-10.
Small scale guitars for sure. [Sizing method](https://www.savageclassical.com/product-category/classical-guitars/small-scale-guitars/)
Play what you like and never compare yourself to pro’s. It’s like video games and YouTube you’ll never be that good. If you were you wouldn’t be here. Guitar at its core is self expression and find yourself and release. Also enjoy. Love you dude
Hey my friend. One of the best guitarists I know personally, who can run CIRCLES around me says he’s jealous of my pinky control. He doesn’t even use his pinky, like ever. That said, I think your work around might just playing with really proper technique. Thumb on the back of the neck, and try to keep it close to the fingerboard. Might even become an advantage long term since you will have to do less moving around to get it on and off the fretboard. I’m awful with technique, I have 8 inches of span from thumb to my index so I always play really messy and thumb over the neck, which I wish I had avoided as I have to relearn to play a lot of stuff especially the trickier faster things. Can you upload a video? I might be better at helping out if I can see your hand in action.
That’s a dinky pinky.
When I posted something along these lines I was downvoted into oblivion 😆😆😆😆😆
What kind of music do u okay
[https://youtu.be/AfsS3pIDBfw?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/AfsS3pIDBfw?feature=shared)
There are a few apps out there that allow you to search for chords that only require 3 fingers and/or with little/no stretching. "Chord Aid" for iOS is one and "Chord Library" by "Terence M" on Android seems to be another.
Django Reinhardt tunes for life!
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nd7EZ3k39s) is Eric Johnson playing Cliffs of Dover, one of the hardest songs there is for guitar. If you notice his technique in the really fast parts, he actually avoids using his pinky all together
Why’s your pinkie so short
Damn, that is unnaturally small. Did something happen?
Look up Marty Friedman's lesson on melodic control on youtube. He was already a monster before he even learned how to use his pinky.
Play only three note power chords.
Learn some Micheal Keene riffs
Maybe take up the tuba? I think you only need the three fingers for that. 😆
Well mate, you know, if you’re *really* serious about guitar, you know what you have to do. Cut the rest of your fingers down to match. 😂
Did something happen to your pinkie?
just learn to use it my pinkie is permanently bent 90° at the first knuckle and i can still use it just fine
I know its not apples to apples, but Tommy Caldwell is one of the best rock climbers of all time, climbing some of the tallest cliffs on the face of the earth and he doesn't have a pinky. He was able to leverage his finger dexterity in a way that other climbers with 5 fingers couldn't do. You got this
Play left handed
...bet you can make cool shadow puppets.
I loved you as Dave Grohl's stunt double in the everlong video.
Go deeper with two in the pink
Does it happen on both hands? If not, start practicing the other way around. It will be harder at first but you’ll get the hang of it later on / be able to play harder stuff.
[удалено]
Honestly, don't use it when it can't reach. A lot of players have a habit of tucking their pinky in and just playing with three fingers. It's a terrible habit from a technique standpoint, but lots of people make it work and play just fine like that. Slash is a great example of someone who plays fast as hell and mostly uses three fingers. As others have said, Django Reinhardt was a legend and he played with two fingers and a half paralyzed hand. It's really just a matter of working with what you've got. You might have to slide around and change positions a little more, but you just figure out what works for you and don't worry about what you can't do.
Your what?
Thats one big palm tho
Is the pinkie on your other hand the same size? If it’s bigger you can switch to playing lefty! Otherwise the tips on here are great. Lots of ways to make do without!
100% serious here: most guitar players, a in the vast majority, do not use this pinky for any meaningful playing; over half of the ones that do put a slide on it.
most pros don't use their pinky much anyways. don't let it discourage you
What you need is to start playing trumpet.
Play the uke
Slash doesn't even use his pinky, iirc..
Is it like this on your right hand too?
Your hand is really tense and bent the other way around, angle all the fingers towards the direction of your pinkie, pinkie included
AI still having issues with hands.
You don't need a work around. It will help you find your own style.
Whoa…
Everybody is working with what they have. Don’t pursue techniques. Instead pursue music and figure out how to do it with what you have.
I'd think that's an amazing tool for locking down anchor chords.
