[Splurged]

Howdy to you all,

Im progressing quite nicely, getting some nice chord shapes going down, still struggling to keep a good pace but Ill sure as hell keep trying.

I have noticed though , been trying some more difficult chord shapes just to see how they feel, and I cannot get my ring ringer to act as an independent muscle so to speak. If i Move it then my middle finger has to follow. I cant do the Star trek sign , that sort of thing, not that im a trekkie just an example

Any Tips or advice would be most welcome.

[carol m]

What to do depends on what the problem really is. Can you open that gap between those fingers if you try to split them with the other hand? If you can, then you need to work on getting your brain to be able to do it via your own muscles and nerves.

If you can't open up that gap with the other hand it would mean that there is a physical 'binding', not just a muscle/nerve communication problem.

Tell us this and we may be able to give you a few tips.

[allthumbs]

Practice. Training finger independence takes time.

[CirrusPilot]

That's something that you can work on even when you're not playing the guitar. Hold your hand up like you're showing someone the number "5". Now concentrate on moving your pinky up and down. When I do it, I notice that my middle finger isn't affected at all. My ring finger, however, goes about halfway down when I try to move my pinky. Even immobilizing all of my other fingers, my pinky still makes my ring finger move. I can't do the Star Trek sign either, well, I can almost do it. I've never ran into any problems with using my pinky, other than building strength in it.