Dealing with short fingers

[rutledj]

I've noticed that it seems some of the best players have long slender fingers. Mine are not like that. When I try to play some songs that have weird chords that require a long stretch, my fingers just can't do it. The chord will not play cleanly.

What is your strategy for reproducing chords like this? Even some common ones like using your thumb for the bass on an F chord so you can leave the high E string open, is difficult for me. I can eventually get it but doing it quickly in a song is very challenging.

Neck width doesn't seem to matter. I've tried on 1 11/16 as well as my current 1 3/4.

Frustrated,

Rut

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by rutledj

I've noticed that it seems some of the best players have long slender fingers. Mine are not like that. When I try to play some songs that have weird chords that require a long stretch, my fingers just can't do it. The chord will not play cleanly.

What is your strategy for reproducing chords like this? Even some common ones like using your thumb for the bass on an F chord so you can leave the high E string open, is difficult for me. I can eventually get it but doing it quickly in a song is very challenging.

Neck width doesn't seem to matter. I've tried on 1 11/16 as well as my current 1 3/4.

Frustrated,

Rut

Hi rut

First of all, there are many great players with average or slightly small hands.

Secondly, stretch-to-reach-fingerings is a 'relax' maneuver not a strength or flexibility move. Forcing a stretch only binds things up. If you relax the fingers they reach further without pain or frustration.

Thirdly, revoicing chords for variety and making them easier is allowed. The audience won't know (unless they all play wild jazz guitar).

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by rutledj

I've noticed that it seems some of the best players have long slender fingers. Mine are not like that. When I try to play some songs that have weird chords that require a long stretch, my fingers just can't do it. The chord will not play cleanly.

What is your strategy for reproducing chords like this? Even some common ones like using your thumb for the bass on an F chord so you can leave the high E string open, is difficult for me. I can eventually get it but doing it quickly in a song is very challenging.

Neck width doesn't seem to matter. I've tried on 1 11/16 as well as my current 1 3/4.

Frustrated,

Rut

Stretching (up or down the neck) is easiest with thumb on back of neck, roughly opposite the middle finger (not the index). I.e., stretch index and pinky out from a central position, not your pinky up.
It's about relaxation, as ljguitar says. Flexibility (and increased stretch) comes with practice, but it should never involve effort, if your position is good.

A tip I like is to hold a pen or pencil between thumb and all 4 fingers, just the tips. Spread your fingertips out along the pencil as far as they will go. When your index and pinky are as far apart as you can get them, look at where you thumb is: in the centre, right? Probably opposite the middle finger. That's how your left hand should be on the guitar neck (thumb pad on middle of back of neck) - at least when attempting stretches up the neck.

Admittedly, however, stretching around the neck (i.e. in order to fret or mute the 6th with the thumb) is more of a problem with short or fat fingers.

However, I don't think I've ever played an Fmaj7 with thumb on the 6th. It's not "common" at all in my experience. (I can do it, but I don't think I've never needed to.) There are plenty of alternatives for Fmaj7 if you find that shape impossible.
I would often play Fmaj7 in open position, but I'd mute the 6th, not fret it, which doesn't need the thumb to go do far over.
Alternative Fmaj7 shapes in that position would be:
1-3-2-2-1-x (fret 6 with thumb, allow index on 2, or hand, to mute 1st);
1-x-3-2-1-0 (use index to fret 6 and mute 5);
1-3-x-2-1-0 (pinky frets 5 and mutes 4).
And there are easier Fmaj7 shapes higher up the neck.

[rutledj]

I actually meant an Fmaj7 with the thumb on the 6th string, first fret.

I'll have to practice stretching exercises I guess.

[M Hayden]

Using your left-hand thumb to fret bass notes in those grips is do-able, but it's harder than necessary. As JonPR notes, it's possible to fret all just about all of the chords with left-hand fingers. And there are some easy things - like, a -7 made by fretting 6 with the tip of the middle finger and using the ring finger to fret strings 4-3-2.

A lot of common jazz chord shapes derive from players like Freddie Green, who, working with big bands, played a LOT, and who worked out shapes that wouldn't tear up his hands. We can benefit from their expertise....

Also, I've likewise got small hands with short fingers, and I reach. It just takes time and practice, and some thinking about how best to grab a particular shape - whether to finger individual, to barre, et cetera. Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry is a pretty good resource for that; he expressly deals with fingerings.

[DukeX]

I have short stocky fingers. After 30+ years of playing I can tell you that there are certain things you will simply not be able to do as well as our medium/long finger friends.

Yes, it can be frustrating.

Over the years I have focused more and more on right hand technique (both fingers and flat pick). I was slow to discover/understand that is my area of greatest potential and achievement.

I still work on left hand technique but on things I can make measurable improvements on. No more beating my head against the wall trying to master things that are either a major challenge to or simply beyond my physical ability.

I'm runnin' out of time here...