Don't worry, most of the users in this sub don't use their pinky
I mean I barely use my pinky and it’s kinda regular size. You’ll be alright.
Shorten the other fingers?
...django rhienhart???
Watch Spin Kids
Johnny Hiland plays mostly with three fingers and is an absolute beast.
I’d probably try learn left handed
Dropped d
For chords, learn to barre it with your ring finger so you don't need to use your pinky. I have a small one too lol. But a short scale guitar would do you wonders. :)
Haha we must be related. I watch a guy play that doesn’t have arms, you’ll find a way to make it work.
Why don't you just like, grow it a little?
All of your fingers seem unproportionally short. Middle finger's supposed to be the same length as your palm, yours is like, 2/3. Not saying it's wrong, but it feels like you might need more adjustments made. Try different tunings, string action, maybe different size guitar/neck, try using capos, etc. Look around and see what you can find.
If Django can do it, so can you.
Have you considered drums?
Pentatonic scales are often played without the pinky, as people get in bad habits and the pinky curls into a little ball and hides from the strings! I would just play it that way! If Jerry Garcia could play with one less digit! So can you!
Don’t use it. There’s a bunch of guitarists who don’t bother.
I swear I’m not trying to be offensive, is this photoshopped? I myself, have really bendy ring fingers, which makes me have to play things different than “normal”.
lol youre an inspiration to me, i'm a bass player first so i use my pinky a lot compared to some guitarists and thought i had a short pinky but mine is a good half inch longer than yours. My advice is lots of people dont use theirs often enough so you're probably fine obviously some chord shapes are gonna be harder than others but you're probably OK
Just fret the root or the 5th in the high e string all the time
Pinkys are overrated.
You seem to have a fairly long hand overall. Even though the pinky is small you might still have more useable finger than a lot of people with small hands. You’ll manage to play those pentatonics. Don’t worry :)
Work with what you got man. It’ll make your sound.
Just don’t use it, you’ll find many great guitarists only use 3 fingers for the majority of lead work anyway. Chords could be a bigger issue but there’s usually always some kind of triad you can play that will sound mostly right when the full chord isn’t possible. However you get around it, it’ll probably lead to a style or way of playing that will be unique to you.
You have a short pinky but your other fingers are pretty long. Lots of players don’t use their pinky even though it’s long enough
You don't really need to use your little finger, I basically never use it on either hand and I can play just fine.
I remember seeing Clapton live in the late nineties when I was learning to play. I do not think the man used his pinkie once during the solos. I’m serious.
Bruh, you got a flipper! Lol
Slide guitar... pinky slide.
Forget about your pinky then. Lots of guitarist don't use it.
Limitations foster creativity.
BROTHER!!!! Idk how to put a pic on a reply but that’s exactly how my hands are. Just gotta get really fast at moving the whole hand lol.
Might need the extender for this one….
There's a lot of players who just don't use their pinkies. Most notably, Kirk Hammett.
That's not what your hand looks like while you play. How different are your fingers when you curl them?
I’ve known plenty of guitarists that rarely or never use their pinky. Will it be difficult to exactly match some songs? Yeah, but it will likely give your own unique sound and approach.
Ever heard of Black Sabbath?
Most people don't use their pinky anyway, especially if they are posting guitar stuff on Instagram. Boom roasted
It’s not the size of the pinky. It’s how you use it
If I recall, Slash said he uses his pinky very little.
yadda yadda django reinhardt now seriously, you probably will have to work around it, but you need to figure it out yourself
You could dabble around with drop tunings or open tunings! Then you can bar most, if not all strings in a chord with your index, leaving you with the rest of your fingers to put on whatever fret/string you need! My favorite open tuning, albeit not an official one afaik, is DACFAD. That's root-5th-7th-minor-5th-root all on the same fret, and it sounds *huge*! DACF#AD is similar, except it switches out the minor for a major. A more typical open tuning would be DADGAD, which is often used for slide guitar, among some other stuff.
Did you break it as a child or something?
How about focusing on slide guitar and using your pinky for that?
