Dealing with my fifth finger in the right hand

[tinashej]

I started learning piano 5 years ago from scratch and now doing my grade 8. When I was doing my grade 6 I realised that my right hand fifth finger was giving me problem. The finger was injured long back when I was young. The upper joint does work so I control it from the lower joints. During grade 6 and 7 my teacher adviced me to use alternative fingerings to avoid using it but now in one of my exam choice it looks there is no way out. The song is oscar peterson Hallelujar Time. To anyone familiar with the current ABRSM grade 8 syllabus, what can I do to cope. The finger is not that bad. Any advice please

[skibickay]

When I was studying jazz piano ages ago, my teacher's advice for fingering was, "If it feels good, do it."  I think with your injury, you'll just have to experiment and discover what works best.  You are lucky it is the fifth finger and not one of the more dominant fingers.