how to strengthen the pinky

[classicalinquisition]

how have you tried to increase your range and strength? hanon and czerny can only do so much after a while.

[iansinclair]

Schubert op 90 #3.  And really work on bringing out the melody!

Besides, it's a lovely impromptu... beats Czerny or Hanon every time.

More generally -- work on pieces in which the melody or theme(s) is in the top line.  There are a lot of them.

[timothy42b]

Your pinky is likely to always be your smallest finger, barring some industrial accident that removes the others.

Use the power of the arm. 

[dcstudio]

Your pinky is not the weakest finger...and it's not a matter of strength as much as control. I was taught to practice scales in octaves with both hands until l could make the top note ring out above the others effortlessly.  I hated it but it worked...thanks Dr. R...for making me so afraid of you that I actually practiced what you told me to practice.  RIP.

[georgey]

Star.  Is that you?  OP=PPS?  All is good here but I thought I saw something in another thread. Just kidding, but beware of trained actors.     Hi Star. 

[musiclessonsanywhere]

Schmitt Op. 16: Preparatory Exercises For the Piano are great for pinky strength.

[debussychopin]

If you aren't getting any ability to voice out the fifth finger from czerny, you may want to revisit how you are practicing czerny.

[vaniii]

 .

[Bob]

Yes for stretching the hand out.  Just stretch it out without the keyboard.  I do some 10ths and 9ths for practice to keep them stretched out.  It only goes so far though.  I still do that just to keep them stretched out, but they don't stretch out any more.  If I wanted to focus attention on it, it might be a little more comfortable/relaxed.

For the pinky, once in a while I've just planted the pinkie on something solid and moved the hand around with some weight on it, keeping the arch in the pinkie.  I think that helps a bit. 

[sitbon09]

Other than octaves, ensure the arm is aligned behind the 5th finger to play where possible with good support from the bridge knuckles.  If the other fingers are not being used to play then they can also help brace the fourth.  Generally I advocate keepin the fingers together especially when raising them to play a note. This minimises tension on the flexor muscles.