4th finger joint tends to collapse
I've been practicing using my 4th finger and the first joint keeps locking up. I've tried to consciously curl the finger but for some chords, it's extremely difficult. This always happens whenever my 3rd finger is pressing on another string further away. I'm not sure whether the problem is because my 4th finger is not strong/flexible enough or something else. If you have experienced this issue before, please tell me how you were able to fix it.
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Hi Ken ! I did have the same problem before I started intensive slur practice, I think that's the key to a stable 4th finger! If you set aside 5-10min for dedicated slur exercises for 2-4 weeks. your left hand stability will improve drastically!
I recommend following livestreams where I talk a lot about slurs:
- Organizing a Practice Routine
- Getting Slurs Right from the Beginning
- Left Hand Workout with Villa-Lobos Etude #3
- And here's a collection of Slur-based tutorials on tonebase
You also might wanna watch Marco's Production on Basic Principles and go the last chapter where he talks about slurs, as his slur exercise is with me since 10 years!
If you need more individual input, I recommend that you suggest a topic in our Livestream Ideas Forum, then we can cook up something dedicated to your needs in an upcoming (interactive) live session!-
Thank you Martin. That finger is definitely a lot weaker than my other fingers. That's probably why I had to rely on using the second joint to press down. I will definitely watch all of your recommendations to develop my left hand slowly.
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Ken fantastic, keep us updated!
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