[Gitfiddlemann]

Alternative Fmaj7 shapes in that position would be:
1-3-2-2-1-x (fret 6 with thumb, allow index on 2, or hand, to mute 1st);
1-x-3-2-1-0 (use index to fret 6 and mute 5);
1-3-x-2-1-0 (pinky frets 5 and mutes 4).

The one in bold is my default position for that chord. It works well in many cases. The open E note really makes that chord stand out to my ears and the index on the low F places the hand in a strong position without the need for any undue stretching imo.
Generally speaking, if you properly exercise the fingers to stretch, no matter their shape, you will improve your reach. But like any other part of the body involving muscles, ligaments and and tendons, it takes time and patience to get results.
Like LJ mentioned, the thing not to do is to force it. You can easily injure it that way, so going at it in relaxed fashion is key.

[rick-slo]

You have more choices when you when using arpeggios versus block chords.
With a block Amaj7 first position I sometimes use an Am chord with a low F
tacked on: 1-0-2-2-1-0
Generally I make major 7th chords further up the neck.

[Mr. Jelly]

I play partial chords instead. Meaning I play the notes most needed in any one chord to convey the song. Often chords have redundant notes involved.

[rutledj]

Thanks for the replies. I was trying to follow a Tommy Emmanuel lesson that involved the Fmaj7 with thumb on low E at 1st fret and an open high E. We can't all be like Tommy

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Thirdly, revoicing chords for variety and making them easier is allowed. The audience won't know (unless they all play wild jazz guitar).

That^
Revoicing or chord substitution can not only make a song easier to play but it can also lend itself to new musically interesting arrangements.

An example:
I'll sometimes substitute an F6 (10021x) for an F chord.
At first it was to avoid the first fret barre F in one particular song but I found the chord so pleasing I started working into other arrangements.

[TBman]

I have shorter fingers than many. The capo is your friend. Don't be afraid to use it. Over time your fingers will gain more flexibility and doing some stretching exercises won't hurt, just don't over do it and try to reach your goals on the first day.

[Spacep0d]

^This.

I'm short (5'3") and have small hands too, all from early hypothyroidism (proportional limbs, but at the low end of 'normal' adult size). I'd have been much shorter had I not had growth-hormone shots in my youth, but that's another story. Looking at me, you'd just think I was short based on genetics, but my bro is 5'7" without hypothyroidism. I digress....but yeah I have small hands too.

My tips are similar to advice from others;

1. Pitch down your guitar a half step and capo the first fret. You now have a shorter scale-length guitar. Get a high-quality capo like a Shubb or something you can adjust for various guitars.

2. As you capo up higher, it gets easier to get the chord positions you want. People with big hands and fingers have problems too, so in a way, smaller fingers can be an advantage if you make it that way. You'll be able to finger notes on high frets that bigger-fingered players would struggle with. You can even hit an 'A' chord with three fingers on higher frets, but yes things get tougher down low.

3. Start slowly. Build with some simply chords and get those clean. Then work your way toward the more challenging chords. Use FMaj7 instead of F, and B7 in place of B. If you can get 'C' clean you can do most useful open chords.

4. Play smaller guitars. I play a Martin 000 sized guitar, which has a shorter scale length than an Orchestral Model (OM), typically. An OM is smaller than a dread. I find Dreadnoughts to be too big for me, though I love their sound. Jumbos kick my arm up too high, even if I like the neck. The Taylor GS-Mini is also a great guitar for smaller players (or anyone) because it's small and easy to play, and sounds amazing (I like Spruce and Koa tops for these).

5. Get a guitar with a narrow nut. I did most of my 3+ years of learning to-date on a guitar with a 1.6875" nut, and the neck is nice and slim. My new Martin has a 1.75" nut and I love it, but I was glad I started on a narrow neck.

6. Make sure the neck isn't too deep. The Martin 000XAE I have has the MLO (modified low oval) neck, which is brilliant.

Keep at it, stay relaxed, and don't give up!

[jseth]

I've been playing for nearly 60 years now... and I only got comfortable with wrapping my thumb to fret that low E string (wherever) in the past 10 years...

Yes, I have smallish hands and fingers, too... and I've been surprised to find that many of my favorite players have small hands, also... like Paul Simon and Jim Hall. There are always "work-arounds"; I've gone the route of using different voicings and fingerings to "get the job done" many times - at this point, it's kind of the way I do things! I'm not trying to play a song EXACTLY like anyone else, but really want to do a song and OWN it, in my own way. I figure whoever did the song initially has already done it once, so why copy them note-for-note?

So, keep trying to reach those hard-to-finger chords. Contrary to what some have replied, there will come a time when you CAN pull them off comfortably. Wrapping your thumb to hit a low F note for that Fmaj7 chord is actually one of the easier ones you'll encounter!

After all these years, the fingers on my fretting hand are noticeably LONGER than the fingers on my picking hand! Got to think it's the repeated effort to "reach" those chords that were so unattainable, years ago...

You've got to "lose" that whole "my hands are small" thing, too... if you keep using that as an excuse, it will keep you stuck right there... unless, of course, that's what you want!