I agree. I think as long as you are get your pinky down cleanly on the string. I think That is the important part. I do this exercise every day. It is great
4 Likes
Thanks for calling out Arek, guys above said it all really so I am a bit late to the party 
keep at it, your muscles will stretch and you will be able to spread your fingers more and pinky will straight itself out 
all the best
1 Like
Is it normal to feel a bit of tension in the fretting hand when starting out with this exercise?
Hi Gertjan,
Yes that`s normal,
Greetings,Rogier
1 Like
Great, thank you very much @Tbushell and @JasonBuk for the feedback 
So, as long as I can put the pinky close to the fret and the sound is clean it is ok. Great
Just last question, to be sure that I get it right.
Is it also fine when I put a tip of the pinky a bit on the side on the string ? Like that:
1 Like
Yeah, thatās fine.
1 Like
Thatās great, thank you very much
Hello people, not a question particular for this excersice but more general:
If you do precision exercises on the acoustic guitar, do you have to repeat them on the electric guitar to get the precision on the electric guitar as well ? Thanks !
Not sure if this question is well placed here - but Iām coming back to this lesson to consolidate and realising that rather than my pinky finger being a problem that my 3rd finger kind of collapses when I go to play the note. Does anyone else have this happen?
Hi @Sound_Bound, Iāve currently got this exercise in my practice routine as well. Could you post a photo of your 3rd finger collapsing? Like others here, I have more difficulty with my pinky. I notice that if I focus on making my pinky perpendicular to fretboard, it my third finger definitely changes position - actually it impacts the positioning of all my other fingers! I expect this will get better over time.
Hi Frans @FraLus, I didnāt see that you ever received an answer to this (or a welcome to the community, for that matter!) So first - welcome! Regarding doing exercises on both acoustic and electric, I do practice on both. I start on acoustic, because thatās a bit more physically challenging, then practice on my electric. Of course the neck is different enough between the two that the electric also feels difficult! I figure itās good to get used to finding the frets and strings on various guitars. Iām a Grade 2 beginner, so if you receive different advice from a more advanced player it might be better to give that more weight. 
2 Likes
Hey Judi, thanks for the welcome ! I think I received some enthousiastic welcomes on a another topic so dont feel sorry for me . Also thanks for answering the question. Because finger memory is very accurate I was wondering if it needs some adjustment when switching guitars. I think this will come naturally/automatically if you have more experience. See you around the site Judi and keep playing !
2 Likes
Hereās what Iām noticing in this video: Justinās strings are buzzing just a little. I say this, not as a criticism, but that I hear that string buzz sometimes, too.
Is this:
- a sign my truss rod needs adjusting,
- my string height is a little low, or
- not quite enough pressure is being applied by the finger at the fret?
It could be any or all of those. You can check your truss rod adjustment and string height quite easily without special tools. There are loads of videos on YouTube.
just got a hint from Captain Lee to train the pinky playing a melody: try the first 17 strophes of John Mayerās Edge of Desire, trying to let some strings ring to get a nice melody. Itās fun. And do it also on an acoustic guitar, the best way to practice precision and fingers to my eyes.
If it sounds good on an acoustic, so youāll be enchanted on an electric guitar.
Question: why do we need to keep the fingers curled for this exercise? Justin specifically mentions this in the video. Donāt we want to keep the fretting finger flat to mute the upper (in pitch) strings?
No this is exercise is to strengthen the pinky so you can use it to play chords and embellishment you donāt want to mute the strings you want them to ring out if played.
Latter on youāll learn how to mute strings by flattening your fingers but at this stage that wouls be a bad habit when playing chords
I see! So the idea is that this practice is meant to help chord playing, and in chord playing we want the fingers curved and not touching any other strings. Thanks!
ok so weird question, what do i do with my ring finger when i move on to my middle finger, like is it supposed to be not touching the strings?
Hi Jessica, @jesslh
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun 
and when you play the note which is pressed by your middle finger then your ring finger hangs a little bit above the strings close (isn`t it always very close together ? 
yes with me very close almost stuck 
) to the middle vingerā¦and moves quietly in the direction with the middele one ā¦ (floating above the strings)ā¦
Hope this helps,
Greetings,Rogier