Simple But Deadly Pinky Exercise

Don't hate me for this.

A little something to make your weekend miserable productive:

I learned this pinky-strengthening exercise many years ago from one of my teachers. If the fourth finger of your fretting hand is the runt of the litter, skill-wise, these combination barre-chord/hammer-on routines may help. Plus you’ll learn some cool retro R&B riffs!

Got a favorite workout to promote finger strength and independence? Share the grief!

(P.S.: Don’t miss the related workouts here and here and here.)

Comments

7 responses to “Simple But Deadly Pinky Exercise”

  1. Jean Pasqualini Avatar
    Jean Pasqualini

    Thanks alot M. Gore. This is very helpful.

  2. Muzicosphere Avatar

    Cool little exercise… My pinky needs it so bad !! I think it’s a cool thing to use bar chord progressions to exercise this finger :thumbup:

  3. AiXeLsyD13 Avatar

    I may have to try this out…  My pinky is generally useless.  I hate any variation of a B chord.

    1. joe Avatar

      LOL — after you try the barred version of the A minor chord, try “your favorite chord” by doing this hammer-on with an A major shape at the second fret. Using your third finger that way is so hard, it’ll make you stop worrying about your pinky. 😉

  4. garoto Avatar
    garoto

    I’ve been trying this exercise for the past week but my picking sounds like a real mess compared to yours.  Any advice on how to make the picking sound cleaner and more even? 

    1. joe Avatar

      As a matter of fact, yes. 🙂

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