I started guitar in around the 4th grade and I was also told that I would never be a really good guitarist due to my small hands. I am in my late 50's now. Unfortunately, I have always believed this to be true. But, I wanted to play so much, I kept it up all these years. I've been in 8 or 9 legitimate groups that played professionally over my lifetime. So, it was very refreshing to watch this video and thank you for making it. However, now, nearly 40yrs later, I can see why this statement got out in the guitarist's world and went sorta viral. Technically, there are some aspects that make it a true statement. I personally cannot make the stretch on some of the Rock-a-billy rhythms where the little finger is needed to do most of the work. It simply does not reach. I try to compensate by moving my entire hand with the rhythm to let it reach the furthest note, but then the bass note quality suffers. This might sound confusing to a lot of players but, some out there probably know what I'm trying to say. And that's only one example. But, my vote is with you, we can still be guitarist and be good guitarist, it's all in how much you want it. I've seen people with small hands play like they were born to play guitar, incredible players. You must overcome, right? (my 2 cents). Thanks for this video.
@@unknwn_usr3077 Well, if a person just happens to be in the right place at the right time like I was a whole bunch of years ago. I was 19, was just starting a career in the Air Force. It was one of the first times they would let us off-base to go see the sites and shop. I went in a local pawn shop and there was an old man who look pretty sad and I overheard them talking. He said his arthritis was too bad in his hands to play anymore, so he was getting rid of his electric guitar and was seeing what the pawn shop guy would give him for it. I eased in to have a look which he had the old worn case opened. To my shock I saw a 1969 Gibson SG, completely restored. Big rectangles down the neck that were actual mother of pearl inlays, (not stickers or dots). Anyway, very looong story, short. I made payments on that guitar for months and months and the pawn guy held onto it for me. One of the nice things about the old SG's, they have very skinny necks. It's both good and bad, because SG's have a bad habit of cracking or breaking the necks if they for example fall over or get bashed against the way or someone falls on it, etc. It's a soft wood. But, I'm in my 50's now and I wouldn't trade it for the world. That small neck has gotten me through 8 professional bands and a whole lot of good times. In fact, I still use it today while writing music and playing in my little home studio. Always, when shopping for a guitar, Always, always, hold it, strum on it, play it for a little while. Because guitars are like people, they all have their own personality. And you will know when you check out the right one... Hope this helps..
@@MainMatK that is unfortunate. you can see many guitar virtuoso at youtube with small hands. But it is not too late. At any age, you can learn playing a guitar.
@@ojsojs6004 what is unfortunate? Why would I want to see many guitar virtuoso's? Maybe my post wasn't clear. I've been in 8 professional bands playing lead, rhythm guitar. You need to read the post again.
Make your playing unique to your personal abilities and don't think of them as disabilities; if you have large hands make use of it with wide voicing (like Nels Cline for instance); if smaller hands make use of close voicing that are awkward to grab cleanly for those with large hands or thicker fingers. Also develop unique tunings and use capos! I'm an active guitar soloist and I currently perform every week. I don't have large hands, just normal for my short height at 5'8". I use Elixir 13-56 on my Martin but I had to work up to that size over time. I hate the sound of thin strings, personally. I play 5-finger classical right hand style mostly but can use pick or both, depending on what I want to do. For large span chords one can arpeggiate to get that two ocative effect. Here is a secret: it is mostly right hand that makes a nice guitar melody-chord performance, folks focus on the left hand way too much in my opinion. I can't grab chord voicings spanning greater than 4 or 5 frets. So I create my own voicings and melodic harmony. I was music major in college so I have the knowledge to substitute or creatively voice any chord and make my playing unique. I don't copy other players and their voicings, I harmonize tunes to fit my hands. Remember this: Django Reinhardt is a legendary guitarist who only had TWO functional fingers on his left hand! Yet he chopped chords with dazzling ability and his single note speed is studied to this day in guitar major colleges. There is video of his playing on-line: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PQhTpgicdx4.html There is an answer for everyone. The main takeaway is don't copy, use your hands to create your own original personal style.
