middle aged and small fingers!!
Hi Neil, I'm a 50 year old woman and began a lifelong aspiration to learn the acoustic guitar 3 years ago. I float somewhere between beginner and intermediate and the one thing that I know would put me over the edge to intermediate would be longer fingers. I practice at least 1-2 hours everyday, my fingers are callosed over, so I know it's not that I'm not practicing enough! I physically cannot stretch my index finger and little finger 4 frets apart on the same string, let alone on a different string!! My little finger seems to go down on the fret crooked and that might be something I still need to work on, but stretching them any farther is frustrating and seems impossible. (no, I don't have arthritis, LOL). I am keeping my thumb high on the back of the neck, but too high is really painful on the back of my hand!! The first joint of my index finger doesn't stretch over 3 strings when I push it down flat to barre. (Stairway to Heaven has that chord and I just can't get.) If I were younger, I wouldn't be so discouraged but considering my age, I feel that I need to figure out a way to compensate for this asap!! I've heard of 3/4 guitars, but seem to only read about them for kids. Can I get a high quality, good sounding acoustic for an adult? Or maybe you can think of some magical exersise for me......Thanks, and by the way, you're website is amazing. I've been a member of many and yours is by far the easiest, most educational and fun one out there and I also love how you overflow with passion when you play!! Thanks again. Robin
Don't give up. If you are playing 1-2 hours a day you need to concentrate on the technique that Neil teaches. If you can keep your hand in the correct position you will get better inspite of your small fingers. I have played for years and never understood why I didn't progress. And then I really made an effort to not plant my pinky finger on the sound board and don't use the baseball bat grip it has help imensely. Hand postion is key keep at it.
rktRKT - I understand exactly what you are going through. I am 53 and have small hands and stretching 4 frets is definitely my limit. I wish I had a secret formula for you, but Mauro is right proper hand position will at least give you fighting chance. Keep practicing and trying doing some hand and finger stretches before you start playing.
If your avatar is how you look you're doing pretty good for 50.:cheer:
Keep Playing
Ric
If your avatar is how you look you're doing pretty good for 50.:cheer:
Keep Playing
Ric
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nemastetaylor
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Have you tried a taylor acoustic guitar?? It is a friendlier to small hands and also good action. I think fingerstyle professionals use shorter guitars. I have small hands too but perhaps not as small as yours. I have a taylor guitar and love it. I still have problems with certain chords etc. I actually love Capo songs cause it is easier on my hands.
I've worked too hard to give up now. I really have come a long way and see improvement but only with the chords that I can play clearly. I don't want to be one of those people that only knows a few licks and parts of songs and that's it. Neil has different hand positions than I learned from another website. He involves the little finger in alot of chords, such as the G. I never did it that way and I wish I learned it from the beginning like that. It makes more sense in the long run, but my little finger just doesn't get down on the high e string anywhere near the fret! No, I never do the baseball bat grip. What do you mean by not planting the pinky finger on the sound board?
Robin
Robin
Maybe I need to also work on stretching the back of my hand along with stretching my fingers. I've been concentrating on just my fingers. But the back of my hand seems to be where it hurts when I get the hand position exactly right for whatever those couple of difficult chords. Thanks for that tip. My little finger acts like it's paralyzed or something if in a chord it is separate from the ring finger. I keep thinking all these physical problems is my age and it's something that I'll never resolve so thanks for the motivation!
No, I don't look like the avatar......my hair is not yellow! LOL
No, I don't look like the avatar......my hair is not yellow! LOL
Thanks for the info. I did a little research and a Taylor seems the way to go if I can't get the more difficult chords down. I'm going to try stretching the back of my hand more and see how it goes and yes, pay more attention to Neils' hand position, he has great tips. Yeah, Capo songs are great! Sometimes I put one on just for learning the songs I really love, just to give my self a little confidence, even if it's not supposed to be used. I end up feeling that it's cheating (which it is) and take it off. And besides, the song doesn't sound like it should but it gets me learning the chord progression in my head quicker, which memory seems to be a problem lately, too. I so wish I started 20 years ago! Robin
Robin,
When I started playing, I, too, wished for longer fingers. Didn't happen. When that didn't work, I wished to become a better player. That worked! I got my wish, so don't be discouraged.
I can think of four things that may help. First, get real picky about your hand position, and look closely at Neil's demonstrations of chord squeezing drills. Second, check the scale length of your guitar. Scales vary in length from 24.75" to 25.56". The difference in playability is dramatic if you have small hands. To find your scale length, measure the distance from the nut to the twelfth fret, then double it. Third, try some exercises to increase the spread of your fingers. I stuff a rubber ball between my fingers and relax in that position for thirty seconds per joint daily, and I increased my spread by about a half inch. Last, don't try to play what is beyond your physical dimensions, because there are alternatives.
Neil is not only a gifted artist and a devoted teacher, but his hands appear to be well suited for guitar. Phil Keaggy - well he's just a mutant - spans eight frets. I am neither gifted nor a mutant, but I don't give up easy, either. When I started playing, I wanted to play Greg Lake's "Still You Turn Me On". That song uses drop D tuning and the G chord at the third fret spanning three frets across five of six strings, and as a beginner, I couldn't get to the sixth string. It was then that I realized I am not a performing artist, my wife would be the only person to hear it, and I had no requirement to sound identical to Greg Lake. I just wanted it to sound good.
I played the song in standard tuning with a standard G chord. It didn't sound like Greg Lake or Neil Hogan, but it sounded OK, and as a beginner, it was encouraging. If I see a song now where the whole thing is played across four or five frets, I exercise some music theory to see if I can create a playable version.
If you do what you can and do it well, it puts you further ahead than doing poorly what you just can't do. As evidence, check out Antoine Dufour. I personally think he is one best guitarists of all time. His hands look small to me, and I noticed he almost never attempts to span more than three frets.
Good Luck
wrench
When I started playing, I, too, wished for longer fingers. Didn't happen. When that didn't work, I wished to become a better player. That worked! I got my wish, so don't be discouraged.
I can think of four things that may help. First, get real picky about your hand position, and look closely at Neil's demonstrations of chord squeezing drills. Second, check the scale length of your guitar. Scales vary in length from 24.75" to 25.56". The difference in playability is dramatic if you have small hands. To find your scale length, measure the distance from the nut to the twelfth fret, then double it. Third, try some exercises to increase the spread of your fingers. I stuff a rubber ball between my fingers and relax in that position for thirty seconds per joint daily, and I increased my spread by about a half inch. Last, don't try to play what is beyond your physical dimensions, because there are alternatives.
Neil is not only a gifted artist and a devoted teacher, but his hands appear to be well suited for guitar. Phil Keaggy - well he's just a mutant - spans eight frets. I am neither gifted nor a mutant, but I don't give up easy, either. When I started playing, I wanted to play Greg Lake's "Still You Turn Me On". That song uses drop D tuning and the G chord at the third fret spanning three frets across five of six strings, and as a beginner, I couldn't get to the sixth string. It was then that I realized I am not a performing artist, my wife would be the only person to hear it, and I had no requirement to sound identical to Greg Lake. I just wanted it to sound good.
I played the song in standard tuning with a standard G chord. It didn't sound like Greg Lake or Neil Hogan, but it sounded OK, and as a beginner, it was encouraging. If I see a song now where the whole thing is played across four or five frets, I exercise some music theory to see if I can create a playable version.
If you do what you can and do it well, it puts you further ahead than doing poorly what you just can't do. As evidence, check out Antoine Dufour. I personally think he is one best guitarists of all time. His hands look small to me, and I noticed he almost never attempts to span more than three frets.
Good Luck
wrench