newb guitar frustration

C

charlie b

New member
Grrr...

This is more of a vent than anything else :D

I'm trying to learn to play guitar and my hands are about the same size as that of a circus midget. While my fingers are gradually becoming less sore with more practice, I'm having problems trying to stretch my fingers across the frets...

My bf is teaching me on his classical guitar which doesn't seem to have an exceedingly wide neck...all the same, I'm hanging out to beable to buy my own and get something which is a bit skinnier so that my stumpy little fingers can reach across the frets a bit better :D
...unfortunately I won't beable to get a new one for awhile yet.

Aaaanyway, I spose I really just need to quit whining and practice more...or maybe get latex finger extensions...
 
...............

Yeah,

Practice will cure your finger extension issues. There are guitars with smaller scales (in necks). Some are labled as "3/4 scale" and so on.

Good luck, and keep it up.
 
classical guitar

I started many years ago on a classical guitar (nylon string). While the nylon strings are easier on the finger tips, the neck is indeed a bit wider to facilitate fast and clean finger style movements. A typical steel stringed acoustic guitar will generally have a narrower neck. Each manufacturer and model may vary in the neck width and therefore, the string spacing. Til you can afford a new guitar with a narrow neck, I have a lil' cheating tip for you. Yeah-yeah.... I know you're not supposed ta do it this way. quite often when cording, I wrap my thumb around the top side of the neck to fret the 6th and sometimes even the 5th strings. But a professional player once told me sometimes ya haf'ta do what works.

Above all else.... "Have fun fer cryin' out loud"

Eric
 
I took guitar lessons with a guy that had little sausage fingers, and he had a lot of trouble. He tried the 3/4 side, but the problem was that, with the narrower neck, he had trouble hitting an individual string. Truly, he had a physical problem with learning guitar because of the shape of his fingers (short and stubby).

Here's an idea that has a couple of drawbacks, but might work. I have heard that Richie Havens tuned his guitar to an open chord, and played by jamming his finger across the fretboard. His playing is remakable for the percussiveness and motion, mostly done with heavy strumming.

Drawbacks:

1. If you're sharing a guitar, you have to tune and retune every time you pass it to your partner.

2. You'll be one of the few doing this, so there will be fewer people to help you learn (A video is available from Homespun tapes).

3. Common tab fingering patterns won't work.

4. If you just barre the fret, you won't be able to do common things like G to G7, which will restrict your repertoir.

If I had your problem (or if I had extra-long fingernails that I didn't want to cut), I'd give this a try.
 
Keep your eye out for a Big Baby Taylor. It's got a good sound and it's 11/12 scale so it's just a little bit smaller than a regular guitar. It's a lot easier to play than a full scale. They sell new for under US$300.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the tips guys :)

I'll perservere some more and try out some of your suggestions. I'm sure there are other girls with the same problem out there, and luckily I don't have long fingernails to contend with. I don't think it will be a problem once I practice some more and get my own guitar (although I am very appreciative of having this one to learn with at the moment, I find it pretty comfy apart from the neck).

I'll be sure to check out that guitar too Tex in a few months when I can get myself a new one.

Thanks again :D
 
I'll echo a few comments above and add a couple more suggestions: look for a short scale guitar with a curved fingerboard. Classical guitars have wide, flat fingerboards with wide string spacing, which is great for complex fingering but it's tough with small, untrained hands.

Another idea is to tune your guitar down 1/2 step and put a capo on the first fret (or a whole step and capo the second, but that's a bit more extreme in terms of lowering string tension). That's an instant scale length reduction that is very cheap, the downside being that necks get wider at higher frets.

I have to say that if your fingers are truly short, you might consider another instrument, like mandolin.
 
Learning

I have a friend with tiny fingers and he can play Van Halen's "Eruption" note for note perfectly. He just practiced, and he did not practice any more then any other guitar players I know. he plays a normal strat with a normal size neck. This is my advice.

Don't do anything weird, i.e. Alternate tunings to help you make chords (thats got bad news written all over it)

Don't search for a guitar with a smaller neck, Just save some cash and don't buy a new guitar until you can easily play a few songs(just some easy radio songs you enjoy playing). When your ready for a new guitar just go and play a bunch of guitars get the one that feels the best don't pay attention to neck width.

My theory behind most every thing (why I think you should stay away from the odd tunnings) is just learn whats "normal" and then go in your own creative direction from there.
 
I have been persevering with this guitar mainly cause I figure that if I can eventually master this one then hopefully it might make me more adaptable when it comes to playing others (I also have a stubborn streak :D )

My hands are pretty small but fortunately my fingers aren't too sausagey so that's one thing going for me. I think I'll battle on with traditional methods and see whether practice cures it and then try some alternatives from there (I have actually been using my thumb a bit here and there when it has felt more comfy, despite it looking kinda weird :p )

I certainly agree with the guitar buying method, when it comes that time (it better be bloody soon!) I think I'll take whatever feels good and sounds wonderful.

As for the whole drag racing idea Lou :D , I took up the guitar so I could drown out the noise of his swearing when he's installing soundcards/recording stuff/playing computer games(<--insert whichever is applicable at the time)...I think I'll talk him into drag racing once he has a good life insurance policy :D

Once again, thanks very much for all suggestions offered, this has been really helpful and also kinda encouraging :) :) :)
 
A few words of encouragement.

Keep at it! Never give up! Starting out is a bit rough at times, but once you start learning a little, you'll be learning a lot, and be compelled to learn tons. You never stop learning, thats for sure.

As for a guitar, go for one of those plasti-ovation ones...j/k. I know nothing about acoustics so do not heed my advice on this one.

One thing I will always vouch for, is that learning on a guitar thats hard to play, will make you appreciate playing on a guitar tahts easy to play that much more. I also believe it makes you a better player all around.

Most importantly: Have Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I think that's the first time I've ever seen the word "sausagey" used in a sentence, and it was a really good experience for me. Thanks. :)

You'll be amazed what your fingers will be capable of doing after a bit of practice. I can move my left hand into positions that my right hand can't even come close to...it's one of those stupid human tricks that guitarrists are blessed with.

Keep at it.

Get that baby Taylor that was mentioned. Those guitars are fucking brilliant...especially for people without E.T. fingers.

w00t
 
...I have "artist's hands" myself and it was a challenge at first and to play boogie-woogie in the keys of anything under A makes my wrist hurt from the stretching...however, what is a disadvantage on the first 3 or 4 frets becomes a HUGE advantage in the upper registers as I fly like the wind amongst the smaller fret spacings...this is the old lemonade from a lemon thang...
 
Guitar pain

Keep it up for a while with the classical, when you finally get your own guitar, with a narrower neck, just think how you will fly!!! I have been playing for over 30 years and I always practice with my worst guitar, when I switch to the good ones, its like buttah!!!!
 
Heh...I'll keep practising and just wait for my hands to mutate into stretchier, faster ones. I think I'm gonna look funny with E.T. hands though cause I'm only 5'4".

It will be a great day when I can make my chord transitions snappier and smoother and actually put some energy into what I'm messing around with :) I've picked a few really easy songs to work on so I'll just keep at it until my fingers either fall off or I improve :D

('Sausagey' is a word I use a lot by the way Turnip, I don't know where it came from...I also tend to use it as a term of endearment for my friends :D )
 
There is only one word of advice I can offer, PRACTICE, that is the only way you will develope the flexability and dexterity to play well. Oh yeah, by the way I have a friend with such stubby fingers that it amazes me that he can play at all yet he is one of the best bass players i know, and another friend with fingers like bananas who plays guitar on a super slim fingerboard, don't limit yourself and soon you will be playing too.
 
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