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Why I Don't Use My Pinky When Shredding

4.7K views· 319 likes· 9:57· Oct 25, 2025

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#fyp #foryoupage #guitar #guitarist #topic #guitarlesson Why I Don't Use My Pinky When Shredding Watch the entire video to see Malmsteen, Govan, Andy James, and Reb Beach do what I do. Hopefully that clears things up! Thanks for watching! Cheers Lesson application https://forms.gle/ghm1HfzwXGuv92t1A Business Email Lestermitchellguitarst@gmail.com Official Website https://lestermitchell.my.canva.site/

About This Video

In this video I finally address the comment I get nonstop: “Use your pinky more, bro.” The truth is I do use my pinky—especially from frets 1–10 where 1-2-4 feels natural, and any time I need big stretches, pentatonic reaches, or certain chord/voice-leading moves. But once I’m up past about frets 10–22 doing a lot of three-notes-per-string stuff, I’ll often switch to three-finger runs (1-2-3) because it’s simply more comfortable and controlled for my hands. My fingers are long, and when the frets get smaller up high, forcing 1-2-4 can feel weird and sloppy for me—almost painful, just not a great control situation. So I go with economy of motion: the easiest, fastest way from point A to point B without tripping myself up or wasting energy. And I’m not alone—Malmsteen, Guthrie Govan, Andy James, and Reb Beach all do the same kind of three-finger approach up the neck, with the pinky dropped in only when it’s actually needed. The takeaway: work your pinky, yes—but keep an open mind, experiment, and remember there’s no music police.

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