So I have decided to learn to play the electric guitar.
I have bought a second hand Les Paul copy which I set up following an online tutorial, re-stringing, action height, intonation etc.
The guitar sounds ok to my untrained ear & stays in tune ok according to the digital tuner I bought.
I also bought a small second hand 15 watt modelling amp, lead, picks etc.
I have just started following an online teaching tutorial to learn the basics.
The problem I seem to have is my fingers are to short & stubby (I think) as either I cannot get them in the right chord positions or there is not enough room on the fret ?
I have never considered my hands to be either small or that I have stubby fingers before, thinking that my hands were of average size.
Would a different style of guitar be easier for me or is it just a question of perseverance.
Sorry for what probably sounds like a stupid question & apologies in advance if this is not the correct part of the forum to ask ?
Comments
Good luck, it doesn't happen overnight!
I could post a video of that young blues kid (Toby Lee) playing a Firebird with his tiny little hands.
Keep at it and you'll get there.
Then you you could speak to MD Phillips of Cleartone Conversions
Would it bother you if the guitar was a complete pile of shit?
I have fairly small hands but I started on bass, and it is still my primary instrument. My teacher just said 'learn to stretch and use all of your fingers'. To be honest he was right. I can play fat Precision bass necks NO problem.
Eventually it just isn't an issue.
I was just wondering if a different neck profile/size, or a different fret size would make things any easier as I do really want to learn.
I have no idea what size frets or what profile the neck is on the guitar that I have bought.
The seller couldn"t really tell me anything.
I assumed the frets were medium jumbo ?
The guitar is supposed to be a Rockburn Les Paul copy (it is badged Rockburn), I know only a cheapy, but every Rockburn LP I have seen has a bolt on neck where as mine doesn"t ?
A while ago I was looking at design of keyboards & stuff and found this link on hand size:
http://www.smallpianokeyboards.org/hand-span-data.html
Basically if you can stretch your hand wide open and the TIP of the thumb to the little finger is 8-9 inches, you are normal. (You might find left & right are slightly different too, also normal apparently.)
Just posting this in case you really think you have odd sized hands. Most people don't. And there are small handed players around who seem to manage a standard neck.
Use the tip of the middle finger to go across both the G and B string in fret 2.
Index finger on the D string at fret 2.
Amp on 11.......
ROCK !
I remember some quote from a famous piano player with small hands. Audience member: "How do you play so well with such small hands?" Pianist: "What makes you think my playing has anything to do with my hands?"
Clearly there may be some limitations due to physical attributes, but with practise to work around them they should become a non-issue. That can take some time however. Years, possibly. But when you've cracked the xx7652 from the intro to Mr Sandman it will be all worth it!
It's normal to struggle to fit fingers to chord shapes to start with. Some people mainly use two fingers instead of three to fret an A chord. That's my usual preference. Some can barre an A with just one finger while leaving the high E string open. You'll get used to it. At that point you can also take up mandolin or ukulele if you fancy more dextrous challenges.
Building up finger strength plays a part in it becoming easier too.
I mentioned to my wife earlier if she thought I had small hands & fat stubby fingers & she yes I did.
That coupled with finding the chords hard to finger made me think that I did.
However upon just measuring my span as suggested by "Ravenous" my fret hand has a span of just under 9 inches which apparently is completely normal, phew.
It is obviously just a matter of practising as I am trying to put my fingers in positions that they are not used to be in.
Also I just tried playing an A chord the ways suggested by Alnico & modellista & I can manage both those ways easily.
I was just struggling trying to play an A chord the way the online tutor said to play it.
Oh well a lot more practise & perseverance I think before I post again.
I think I might have a word with my wife when she gets home !
It can be done!
It won't happen over night, in fact it may not happen for months, but eventually, you'll look back and realise that there was nothing wrong with your hands after all.
Just be patient, take it slow and do lots and lots of repetitions until you can change between a couple of chords cleanly. I think when I first started, I just sat there and moved my fretting hand from a D chord to a G and back again about 100 times in a single sitting, and then done the same thing the next day for about a week before I could play them with any kind of fluency.
I think Justin Sandercoe shows another method, though - with fingers 2-1-3.
As for "when am I ready?" You'll never be ready. It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it. - pmbomb