Women And Chords

I didn't know they still made Norman guitars... (I suspect you're in Quebec or Canada?) The necks are quite large on those guitars. Be sure to check our upcoming interview with the legendary Janis Ian, she has a particular comment you will be able to relate to. Rather than tell you myself, it will probably sound better coming from her, especially since she was told this by none other than Chet Atkins.

All I can say is don't give up: it does get easier.

Don't stress about it too much. If possible, find a guitar with a thinner neck, as it will help somewhat. Fender make a Bonnie Raitt Signature Stratocaster with a thinner neck for smaller hands. Keep stretching for barre chords and play exercises to increase your reach.

If it turns out that some chords are a little difficult, work around it. Find inversions that you're most comfortable with.

I've got small hands, too, and in the beginning I had great difficulty with barre chords, still do on an acoustic, but on my electrics barres are a piece of cake. My first electric was a Daisy Rock Retro H 12-string (a women's line of guitars made by Schecter). They're scaled down specifically for women with small hands. Now a lot of people don't take these guitars seriously because some of them come in pink or shaped like a flower or a heart, but not all of them look all girly-froo-froo. My Retro H happens to be pink, but I like that in a guitar. It has a Semi-hollow body made of Basswood, the neck is Rock Maple and the fingerboard is Rosewood. It has 22 medium frets, a Tune-O-Matic bridge with a stopbar, Grover tuners, and Vintage Mini-Humbuckers. It's overall size is 24-3/4 inches and it rocks! I play it through a Behringer Ultratwin Amp. I love it so much I recommend them to every female player I run across. I do play a full sized electric Washburn 6-string now and am able to reach things that I couldn't before (and sometimes still can't on an acoustic) and I'm sure it's just from practice, practice and more practice. It all gets easier with time.