60 years ago I never realized my hands were too small to play guitar. Well - all these decades later I am still making a lot out of what I have. And got good enough to do some studio work for local musicians needing some tasty acoustic lead guitar.
Small Hands, nobody says what this means. I think I have small hands: index finger is 5.5cm, 2nd 6.5cm, 3rd 5.5cm, palm is 9cm long, reach is ~15cm. I can play some cords, but not others. Smalls hand limit what you can play, but do not stop you playing.
@@angelpriya1955 short fingers is why I bought a fender tenor ukulele... I have a beginner rogue guitar 40 inch and an electric, but have more fun playing ukulele,, every song I can think of out there..
Thank you for quantifying this. I have small hands also, but I think it's more the finger length than the palm size. My corresponding measurements are 6, 6.5, 6, ~9.5, and ~16. 4th finger is only 4.5 cm. I agree I probably won't be able to play everything, but I'm focusing more on what I can do rather than what I can't. Over the last 10 weeks what I can do keeps expanding, so that is encouraging. Videos like these are helpful.
@@angelpriya1955 You can still play. Buy a guitar with low action string and use lighter string gauge. Try 3/4 guitar or bigger than that but a little bit smaller than full size guitar.
There was a doctor who I saw for a minor problem that when I told him I was beginning classical guitar lessons he said "you'll never play guitar with those little hands"! I made a face and said watch me. I am still thank God for that doctor!🎼🙏👌❤️what a motivator!
That was a really helpful video! To the point, actually gave tips (and good practical tips!), this video made me interested to learn more about your teaching techniques and the “easier” variants of chords so thank you very much 👌🏼
I have small hands but it's the bend in the fingers that I struggle with, some guys have fingers like spider legs. My fingers don't bend that much and I end up muting strings.
between square stocky hands… short fingers and arthritis in my left thumb.. well I struggled with this for a long time then I came across the concept of triads,, 3 note chords.. and I use that .. play those three strings.. barr chords I dont do the bar but play the rest of the notes.. try it.. it works
Yes, I am a small adult middle-aged female and have much smaller hands then most women. I'm only 5'1" tall and really small hands, short fingers. Tried to play an F chord in the past and even with a lot of practice, could not manage the stretch across the frets.. 😣😣😣 Painfull as well
@@suzannelawson9215 There is an alternative fingering for the "F" major chord. When I was a boy just starting out, I couldn't do the bar F either. But the alt one sounded just as good and got me by. Now, I can do all the bars, no problem at all. You build up strength in your hands and fingers just like a body builder and it becomes second nature after a while.
Excellent advice. I of the small hands have played for years but never thought about the thickness of the neck of the string gauge. All your advice is solid!
Excellent comments and suggestions. Like this gentleman said, someone could have large hands but then be weak in another area and it balances out anyway. Got to stay positive.
This helps quite much for me. It is weird, but I have large palms but short fingers, but I am able to do the B's but with reach problems because of the finger length. But I think my acoustic has a neck problem, because the string height is way, way high at nearly 10mm. Since it does not have truss nut or similar to adjust it, I think I have to send it to the guitar shop to get it sorted, if they do such job. Has D'Addario 80/20 bronze 'extra light', and it sounds way better than whatever the originals were!
I am very new to guitar.. I wanted to get started but i had some apprehension , maybe my fingers are small for the instrument. Your words dissolved that anxiety. I am good to go now. Thank you so much. Regards from INDIA.
Thanks for a great vid. I have short fingers/little hands. Today I made a lot of progress with a chord that was killing me. If I can do that one, I can get any of them. :)
I thought I had small hands until I saw a portrait of Prince which featured his hands prominently, and I realized his hands were smaller than mine. That didn't stop him! So I let that little excuse go. Now it doesn't bother me.
He is right about the light string ssd's if your new and short handed they help a lot, and get a thin gutiar as well, something I wish I had done as a beginner
YES!! "Guitar is for everybody." I love that - nice tips in this video, as I have some short fingers. Been playing on and off for almost 40 years, with the last few having been the most positive and productive (and the most enjoyable, because of small guitars and extra-light gauge strings - so important). Nice video!!
