Woman with Small Hands

as you learned there are small necked guitrs out there.
since this is not an option, then figuring out the best way to form a chord is your solution.

until you can get a guitar that fits you I would reccomend getting the guitar you have set up by a good shop.
they could adjust the action ( the distance of the strings from the neck). closer action will help, as you would have to press down so hard.

I would stick with learning by the normal manner of finger/chord forming; there will be no problems later on then from 'bad habits'..

keep your chord selection simple. you ont have to know a gajillion chords. some are very wacky; I wont even attempt them!

play the open position and only try barre chords when your hand strength increases.

your hand will get stronger and more flexible the more you play. so you will be able to reach for those notes and nail them eventually. be patient.

lastly, if you truly are diminsihed hand size wise then play the guitar the way you want.
yes, it goes against what Ive said. but sometimes uniqueness is the only way.
there are many artists who perform using their own style, untaught, made up chords and all, and they do fine.
but then you'd be so unique no one could play with you.
that's last resort.

best wishes.
oh, Ibanez and Epiphone have narrower necks than most. keep that in mind.

Last year I played with a woman who had very small hands. She had to use some alternate chords. For instance the most common shape for an open G chord was not possible. She found an alternate finering that worked and made due. She was a decent player and managed on a Seagull which has one of the largest nut widths. When you finances improve you might want to try an OM model or even a baby martin, taylor etc.

you could try a kids beginner guide, I got one for my son and it contains 1 finger chords using the 3 higest strings rather than all 6.
Could you not sellswap your guitar for a 34 scale one?

thanks! i think i will continue to practice the traditional way, after all, i am just starting, and i do need to be patient before i just give in to bad habits, right? if after quite some time i am still having trouble, then i might decide to resort to untraditional finger placement or perhaps a different guitar or adjusting the action. for now, i will just keep practicing.

all this really helps. thanks, everbody!

A capo could help by allowing you to play on the higher/closer frets.

you'll eventually probably need a smaller guitar. my Seagull dreadnought was too big for me though i used it for a few years. i now have a Martin 000 size, which is the same size as the OM size. I used to end up muting the high e string all the time too. Don't wrap your thumb around the neck like your grasping it, too. loosen your grasp and bring your thumb "down" just a little. there should be a bit of space between your hand and the edge of the guitar. by "down" i mean in the direction of the towards the floor, or towards the high E string.

Also, Daily rock makes what they call guitars for girls---smaller guitars. i have a daisy rock too. they're not as expensive as a martin and they're designed for small people. eventually you'll have a lot of guitars!

my hands are tiny for a guy (im 5'4"-5'6" heightwise) and i always muted the high e, also my arms would get cramped to hell and i couldnt even play with a strap, i had to sit so i could contort my arm to reach ... anyway, after a while your fingers will stretch a little bit and your arm will get accustomed to beinding like that and you should be able to adapt to it, even with small hands. Unless they are much smaller than I'm thinking :)

This not a problem only for the fairer sex ( ladies )

I have only very small hands myself actually when I read this post I went and measured my hands . From the base of my palm(
where hand joins arm that bit ) it measures 5 & 1/2 inches ..

Length of my of longest finger ( index finger is 1&1/4 inches

I have short dumpy fingers and from playing years of sport and leading a mis-spent youth on things I am not totally proud of my fingers are bent I can't straighten my index finger on my left hand which makes Barre chords very hard .

The pain you have is because your doing something that your body isn't used to , just like a baby take small steps play till it starts to hurt then rest .

Don't think you have to do it , you must want to do it ...

I am only a beginner myself and have gone through the pain thing and the really sore fingers as well .

Keep at it you will get there , but it is a long journey so relax and take in everything that everyone has got to say ..

Hilch :?:

Actually, this is discussed on a fairly regular basis. There are several threads that will say the same things.

I, also, have small hands (and am a woman). It IS more difficult in the beginning, but small hands won't hinder you unless you let them. You just need to play and practice. The more you play and practice, the longer your reach will become. So.... practice, practice, practice!

For someone with very small hands I think the Classical guitar method of holding the guitar is best. Here is a good pic.

For a right-handed player, rest the waist of the guitar on your left leg, braced by the right leg. The headstock of the guitar (where the tuners are) should be about level with your eyes or ear.
This player has a footstool, which is very helpful.

Notice the guitar is held at almost a 45 degree angle, not level and not with the headstock hung down low like lots of Rock guitarists like to do. That will really take away your reach.

Looking at the pic on the right, try to keep your thumb on the middle of the back of the neck, not hanging over the top. You can also see that there is a small space between the palm and neck, you do not grip the neck like a baseball bat. Arch your fingers over. I have always said think of your hand as a spider. :D

It takes time to develop stretch and flexibility, but holding the guitar with the proper technique will give you lots of reach even with small hands.

I agree with Wes, the one thing that will help you the most is not a different guitar or alternate fingerings - it's simply the position. Try the classical position, make sure your thumb is in the vertical centre of the back of the neck, and be sure NOT to tilt the guitar's top skywards to see the fretboard better.

Within a couple of weeks you will be able to finger all of the standard open chords, I guarantee (if you diligently stick with this position). I have seen women with the smallest hands succeed on all types of guitar.

Those are exactly the answers I was looking for.

I just wanted to make sure that whatever habits I learn as a beginner will be good ones- and that is hard to do without a personal trainer. It's been hard to find a comfortable position to hold the guitar and a way to place my thumb and fingers, and I know if I could just find that base then my fingers would play the chords more naturally. So, I think the classical position is the answer. All along I kept thinking that there was no way I could hold the guitar like that (the way my fiance does) with my little, short arms! It was making everything else- fingers, hands- awkward, too.

Yes, I do believe that I will be able to get over these problems with practice. I may have small hands, but I think you can do anything you set your mind to. And this is something I've wanted to do for so long- now that I've started playing, I can't seem to stop! I'm addicted to my guitar- regardless of hurt fingers and arms LOL.

My hands aren't as small as yours, hilch, so if you can do it, I can do it!

Thanks, everyone.

mariatherese

Yes, I am very sure the Classical position will be a big help to you.

Go to GuitarNoise homepage and look up an article on Janis Ian. She is a very petite, tiny woman but a great guitar player. She talks about playing with very tiny hands in the article.

And in case you are too young to know who Janis Ian is, here is a video of her playing her hit song "At Seventeen" way back in 1975. Also a young George Carlin introduces her.

Janis is tiny, if she can do it, so can you.

Janis Ian- At Seventeen

wow. i LOVED that song. i am 26, born in 1980, so no, i have never heard of her, but thanks for that. what a beautiful song.

and i have just tried the classical position and i cannot believe how much easier it makes everything! i feel so silly know knowing that's all it was. everything just fells right that way. hey, just another a problem solved at guitarnoise.com. LOL