Small hands/chubby fingers...

Having the neck angled upward in the classical position is actually considered by many to be "good posture," as shown here:

http://guitarprinciples.com/Guitar_Technique/sitting.htm

Hope that helps!

P.S. Welcome to GN!

About your "big boned" fingers read this thread https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31282

Thanks so much! At least I know I'm not doing everything wrong! Got to trim those fingernails every day, too...

-Trish

I don't have chubby fingers but I do have little hands and very short fingers my friends say I have girly hands , as when I look at their hands , their fingers are alot longer than mine ...

Not a reason for me to quit though just makes me more determined to do it ...

The advise already given is quite good along with regualr playing that help stretch the fingers { won't make them longer but will help with flexability } ..

Trevor

Actually, today went much better. (My daughter will only play for about 15 minutes. Leaves me about 30 more to play.) I actually tried Horse with No Name. That was easier than switching from G to D7! I know it takes practice. (Only took me 6 years to get to 1st chair clarinet. Figure it ought to take me a a while to get to play anything but merrily we roll along.)

Anyway, mostly trying to have fun with it to encourage my daughter to stick with it.

Thanks again!

-Trish

Trish .. don't worry about those 'chubby fingers' - I have the chubby body to match and I'm still here! Seriously, I don't know if my fingers have been on a serious diet (unbeknown to me) or if I have just started to become more used to the guitar but all those nasty twangs seem to happen a little less each day. If you are already able to work your fingers around 4 chords so quickly you are doing really well and should be congratulating yourself.

The people here have been wonderful and never seem to tire of questions so just enjoy your quitar and G-d willing your daughter will develop a lifelong love of music.

welshman is correct...it will happen gradually...fat fingers fit,short fingers reach,chords flow....it just takes time and practice with a little faith thrown in for luck :roll:

We got her a 30 inch "First Act" guitar - nothing fancy, but it stays in tune pretty well. Well, after a week of trying to teach her without me having a guitar, my husband got me one too (a 38 inch "First Act" guitar). (Handing the guitar back and forth just wasn't working.)

I've got very small hands, and really have to pull my wrist under the neck to be able to reach all the strings, and I'm noticing how stiff my wrist is after even just 10 minutes of playing, and I'm only working on 3 string C, G, G7 and D7. I also noticed that if I really angle my guitar, so that the neck is almost to my shoulder it is much more comfortable on my wrist. But, I'm concerned that it isn't very "good posture." I'm concerned about getting RSI - I've had it in the past in my right elbow from mousing too much on the computer.

The other think is I feel like my fingers are very chubby, and I have a hard time with the D7 - positioning my middle finger on the 3rd string without touching the 2nd string. A friend said as I get callouses it will get better, but I wanted some other's opinions on that.

-Trish

You've had other replies about posture and ways to hold the guitar that have been right on the mark. Follow their advice and links and you should be fine.

To be quite honest, the guitars you chose to start with will probably be your greatest impediment to progress. The "First Act" guitars I've tried were ,um, underwhelming in regards to quality and playability. The higher action I've found common to these guitars will also tend to put you at slightly higher risk for RSI problems. Do yourself a favor and at least go to a music store and try a few entry level Epiphones and Squiers. I think you'll be impressed with the difference in "feel".

Speaking from experience, chubby, stubby fingers aren't a problem. They've never slowed me down. My hands are dwarfed by almost any human over 11 years old, but I still manage to make a bit of music ;) You can check it out at the link below if you want to know what's possible.