"Parlor" guitars are tempting to small-hand players, but caution: many parlors have wide nut-widths, thick neck profiles, and relatively flat fretboard radiuses. The short scale-length may be a plus, but having only 12 frets to the neck means the frets are spaced slightly farther apart.
Guitar manufacturers are stupid for not serving this market--with various combinations of nut widths, neck thickness/profile, fretboard radius, scale length, etc. In many cases, manufacturers do not even publish key dimensions/specifications.
Just started learning and Mark, these videos are great. Very relaxed, informative, and positive. Also, the fact you are from the Mersey (I guess this based on your accent) makes it even better.
Hi Mike, downloaded your stepping stone chord book which was very helpful. Question for you, would a 3/4 acoustic guitar be better as my hands are smallish. Looking at getting a Yamaha 3/4 acoustic, i have a Yamaha and epiphone full size guitars at the moment the epiphone is a jumbo. Regards - Andy
I’ve had a small hand hang up since first playing at 14. My index and pinkie fingers bend in at the top cutting off an additional 3cm of dinger spread/reach. However since retiring and having more time to practice I’ve realised that I’m getting close to be able to play most things I thought were impossible for me. So practice/positioning really does make a difference. I’m a huge John (spider fingers) McLaughlin fan and have been trying to play his Shakti pieces for 40 years. I’m around 80 to 95 % there due to practice. There will always be some chords I can’t play but I try to play what I can to substitute. Learning Guardian Angel which has a tutorial on RU-vid was a turning point as I can now play it almost faultlessly and would not have believed that was possible. Remember that John states that there are still runs which Django Reinhardt (who played with 2 fingers only) played which he can’t emulate.
Sir, great video but what is all that stuff sitting on your headstock? I was trying to see what brand guitar you have but can’t. It looks kinda, well you know.
Thank you for the video. Regarding the suggestion on bending the wrist: other online resources suggest this position could be damaging to your wrist. Would you mind giving your thoughts on that?
cornpops Hmm definitely be careful. Check out some other online resources. It may be worth doing some hand/wrist warmup exercises. I have small fingers, and it’s a real process to find as much arc as possible in my fingers and to practice fretting chords as precisely as possible, just starting out slowly practicing chord changes so my hands can get used to placement, and not adding too much pressure. Best wishes, take care of your wrists!
Good tips Mike. The usual difficulty with bar chords for the small handed applies to me. I know that small hands should not stop me or anybody else from learning guitar. I press onward.
Try out guitars that suit your playing style or your hoped-for style. Try them all several times. Some guitar chords will be a stretch which is where practice and muscle memory is part of the deal. Some guitars sound better with certain gauge strings. Adapt, adjust, and cope. Keep at it.
I'm trying to find techniques for small hands, my hands are pretty big but mi finger are not that large. I've seen bassist use a "short finger" technique and I wonder how can I apply this
I have really small hands and a small reach. Like I said in another video my pinky the middle bone is missing so it's short and there are just things I cannot do. it makes me sad. but anyway what guitar do you recommend a neck wise for thinness and good sound
Angus Young of AC/DC also is a little fellow with small hands, look how he plays! Don't give up small handed players - and Joe Satriani is another great player with undersize hands/fingers too! Giant paws, tiny claws - it don't mean a thing - PLAY!
Would you say it helps a beginner to get a amp? I think the electric guitar just sounds better through a amp. Or should a beginner lear to play a little before forking over the dough for a amp? Being a beginner, my budget would be $150-$200
1:34 if I have already bought a guiter??? Can I cut the fret-board lengthwise? So that, the neck can be made shorter.. Yea that will be a good idea. LOL
I was going to say this guy has long fingers and big hands. What is he doing? But like this was so helpful thank you very much! My hands aren't so much small as my fingers are short and not so flexible and classical guitar necks are wide.😂
I am cursed with a short little finger that won't let me stretch across the frets, if it's below the 5th fret I really struggle to stretch, for a 12 bar etc.
