short fingers vs long fingers

Reeeaally old thread but figured I'd respond lol. I actually never play standing up. I always sit. But when I do stand, I have to wear it up high like you mentioned.

Originally Posted by: hunter1801Reeeaally old thread but figured I'd respond lol. I actually never play standing up. I always sit. But when I do stand, I have to wear it up high like you mentioned.

LOL, I didn't notice the date except for the last post.

I guess I could add ths: if its possible you could buy a thinner neck and switch it out

Well, my pinky is about 2 1/2 inches, and my other fingers are insanely small. I've had problems such as you since the get-go, but here I am almost 7 years later. I can't play certain chords such as the C minor open, but I can play it barred, so it's okay. :) Don't worry, some things will actually come to you better because of your small fingers. I can do a decent shred, not great, but better than some IMO. I've been told many times that I make guitar playing look easy, and its something that I really am proud of. So don't fret, just practice, you'll find that some things will come to you better than others. Good Luck!

2 words for ya: DANNY GATTON :D

Shortest dang fingers you might ever see on a guitar player & that dude could blaze like no one's business.

But yeah, I know what you mean. I don't have huge hands either & basically the only thing you can really do, is learn to work around it as best you can. As it's been mentioned, guitar positioning can have a lot to do with it. Playing it higher can give you better access & playing with your thumb in the center of the neck (as opposed to wrapped around the side) can help to maximize your reach/stretch.
It's one of the things where it's really kind of tough to offer any definitive advice without really seeing how & where you're struggling. But guitar & hand positioning are probably the most important aspects, then just building up finger strength through repetition.

Hope that kinda helps,

Don

Originally Posted by: ChipShank2 words for ya: DANNY GATTON :D

I looked at some videos on Youtube, and he doesn't seem to have short fingers. :confused:

I guess it's maybe a matter of perspective? In the several vids that I checked out, there's no one to really compare him against...but I was just remembering an article that had come out around the time of 88 Elmira Street (Guitar Player I think) where his diminuitive stature and extremely short, stubby fingers were mentioned by both the writer & by Gatton himself.
Danny Gatton Kinda looks on the stubby end here....but again, it's all relative I guess.


Don

My first guitar teacher had very freakishly short fingers and he was great. I could never figure out how he made them stretch to reach everything. :D

I've taught a lot of kids that can manage sweeps with small hands (8 years old etc) so I'm not so sure that avoiding a type of playing is the right idea. If your left hand position is correct (thumb back of neck) etc.. unless you have dwarf hands you can do it. Playing with the guitar strap like you mentioned is actually the way you should have it. It might not look as cool as your guitar hanging down to your knees but look how those people play guitar lol. Also something that might help is keeping your guitar on your left leg not your right when sitting. This will help a whole lot access. Finially after enough SLOW ACCURATE repetition you will get it. Look at Shawn Lane. His hands were not so big and look how he played and the stretches he used! There are many other examples. Having small hands is not an excuse for not playing a certain tech. Also btw all the more reason to use your pinky if you have small hands or big hands. If there are 4 frets then make sure you are using your pinky on that fourth fret! And for picking with big hands that is not an excuse as well. Just look at Itzach Pearlman how he fingers the violin with those fat fingers ahah all scrunched up on each other. Never sacrifice proper tech for nothing.

Just so you see I practice what I preach here is a latest video of some playing of mine. This is what I mean proper tech:


Shred Zone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGuXfMijZKY

ALso another one:

(Live entire song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q8rU-13eC4

I agree with the above poster re forgetting about trying to look cool. Having a high strap makes things a lot easier for technical playing. Most jazz players do it this way too - for technical metal players using this method check out Cynic. Another good trick is to wear a strap when you are sitting down so your guitar is always at the same height (of course this doesn't work if you play with the guitar on your shins!). Hand size shouldnt come in to it either, just work out a way that works for you. Most of the good players out there have their own unique way of fretting, if you can't sweep arpeggios over 6 strings then try playing them differently. Also, there are lots of ways (shapes and fret positions) of sweeping the same group of notes, just find the same note at a different position on the neck and work from there.

Hi all, my first post! cool forum and peple.

What is the minimum average length for pinky before consider it very short? mine is 2.1 inch, I am not screwy worried about, just I can note how long run through-fretboards are sometimes very hard to perform and stretch out. There is some pics of my left hand with length reference note in each finger, please give a view and tell me what do you think. Thanks!

http://www.sitiopro.com/img/fingerlenght.jpg
http://www.sitiopro.com/img/HAND01.jpg
http://www.sitiopro.com/img/HAND03.jpg

Carlos