Re: Question about pinky use...
I use my pinky just as much as every other finger on my fretting hand! I use it much less with guitar and other larger instruments, but on mandolin and mandola it's essential. Learn the patterns for a two-course major scale and minor scale and that will unlock the whole fretboard for you! Either one is always four notes on each course (Do, Re, Mi/Me, Fa on the first course and Sol, La/Le, Ti/Te, Do on the second course), and those four notes are always played with your index, middle, ring, and pinky. Because these are closed patterns, you can shift them anywhere on the neck, and you can even play three octave scales starting on the G and D courses for the first octave, D and A courses for the second octave, and A and E courses for the third octave (depending on how low on the neck you started the first octave).
A useful ear training exercise that I practice regularly while playing along with records is to find the tonal center (Do) for the tune, locate it on the neck, and then play the appropriate scale (major or minor) starting from that note and going up and down the neck. This can help break your improvisation out of home position notes, and make any key straightforward to play along with.
1913 Gibson F2 (Blacktop)
2022 Big Muddy Mandola (M-16, Ziricote back and sides, Adirondack top)
2022 Kentucky KM-120 (Elevated fretboard conversion)
1940s Kay Banjolin
1930s Martin Style 0 Ukulele
1920s Vega Senator Plectrum Banjo (GDAE octave mando tuning)
Bookmarks