Age old crappy hand / finger debate...

Don't fret it, it's not that much about hand-size anyway. Everyone has the same problems, I sure know I did. I've a bit above-averagely large hands and had tyo keep the thumb behind initially. Now I can just grab it no problem with the thumb over. All chords will slowly get easier and easier and before you know it you'll be playing them perfectly without thinking about it. :)

Don't fret it
:lol: Haha! Don't "fret" it... get it? :lol: (I don't think it even makes good sense...)

...not including that lame pun... Your fingers are like the same as mine (exepct the pinky which is half an inch longer)
I honestly don't think you'll have any problems playing... because the majority of people I associate with have shorter fingers than me,
and how would you expect THEM to play the guitar? It's meant for everyone :P So you just have to practice the things you aren't good at :o

Your hands are a LOT smaller than mine (take a look at my avatar!) - but having small hands shouldn't be a deterrrent. In time, you'll find your stretch increases, you'll find your hands do start to co-ordinate - this is called muscle memory, once you've played a chord a few zillion times it becomes embedded in your subconscious.

You need to relax when playing - no good trying to play if you're all tensed up. If you try and force the guitar, it'll fight you! Not to mention putting unnecessary strain on your hands.

If your lead playing's coming on well, that's good. You don't mention whether you've tried barre chords - with smaller hands, they may be easier for you, especially higher up the neck. Have a word with your teacher, see what he thinks.

:D :D :D

Vic

Oh, as a sidenote, while big hands make chords down the neck easier, espescially barre-chords, having small hands is actually more usefull when playing chords high up the neck, where the frets are smaller. No matter your hands, some things will be easier and other things will be harder. Just relax and enjoy. :D

Ive tried barre chords and tbh, i struggle - Fmaj is impossible.

I am pretty relaxed when i play at home. I seem to progress more when having a lesson, then take 2 steps back at home.

And yea, your hands are pretty big LOL

I did have a squier strat, but sold it and bought the ibanez which did help as well.

Its not your hand size, that seems fine to me. You just need to keep teaching it to properly finger the chords you want to play. Repetition is the only way I know to get it down - not the most exciting part of learning guitar, but it has to be done!

No matter your hands, some things will be easier and other things will be harder. Just relax and enjoy. :D

+1 to that.

Hi MikeHull,

It's good that you posted those pics, because I can immediately see that you have some bio-mechanical problems there that are going to make it difficult for you to learn guitar. :( For a start, your fingers appear to be all different lengths, your pinky looks short, weak and uncontrolled, and your ring finger looks like it's not easy to move independently. These drawbacks will take a while to correct. Oddly enough, mine were very similar... :wink:

EVERY beginner thinks that their hands are all wrong. :)

My fingers just wouldn't seem to fit between the strings - too big, too fat, too clumsy, too old - whatever - there's a million excuses, and they were all basically rubbish... :roll: They miraculously got 'smaller' and more accurate as I put in the practice - mostly in tiny increments that are too small to measure, but you can eventually start to hear. This happened over months not hours.

Take a look at some of the 'masters' and you'll see all sorts. Pudgy little fingers, hands of all sizes, ridiculously long fingernails on the fretting hand, and even astonishingly fast players like Django Reinhardt who only had two usable fingers on his left hand.

You'll improve your stretching reach and also become more accurate when you need to move the whole hand to get somewhere. You'll also get better at finding several different options for playing the same thing. Naturally, you aren't as good as you'd like after a couple of months - none of us were. There's always a huge difference betwen how quickly you can pick up the ideas and methods, and how long it takes to train the fingers to actually do what you've learned. It's normal. And don't get too twisted about the F either. Some students allegedly get it after only a few hours of work, but there are others around here who have been playing for a couple of years and still sometimes find it tricky. It's rarely quick and easy but it's achievable, and once you 'get' anything with guitar you quickly forget how it was once difficult.

Your teacher is right - don't be so hard on yourself. You will of course (so was I :roll: Many 'less young' beginners are especially hard on themselves because we're already used to being good at most of the things we do, and we find going back to the crawling stage a bit of a drag to begin with... ). But do try and remind yourself that you're only experiencing what we all did. The only trick is to keep your motivation up and hang in there - do that and progress and success are guaranteed. 8)

Enjoy yourself, it's a wonderful thing to learn and a great journey.

Chris

you will do fine. we all found a way to compensate.
thus we have our own style.
but I got to tell you.
that chord you are trying to make in the picture
is not a chord. :wink:

you will do fine. we all found a way to compensate.
thus we have our own style.
but I got to tell you.
that chord you are trying to make in the picture
is not a chord. :wink:

LOL - damn! I thought I was being as good as Steve Vai as well :( LOL

No matter your hands, some things will be easier and other things will be harder. Just relax and enjoy. :D

+1 to that.

Hi MikeHull,

It's good that you posted those pics, because I can immediately see that you have some bio-mechanical problems there that are going to make it difficult for you to learn guitar. :( For a start, your fingers appear to be all different lengths, your pinky looks short, weak and uncontrolled, and your ring finger looks like it's not easy to move independently. These drawbacks will take a while to correct. Oddly enough, mine were very similar... :wink:

Bio in the what now? lol.

My pinky is useless, but my ring finger isnt so bad - My teacher has given me some exercises to do, which should help with both fingers hopefully.

EVERY beginner thinks that their hands are all wrong. :)

My fingers just wouldn't seem to fit between the strings - too big, too fat, too clumsy, too old - whatever - there's a million excuses, and they were all basically rubbish... :roll: They miraculously got 'smaller' and more accurate as I put in the practice - mostly in tiny increments that are too small to measure, but you can eventually start to hear. This happened over months not hours.

