Strengthen Your Pinky with THIS Pentatonic SHRED Guitar Lick

Has limited pinky control ever interfered with your guitar progress? It certainly has for me.

Back when I started learning how to play guitar, I remember my pinky being my Achilles' heel. This was especially evident as I progressed and started learning to shred and play some of my favorite metalcore riffs. I’ve seen other guitarists have this same problem. Taking control of your pinky will allow you to play many chords and licks with greater speed, ease, and efficiency. Fortunately for you, I’ve got a really fun and musical way to develop your pinky strength and dexterity. It revolves around a pentatonic lick that will break you and your pinky free from a common sticking point. Now it’s time to shred \m/

The Scale

The lick used in this lesson is in the key of E minor and is based on the 5th form of the pentatonic scale. The following notation depicts how the scale is played ascending and descending:

The Pinky Strengthening Shred Lick

This exercise is originally something I had used for the guitar solo of the mini song I wrote when reviewing the Ignite Emissary and NadIR plugin bundle. The bulk of this lick uses ascending triplets. Begin the first triplet by playing the root (12th fret of the low E string), followed by the previous pentatonic scale note (10th fret of the low E string), then returning back to the root on the 12th fret of the low E string. Continue to the next triplet by jumping to the 2nd note of this pentatonic scale form (10th fret of the A string), followed by the 12th fret of the low E string, then landing back on the 10th fret of the A string. Repeat this sequence through the 5th form of the pentatonic scale until you reach the 12th fret of the G string. Despite the back and forth between notes, there is a linear ascending pattern that climbs up each note of the scale until reaching the 12th fret of the G string. This can be seen in the video and if you observe the note that begins each new triplet.

For the sake of using this musical phrase as an exercise in finger strength and dexterity, I recommend using your middle finger to play the notes that land on the 10th fret, your pinky to play the notes that land on the 12th fret, and your index finger to play the notes that land on the 9th fret. In the beginning, you may find it easier to play the 10th fret notes with your index finger as this reduces the stretch across your hand. You will notice in the video that I play the 12th fret of the G string with my ring finger. I make this exception simply because it makes for a more comfortable, pleasant-sounding vibrato. At this point, the pinky already went through quite the set of exercise.

Each pentatonic scale note that initiates a new triplet grouping may be accented to help get a feel for the rhythm and to distinguish one triplet from the next. In this case, I am using alternate picking, and I strongly recommend you do the same. The accent that starts each new triplet will alternate between downstrokes and upstrokes.

Take This Exercise Even Further

The world of guitar exercises is your oyster. There are several ways to take this specific lesson even further to really build pinky speed, strength, and endurance. For example, you can play beyond the 12th fret of the G string and ascend through the entire 5th form of the pentatonic scale using this same triplet pattern. In addition, you can play the entire pattern of this pentatonic scale form backwards by starting on the 12th fret of the high e string. Ascending and descending the whole scale makes for a longer exercise, which stresses your pinky more by building up more digital muscular endurance. Furthermore, you can try this musical pattern with other forms of the pentatonic scale. This will seriously impress your guitar teacher! Any of these additional exercises that go beyond the main lick can aid in the versatility of your playing as well as cognitive flexibility. Can you think of other creative ways to incorporate this pattern into your practice?

Conclusion

Putting this lick into practice will build your pinky strength and dexterity in no time. We’ve based this on the 5th form of the pentatonic scale by using a triplet based alternate picking shred lick that demands a lot from the pinky. Let me know how this goes for you and if there are any other roadblocks that are interfering with your guitar progress. Have fun!

Check out the full lesson video HERE: Strengthen Your Pinky with THIS Pentatonic SHRED Guitar Lick