Answer: NO!

I probably wouldn't have said that many years ago but, the years would have proved me wrong. If I'm teaching a beginner, naturally, I'll have them use their pinkie. It makes sense. When I was a guitar fledgling and making my first attempts at a rock and roll scale, I used my pinkie mainly from the influence of classical training. Not mine. My Mom's. Mom played piano and cello as well as several sisters who played either violin or cello. Mom dragged us to concerts, recitals, and anything else she could. All the players in a string section of an orchestra use all four fingers. That's what I saw. If a girl can use all four fingers on an upright bass, then why would I think otherwise? What am I a wimp? (don't answer that)

I really never thought about it. I just did it. I'm sure I went through the same thing as other guitar beginners about how useless the pinkie seemed to be but I did it anyway.

But growing up, that wasn't the norm. When I would go to a dance with a live band (no D.J's back then), I noticed that most of them did not use their pinkies. They were also a lot better than I was too. So, I wasn't totally confident about my decision.

I see guys all the time who don't use their pinkies and most of them can play the Hell out of the guitar. But, there is somewhat of a connection between what styles can be played once you choose to use or not use your pinkie.

Rock and Roll can be played both ways and I'm guessing that it's easier to get up to speed and get down to real playing if you don't use your pinkie. Eric Clapton is mostly a three fingered guitarist. He also has a larger hand than I do and can get to stuff that requires me to use my pinkie. Jimi Hendrix had huge hands! Film footage shows him with his fingers all over the fretboard while wrapping his thumb up around the other side of the neck. Man! That's just not right!

On the other hand, no pun intended, Andre Segovia had short; fat fingers. I got to see him on TV when he did a solo performance at the White House. I was shocked to see just how stubby his fingers were. But, that's the point. You have to use what you have. And use it to your advantage.

So what are the advantages/disadvantages to one or the other?

If your hands, like mine, are on the small side, by all means use all four fingers. You'll be happy when it comes to playing major and minor scales and modes. The notes are directly under your fingers; and with little adjustment. If you hands are large, you could do a hybrid where you use all four fingers on the first 10-12 frets but then go to three fingers when you get up to the 15th fret and beyond. Even with smaller hands, I have to go to a three finger style up above the 15th fret.

I wouldn't ever say that using all four fingers has any disadvantage other than the time it takes to get used to it. But I would admit that it takes a little longer to get off the ground. The payoff is down the road.

The biggest advantage to using all four fingers is that all options are still open. You will be able to handle many more styles than if you use only three fingers. But three finger players also tend to move quickly to some kind of a style. It's somewhat built into the three finger mechanics. After all, most of the cool rock and roll you've been hearing all these years was created by self-taught players. Being self-taught means you use what you discover. You also don't add more work to the mix. Using the 4th finger sure seemed like more work when I was a beginner so it's easy to see how one could try a few things with the pinkie and decide that it was just not able to keep up.

Idiosyncrasies create styles. Using only three fingers can have that effect. Does that mean that if you use all four fingers you won't have a style? Well, no, but it might take you longer to gain your own voice. Would Eric Clapton have the style he has if he had started off with a more academic approach; like using all four fingers? You won't get me to say yes. It's possible that he might not sound the way he has over the years if he hadn't just "played the licks" and used whatever he needed to get the job done.

So, I'm back to square one; except that I do recommend taking the extra time to get all four fingers going. Your pinkie can do it. Just give it a chance and believe it will catch up.

Tell Joe Satriani that he should have only used three fingers and see what you get! The man uses all ten fingers for that matter! And so do a ton of other great players.

So, that Japanese club you join by cutting off the end of your pinkie; don't join!