Take a look at some of the 'masters' and you'll see all sorts. Pudgy little fingers, hands of all sizes, ridiculously long fingernails on the fretting hand, and even astonishingly fast players like Django Reinhardt who only had two usable fingers on his left hand.

I find i dont always use the tips, but just slightly on the flat of the finger due to them being a bit shorter. I keep my nails short too as can be seen in the pic.

And i am rubbish right now lol.

at the moment, im only able to get a few hours practice in a week as well.
You'll improve your stretching reach and also become more accurate when you need to move the whole hand to get somewhere. You'll also get better at finding several different options for playing the same thing. Naturally, you aren't as good as you'd like after a couple of months - none of us were. There's always a huge difference betwen how quickly you can pick up the ideas and methods, and how long it takes to train the fingers to actually do what you've learned. It's normal. And don't get too twisted about the F either. Some students allegedly get it after only a few hours of work, but there are others around here who have been playing for a couple of years and still sometimes find it tricky. It's rarely quick and easy but it's achievable, and once you 'get' anything with guitar you quickly forget how it was once difficult.

The stretching I want to impove - I was trying to play Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, and stretching for part of the song is really difficult and awkward, for what appears a really easy song to learn.
Your teacher is right - don't be so hard on yourself. You will of course (so was I :roll: Many 'less young' beginners are especially hard on themselves because we're already used to being good at most of the things we do, and we find going back to the crawling stage a bit of a drag to begin with... ). But do try and remind yourself that you're only experiencing what we all did. The only trick is to keep your motivation up and hang in there - do that and progress and success are guaranteed. 8)

Enjoy yourself, it's a wonderful thing to learn and a great journey.

Chris

I think I started too late in life - I did originally start to learn 18 years ago, but gave it up - now at the age of 26 I do want to learn, but feel unmotivated alot :(

Cheers!

Bio in the what now? lol.

My pinky is useless, but my ring finger isnt so bad - My teacher has given me some exercises to do, which should help with both fingers hopefully.

I hope you didn't think that crack about have some 'bio-mechanical problems was serious? It was just a joking way of saying that we all start with the same difficulties - fingers that don't work properly. :wink: My pinky was not just weak it was stiff with arthritis. With practice it freed up and works fine now.

And i am rubbish right now lol.

That won't last for long. :)
I think I started too late in life - I did originally start to learn 18 years ago, but gave it up - now at the age of 26 I do want to learn, but feel unmotivated alot :(

I guess 26 is pretty ancient... :P No, not all. I didn't start until I was nearly 58 (I'm now 60). Believe me, I was terrible when I started. Hands wouldn't work at all. I'm not terrible any more. Any age is fine. :D 8)

The first few months are always tough. You just have to take it on faith that you will get better. Hang in there and it picks up speed.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Chris

Yeah, I think 26 is young around these parts 8) (No offense to anyone!) I'm 26, too, and also just started "seriously" learning guitar. It sucks sometimes, but it really does just take practice.

As far as being able to stretch to certain parts, again, just practice. Muscle strength, "muscle memory", flexibility, this is all stuff you just can't force to go as fast as you'd like it to. It's very easy to be too critical of yourself - you might improve over a few weeks, but also your ear improves and you actually hear more of your mistakes! Just because your list of "things I need to work on" is growing doesn't mean you're not improving. :)

As others have suggested around the forum, it helps to record yourself often. I try to do so at least every week or two, and it's impossible not to see the improvement between each set of recordings.

Best of luck ;)

Bio in the what now? lol.

My pinky is useless, but my ring finger isnt so bad - My teacher has given me some exercises to do, which should help with both fingers hopefully.

I hope you didn't think that crack about have some 'bio-mechanical problems was serious? It was just a joking way of saying that we all start with the same difficulties - fingers that don't work properly. :wink: My pinky was not just weak it was stiff with arthritis. With practice it freed up and works fine now.

And i am rubbish right now lol.

That won't last for long. :)
I think I started too late in life - I did originally start to learn 18 years ago, but gave it up - now at the age of 26 I do want to learn, but feel unmotivated alot :(

I guess 26 is pretty ancient... :P No, not all. I didn't start until I was nearly 58 (I'm now 60). Believe me, I was terrible when I started. Hands wouldn't work at all. I'm not terrible any more. Any age is fine. :D 8)

The first few months are always tough. You just have to take it on faith that you will get better. Hang in there and it picks up speed.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Chris

LOL Chris, I didnt think you were serious, hence my bio in the what now bit ;)

I hear where you're are coming from.

I hope to not always be rubbish lol.

thanks again :)

Yeah, I think 26 is young around these parts 8) (No offense to anyone!) I'm 26, too, and also just started "seriously" learning guitar. It sucks sometimes, but it really does just take practice.

As far as being able to stretch to certain parts, again, just practice. Muscle strength, "muscle memory", flexibility, this is all stuff you just can't force to go as fast as you'd like it to. It's very easy to be too critical of yourself - you might improve over a few weeks, but also your ear improves and you actually hear more of your mistakes! Just because your list of "things I need to work on" is growing doesn't mean you're not improving. :)

As others have suggested around the forum, it helps to record yourself often. I try to do so at least every week or two, and it's impossible not to see the improvement between each set of recordings.

Best of luck ;)

Thanks again for your input :)

What do people use to record themselves?

Oh, and just to add - i am NO WHERE near close to being able to play ANY songs :(