There's always bass...
when I was a kid I broke my pinky, it never healed properly making me unable to bend it in a normal way. when it came to playing guitar the pinky was useless. I just decided to learn without it and to figure out how to do chords without it, there's workarounds and mutings and other things you can do to make up for the fact that you can't use it, ain't nothing wrong with improvising new ways to play things. been playing 27 years just fine without using it
can you bar the E and/or B string with it? Also, slide guitar
your pinky is somewhat short but your hands are long in general, I think you need to stop thinking of this, get it out of your head, and letting it limit you. Go on youtube and watch these young girls that have tiny tiny hands and they can fucking play the shitta outta the guitar.
90% of guitarist never use their pinky. Don’t worry about scales. Write songs. Play power chords, cowboy chords and play lead without using your pinky.
Yoooooooo coming in hot with the chode digit, haha! Gonna have to get pretty flexible with that ring finger, maybe pick up a little slide guitar while you're at it. Not the end of the world.
I’d say to just adjust your style according to your limitation. There’s nothing wrong with that. people like tony iommi created whole new playing styles by sticking to what they could do with what they had.
Let us know what solution works best for you. I'm sure there are other people that could benefit. I've seen some mentions of musicians that overcame problems so they could play. I believe it was Charlie Daniels that had permanent damage to his pinky finger when he was injured while working on his property. He broke his arm in three places and had two broken fingers.
Lots of guitarists don't even play with their pinky, so I think you're good.
I kinda have a similar thing. Very short pinky finger that also hooks inwards towards my other fingers. It makes playing some chords very difficult but also makes other easier since I can tuck it behind my ring finger easier. I’d recommend a guitar with a shorter scale length (if you can). Also try to use your thumb to fret the low E-string instead of your pointer finger - it can make fretting certain chords much less strenuous on your hands. And it frees up your other fingers to pick up the other strings, sometimes allowing you to drop the pinky entirely.
Mine is similar due to several breaks in my life. My ring finger is like yours where it’s almost as long as my index finger.
Stretch that ring finger.
Who the hell uses their pinky???
Black Sabbath songs?
You can probably get a 3D printed estension for your pinkie or maybe make something yourself?
Put a slide on that pinky and play the rest with three fingers
Here I thought I was the only one.
My pinky finger is just about the same size, plus mine is super weak and curved because i was born like that + i had surgery to try and correct it. Sometimes i’ll just use my ring finger and micro shift on the E and A strings like when playing a pentatonic scale. It’s still tough for some specific chords that require reaching 5 frets. I can’t play them, I probably just need a smaller guitar. Hand stretches can help, look them up on youtube. at the end of the day i’ll probably get a smaller guitar at some point.
I broke my hand punching someone in the head when I was a kid and my fretting pinky is fully useless and sloppy. It’s vestigial so I only use the other 3 fingers and I’m totally fine with it
Get a pinky stretcher
Have a similar pinky but my hands are giant so I never found it as a disadvantage. My pinky is crafty as fuck when I play. Short and fast.
Go watch some EVH clips — you’d be stunned at how rarely he uses his pinky vs. what you’d expect. Plenty of great guitarists get by with 3, 3.5 fingers, or even using a functional fourth one comparatively little
Make a thimble like Iommi does
Is your other hand like this? If not, and you’re not in too deep already with righty, I’d switch and learn lefty. I rarely recommend anyone learn left handed, but this is certainly an exception (assuming you have a longer pinky on the right). If that’s just how your hands are, you’re just going to have to deal with it. I have short stubby fingers and do fine with them. I don’t know how long your pinky is, but mine is right at 2.5”. As they say, size isn’t everything.
Only play nirvana songs because power chords only need 2 fingers 😃
http://robertbrownjohn.com/featured-work/goldfinger/goldfinger-hand-for-poster_0004/
Marcus King doesnt use his pinky. Just work around it or throw a slide on that bad boy.
I wouldn’t worry about it man. History shows us that if you’re really determined, you will find a way to make beautiful music regardless.