I have small and slim hands my finger slips between the strings since the tip is so small that's why whenever I play guitar and Uke, I need to look to avoid it sometimes 😅
I have been trying to learn for 12 years now starting at 48. i have short fat fingers along with severe carpal tunnel. problem is i cant play the way i want to play, not that i cant. actually my biggest problem is i have no auditory memory, i hear nothing in my head. brain injury from childhood. so i cant play a whole song. try that one on for size. injury happened at 8, at 6 i could read music and play piano. lost everything.
It's not merely a matter of "reach." It's also lack of finger-strength, requiring painful additional effort. And finger-strength is difficult to build. Fingers are not biceps.
Thanx for the vid! If we consider electric guitars, those have mainly 25.5 or 24.75 scale. The frets are longer in the case of a 25.5 electric guitar. How do the frets of a 25.5 electric guitar compare to the frets of standard classical guitar? I am asking this because I have played classical guitar with my small hands for long and time has come to buy a Telecaster. Thanx for your answer in advance! :)
I just started three weeks ago in a telecaster. Well, I started on a Strat copy, then Gibson copy LP then a Strat copy. Having played both 24.75 and 25.5, I say that although the stretch is longer for open chords, there is also more room to squish my fingers behind the fret. I really like my Tele.
When you say "thickness" of the neck, are you referring to the diameter of the neck itself, or the width of the fretboard? I recently got an ESP E-II M-II NT and it feels kind of difficult to play, but I ordered it online so I'm kind of stuck with it and hoping it'll become more comfortable as I practice with it. I'm still in the beginner range, but not a complete novice.
Soraz -if you live in the UK under the Consumer Constract Regulations - and buy online you have 14 days cooling off period to return the item Online returns timelines You have the right to cancel at any time from the moment you place your online order, and up to 14 days from the day you receive your goods. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘cooling-off period’. You need to notify the retailer of your wish to cancel your order within this time period - by email, for example. You then have a further 14 days from the date you notify the retailer of your cancellation to return the goods.
My index finger is shorter than my ring finger and just a bit longer than my pinkie finger try to stretch that there is some cords that is like impossible because I have to leave one finger for the other finger need to be having a short index is not easy to play guitar
Of course no one is the exception if you buy a smaller guitar but the problem is that smaller guitars are either crap or way expensive with little in between.
Why don't companies vary neck thickness some companies for their guitars only make thick necks. Even a small amount of difference in thickness makes a huge difference. I can play fenders but g and l are too thick. Some companies are anti small fingers . They call me little finger .
The tips are almost useless, of course. Funny, there are a lot of videos like this one, but no one provides a really cool guitar player with index finger 6,5 cm long or less as an example. Because they don't exist.
Please don't minimize the matter as if we small-hand players are saying we can't play AT ALL. We can play, but it's demonstrably more difficult and limiting, and the guitar manufacturers are not much help.
It makes me sick when I hear this BS over and over "there is no such thing as small hands, everyone can play guitar... blah, blah". Fuck, yes , everyone can run 100 meters in 9 seconds, you just keep running, and you will make it in your next life when you are born as Carl Lewis or maybe cheetah. You can play guitar with the smallest hands, but your chances of becoming a guitar virtuoso are close to zero.
@@ojsojs6004 yeah, there are kids with good potential there, but I wouldn’t call them virtuoso. If they grow up with small hands, and they are really good and lucky they may become another Andy Summers or Angus Young, but will be still far from Paco DeLucia or John McLaughlin. It is no different than anything else, anyone can love and play chess but to play in Kasparov ligue, IQ of 180 is a necessary condition, it’s just a fact of life.
@@KurtoGuzic not true. I have seen kids who are guitar virtuoso that can shred, make a guitar sing with finger style , play Eddie Van Halen solo, play different scales so well, do complex strumming ,plucking etc.
I totally agree with you. I've been playing guitar for many years now and regardless of how much practice I put in, I will NEVER be able to play certain chords, or reach certain stretches. It is physically impossible, so yeah, utter BULL again from someone with long slender digits!!
