Music Lesson: Strengthening Your Pinky and Exploring Split String Technique

If you remember, earlier on in this DVD, I mentioned learning major scales in closed positions. In other words, avoid playing open notes. This approach brings into play the necessity of using your pinky more, as well as developing strength in this finger, which is the smallest and weakest of the bunch.

Pinky Strengthening Exercise

I learned an exercise that I think went something like this, from when I took a couple of lessons with David Grisman back in the mid-70s. It's a simple back-and-forth exercise:

• Keep your middle finger on the fifth fret of the G string.
• Use your pinky to go up to the ninth fret on the G string.
• Alternate as follows:
  • Fifth to ninth fret
  • Fifth to eighth fret
  • Fifth to seventh fret
  • Fifth to eighth fret
  • Fifth to ninth fret

Make sure to alternate with the fifth note being every other note.

Important: Don't do it too much, as you can hurt yourself, and then you won't be playing for a while. So, take it easy, but do a little bit of that to help strengthen your pinky.

Jesse McReynolds' Split String Technique

Another topic I mentioned in passing was Jesse McReynolds' split string technique. We already covered a bit of cross-picking, but the split string technique produces a really cool sound.

How it Works:

• Let's say we're in the key of G. This technique involves playing three notes using two adjacent strings.
• It essentially revolves around the first two notes of a G chord, which are G and B.
• Jesse found a way to incorporate the D note (the fifth note of the chord) into play using only two strings.

The method involves:

1. Placing your fingernail in with your pinky on the bottom A string at the fifth fret to get the D note.
2. Keeping the top B string at the second fret of the A string to ensure it sounds good.

Demonstration

So if I play it real slow, it sounds like this: G, B, D. This creates a full chord.

From there, you can experiment by playing an open A and hammer-on with your index finger. In this instance, I'm giving one stroke but playing two notes by hammering on with that index finger.

Feel free to play around in other positions and keys. This technique sounds especially nice on country-sounding bluegrass songs and works well for slower tempo pieces.