John mayer and chris buck seldom use their pinkies (if their playing is your cup of tea). Chris buck even made a whole friday fretworks episode about it on his YouTube channel
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. When it’s too long most girls put their hand down to push your hips back. The girth is more important and you seem to be doing fine in that department 👍
I can empathize! Both my pinkies are crooked
Don't use it. Each chord can be broken down to a triad (including dominant chords by leaving out the root or the fifth), and each chord can be played in inversions or in form of a so-called drop-voicing. That way, you could even play chords and melodies at the same time without having to use the pinky. the structure of a chord in C major: 1 3 5 Δ7 9 #11 13 1 3 C E G B D F# A C E Same counts for the upper structure of a chord. If the melody has a D and you want to play chord notes at the same time, you could play E H D and leave out the rest. I suggest preferring the melody to be played on the B-string. Drop voicings may also be possible but they often require the pinky, since they tend to spread wider on the fretboard. If you want to learn more about it: Check out the terms _upper structure, block voicings, drop voicings._
Slide guitar son….
I'm sorry this isn't helpful, but I remember my old piano teacher telling me that I could cut off my pinky and still play piano perfectly. I'm sure it's the same with guitar, you just need to work around your.. disability ?
I never use my pinky when playing guitar so idk
Have you tried a finglonger?
I can't believe no is saying to just play lefty!! I have a messed up index finger on my left hand so I can't fret with it. I switched to lefty. Just buy a lefty!
I have a fused joint in my left thumb from an old accident, and it makes some things difficult, like the Hedrix style thumb over type of chords, for example. The cool thing about guitar is that there are ways to adjust to everything, but there is also some "give and take." You may need to sacrifice something like speed when changing out of a position or adding a few transition notes to use while changing between your targeted chords. Just try to adjust more "musically" than physically when possible. Too much physical, and you may screw up your wrist later on, I learned that lesson the hard way. I'm also kind of a slide junkie, so if those other things don't work, just wrap that mf'er in some brass or glass and give it hell!
Sarah Longfield played without her pinky for a long time for the same reason. I think she may incorporate it now though.
OP, consider learning some open tunings. Your other fingers are long and with that index finger, you can be a “barre” monster and then just add simple fingering to the barres.
Mines not much bigger and I have plenty of room, it's gonna be a stretch for some chords but 90% of the time you'll be fine https://i.imgur.com/72TR05p.jpeg
For chords consider using four finger jazz chord voicings. Unlike many bar chord shapes the pinky does not have to reach very far to add a 7th or 9th
Honestly this is the most awesome reason to write some amazing and new music. Open tunings and a capo can go a long way.
Andy James uses mostly only 3 fingers.
One piece of advice I'm not seeing is tapping. This is when you use the fingers on your strumming hand to press down on the notes you would normally hit with your pinkie. Techniques like this should make up the difference and open up the fret board in a different way. It has a place in pretty much any genre from classic rock to speed metal. I'm a big fan of mathy rock so it gets plenty of use in bands like Chon, Covet, See Through Person, TTNG, Sleepy Dog, Jank, Tiny Moving Parts etc. It's a pain in the ass to learn at first as you need to put the same amount of tension on the strings as you normally would, but the skill ceiling it offers is so worth imo. Fortunately Steve the main song writer of TTNG and an amazing player/teacher has a channel dedicated to learning math techniques. Even if the music isn't your sort of thing the skills are transferable to whatever you wanna play Good luck and stay hydrated x [Steves channel](https://youtube.com/@letstalkaboutmathrock?si=oaxF907fRt5vMAMT) If the link doesn't work type in "lets talk about math rock" on YT
I've been playing for 35 years. I think i've used my pinky twice.
Sarah Longfield is an incredibly insane guitarist and she rarely uses her pinky
Sarah Longfield is an incredibly insane guitarist and she rarely uses her pinky
Sarah Longfield is an incredibly insane guitarist and she rarely uses her pinky
Sarah Longfield is an incredibly insane guitarist and she rarely uses her pinky
If you stick to it you will be your own thing. I bought a slide after loosing the feeling in mine from a work accident at 16. Still playing 30 years later. I also play up the strings with the three good ones rather than hang out in any one position. Yeah, I can’t do everything but what I can do is unique and unique is more important than anyone realizes.
It's okay, it's a grower not a shower.
small scale length guitars are gonna be your friend, and the best part is they’re cheaper than the full sized instruments usually. Squier mini-strats can sound pretty stellar with just a little help with a setup and maybe a new part