Little advice pls

[wils07]

Ok so i have been playing for about a year and im trying to improve my power cords by using more than just two fingers but i find it hard to control my little finger."dam thing likes to wiggle about alot" .
I know i need to practice control with it but is ther any exercise you could recommend that will help...
Cheers Paul

 

[tone4days]

Re: Little advice pls

finger strengthening exercises ... build coordination too

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 on each string ... up and down the fretboard

then 1 - 4 - 1 - 4 on each string up and down ..

then stretches where you play a 5 fret spread between 1 and 4 ... all strings ... up and down the fretboard

slower the better ...

then, play more than power chords ... the more you get yoru fingers use to gripping different chord shapes, the stronger and more controlled they'll get

good luck
t4d

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Little advice pls

AS mentioned above, playing more conventional chords will naturally strengthen all your fingers as you tend to use them all more and is dull than straight exercises, although these are also useful.
I know when I'm doing power chords I tend to end up with my pinky and ring finger pretty much stuck together, which is probably bad technique but does help stability a little.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Little advice pls

Follow the good advice above

or

Just use two fingers. After all, they are power chords. Isn't the point of them to be simple?

 

[karpathion]

Re: Little advice pls

just keep trying to use it. it'll come around. i think we all had to deal with that little part of guitar playing. keep rockin' man. you'll get it.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Little advice pls

Try playing a power chord with the index, ring and pinkie, but let your index finger cover the string just above it on the same fret...this is the same note you're hitting with the third finger, but it's an octave lower and it adds a ton of power to the sound.

 

[juice]

Re: Little advice pls

Pshh forget finger exercises!! Drop D baby!!

^That's how some guitarists think nowadays. They're the ones who have a repertoire of like 2 songs and never get anywhere in life lol. So kudos to you for making effort! I'd say just use your pinky as much as possible! The 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 exercise above is nice and simple. Just remember to take your time...it'll strengthen.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Little advice pls

start playing powerchords like this:
for ex, a D powerchord
e---
B---
G-7- (pinkie (pinkie
D-7- (ring (pinkie
A-5- (index (index
E---
the way i would play this would be one of two ways; with my index(root), ring(5th), pinkie(octave); with my index(root) and pinkie(5th and octave). the reason for this is i like keeping my pinkie active, and simply using it for chord work keeps it in shape and/or helps strengthen it. the way i developed my playing style to be like this was from playing alot of ska and reggae and using a bunch of barre chords. i wouldn't worry about it too much though, you'll get it eventually.

 

[Phil Johnson]

Re: Little advice pls

I remember being there. I figured I'd give up and go back to playing the flute (no jokes please). But if you power through you'll get control of that pinkie.

The individual finger exercises will help with finger independence. Try different combinations with your pinkie as well, ie. 3-4, 2-4. One way to make those even more effective is to make sure you hold one finger down on the string completely while moving the other. So that you're 'walking' across the fretboard instead of 'jumping' with both fingers.

From there, just go slow and have patience young padawan.

 

[Top Jimmy]

Re: Little advice pls

I watched John Petrucci and he actually plays the two string power chords with his index and pinky, not index and ring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8pUqln36po

Maybe try that for a while and that should help control you pinky, then you can incorporate 1,3,4 power chords.

I actually find it hard to do 1,3 two string power chords now, 1,4 seems much easier and fluid.

 

[Sanford]

Re: Little advice pls

Also, when you're aren't holding a guitar do some dexterity exercises. Work on moving each finger independently. One I like to do is to make the "live long and prosper sign" (like Spock from Star Trek) and then work on bending each finger of that hand one at a time. Eventually you'll be able to control each finger without much effort and chording will become easier.