Guitar & Musician Forums

is it a fact that all bass players use their pinkie because of the
physical nature of the fretboard ( scale length )

Yes and no. Not all bass players use their pinky (that of course depends on the player), but those that do do so because yes, it allows for more fluid playing on fret boards that usually require you to move your hand a whole one to two frets while playing without use of the pinky.

IMO it's a true skill; gotta build up strength in the pinky

I would imagine bassists not using their pinky would be extremely limited with what they could play!

Olly wrote:I would imagine bassists not using their pinky would be extremely limited with what they could play!

Of course! You could also say the same thing about guitar players, though...and there are plenty of those who don't seem to use their pinky fingers.

My take is: you have four fingers, you might as well use them all- otherwise you can only really be limiting yourself.

Or you can have a super fast index finger that works as both.

'to pinky' or 'not to pinky'?... that is the question

As mentioned on guitar as well as Bass, you have 4 fingers so maybe try and use them, 1 finger per fret is a good guide.

Of course many players have no problem with 3 fingers but for certain type of playing you would need a strong 'pinky'

Ste