Technique
Which One to Use?
Keith David Harris
A Series (not just) About Fingering on the Mandolin Instalment 12: Words, Words,
Words...
The real truth about the
revealed!
I can’t remember hearing the term pinkie (or pink-y) to mean
the 4th (or little) finger in my childhood in Australia, but
perhaps I didn’t pay enough attention. It’s certainly standard
in various countries where English is the main language
though. Apparently it’s a borrowing from Dutch word pink
or its diminutive form pinkje. Whatever it’s called, the little
finger is a source of anxiety to lots of mandolin players.
Many of my students, who routinely use it as freely as any
other finger, find this a bit strange. Of course the truth is,
it’s usually neither weak, too short, nor unreliable, just badly
trained. Mandolin players who have grown up with this Flat
Earth misconception of human anatomy though (probably
most players and certainly myself until a few decades ago),
often need gentle remedial help to overcome their completely
home-grown and unnecessary fear. This is why I wrote this
little Pinkie Blues for my American friend and online student
Bob, building in lots of applications for 4th finger - some of
which might surprise you. As you can imagine, I couldn’t
resist the temptation to include other technical features as
And here are some comments:
This is a standard
direction that
quavers which look
the same length should be tripletised,
played unequally (with a swing feel –
a)
well - so this instalment doesn’t use only the word pinkie,
but also slide, hammer-on, triplet etc. Lots of the words and
underlying principles will be familiar to anybody who has
worked through earlier instalments of this series. In particular
you might care to revise Instalments 3, 4 and 7.
In Instalment 12 I use lower case letters - eg “b)”- to
mark features I discuss. Sometimes other people use
different words to describe the same thing and signs are
also not very standardised. I use my own here and try to
explain what I mean. There are many other instances of each
technical feature in the tune, so please keep an eye out for
them. The title of the tune is of course a multiple pun – on
4th finger itself (pinkie), colours pink and blue, and also on
various meanings of the word blues – as a musical form and
also suggesting worry or sadness, perhaps feelings associated
by some people with 4th finger...
Here’s the tune:
long/short in ratio 2:1).
b)
Stop
(finger,
if you
prefer the
word) C#
with 4th finger (pinkie). Strike string and
immediately slide finger one fret to right
as if correcting a mistake (oops!). Be
careful to apply constant pressure with
4th finger – don’t inadvertently relax it.
Do not strike second note -D- with
plectrum: if slide is done correctly, you
11