Questions about the independence of the little and ring fingers

Questions about the independence of the little and ring fingers

Hello everyone, welcome to this guitar class. Today we will talk about a topic that everyone who learns guitar will encounter: the independence of the little finger and the ring finger.

I believe that most of the partners who learn guitar will encounter below problems such as the little finger of the left hand is weak, the ring finger is inseparable from the conditioned reflex and it is out of control. Here are a few methods you can try:

1. One-finger lifting training

Firstly, press four fingers sequentially on four consecutive frets of a string, such as the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th frets of the third string. Then keep the index finger, middle finger and little finger pressed on the string all the time and let the ring finger lift and press repeatedly.

At the beginning, you may find that it is awkward to move like this and the speed is very slow. So the goal of this exercise is to make the movement of the ring finger as flexible and fast as the index finger. This finger exercise can also be practiced with the little finger. That means keeping the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger pressed to the string, then moving the little finger repeatedly.

2. Combination training of ring finger and little finger

Press the index finger and middle finger on the 5th and 6th frets. Then use the ring finger to press the 7th fret, and then use the little finger to press the 8th fret. Make sure the little finger is lifted while the ring finger is pressed down. Meanwhile, make sure your ring finger is up when your little finger is down. Keep practicing like this. It can be found that this movement is much more difficult than when the index and middle fingers are relaxed. Another way is to press the index finger and middle finger on the other string.

Here are two examples. One is to press the index finger and middle finger on the 5th and 6th frets of the 2nd string while the ring finger and little finger repeatedly press the 7th and 8th frets of the 4th string. That’s downward expansion. The other is to press the index finger and middle finger on the 5th and 6th frets of the 4th string while the ring finger and little finger repeatedly press the 7th and 8th frets of the 2nd string. That’s extended upwards. The latter method is more difficult than the former one.

3. Climbing the ring finger and little finger

That still focuses on the exercise of the ring finger and little finger. You can release your index finger and middle finger and press the 7th fret of the 6th string with the ring finger while playing the sound with the right hand. Then lift the ring finger, press the 8th fret of the 6th string with the little finger and play the sound. At this time, keep the little finger still on the 6th string, press the 7th fret of the 5th string with the ring finger and play it. Keep the ring finger still, then move the little finger up, press it on the 8th fret of the 5th string and play it ring. It’s a round that move from the 6th string to the 1st string, and then back to the 6th string.

After a certain round of practice, you can reverse the order of the frets. That means firstly you should press the 8th fret with the little finger and press the 7th fret with the ring finger. Then keep the ring finger still and move the little finger to the 8th fret of the previous string. And finally press the 8th fret with the ring finger and move the ring finger up. It is best to practice both positive and negative sequences, or you can choose a sequence that is not very suitable for strengthening exercises.

4. Daily Stretching and Finger Independence

Tuck your fist between the little finger and ring finger and the middle of the other fingers (left hand). As far as possible, practice every day, this is a good way to practice span. To practice independence, hold your left hand first fist, stretch out the ring finger and index finger. Do not move the other fingers, then retract, stretch out the little finger and middle finger. Don’t move the other fingers. Repeat the above two actions continuously. These are necessary and easy-to-use methods.

5 .Exercises You Can Do While Walking

Usually, you can also do some little finger movement exercises. For example, the thumb first controls the index finger, middle finger and ring finger, and then let the little finger continue to move quickly. This way the exercises can be done even while walking. This exercise can not only greatly improve the flexibility of the little finger, but also enhance the ability of the little finger to resist fatigue. After long hours of this practice, the little finger of your left hand will become incredibly flexible. Similarly, you can also do “ring finger movement”, “middle finger movement” and “all four finger movement” like “little finger movement”. When doing the exercise of a certain finger alone, you must use your thumb to control the other fingers so as to have a good effect.

The above methods may feel uncomfortable when you practice them for the first time. And the left hand muscles seem to be very stiff. It doesn’t matter. Just take your time and speed up the practice step by step. It doesn’t take long every day but it’s all about persistence. See you next time.