How to work around short fingers?

[TortoiseAvenger]

Hi there,

Thanks to previous suggestions, I got into Chris Smither's music and downloaded his classes from homespun. Unfortunately in the very first chord of the very first lesson I ran into an issue. On Capo 2 he plays a standard E Chord then while holding that he uses his pinky to reach up to the 4th fret on the A string for an alternating bass, Like this:

Capo 2:


e——————————
B——————————
G—1————————
D—2————————
A—2——4——2——4
E—0—0——0——0—


I've heard some say that if you keep practicing something your hands will get better, but this truly seems hopeless. I haven't been at it for more than a few minutes, but the best I can do is move the whole E shape up and down. Is this a viable solution, or is there something else I should consider?

An idea: unless you need that G# on the 3rd string I'd just partially barre the 4th string E and 5th string B with my index finger and use my ring finger for that C#.

[Dru Edwards]

I just played that. Try experimenting with your hand position. If you move your hand/wrist position you should be able to play the 4 with your pinking and then you can switch back to the standard "cowboy chord" position.

[TheGITM]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

An idea: unless you need that G# on the 3rd string I'd just partially barre the 4th string E and 5th string B with my index finger and use my ring finger for that C#.

^^^^^ This

[Mycroft]

While it does bring it up an octave, you could also use the C# on the 2nd string.

[TortoiseAvenger]

I should have put this in the original post: I'm new to more advanced playing, and don't want to develop bad habits.

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

I just played that. Try experimenting with your hand position. If you move your hand/wrist position you should be able to play the 4 with your pinking and then you can switch back to the standard "cowboy chord" position.

Just so I understand, you're saying I don't try to hold down the E shape but sort of lift up where I need to to get back to it?

Or are you suggesting I experiment with ways to keep the E shape held down?

[SpruceTop]

For inspiration, watch videos of Billy Strings and Angus Young.

[TBman]

First see what the duration of the G# is. You might not have to hold it for the 4th fret note AND see what difference it makes to the whole tune if you don't hold the G# for the entire sequence of notes. It might not even matter to a listener.

If it does make a difference then try this:

Put the capo on 4 and get comfortable with playing it there. Then see how it feels on the 3rd fret after a couple of days or so. Practice it there for a while, working that stretch. After a while you may be able to move that capo down to 2 and wonder what the big deal was.

My hands are not tiny, but not in the realm of "piano hands" as the saying goes.

The idea is to play a tune so a listener doesn't wonder "Gee what happened there?" Keep that in mind.

I don't see where any advice given to you so far could be called a "bad habit."

Originally Posted by TortoiseAvenger

I should have put this in the original post: I'm new to more advanced playing, and don't want to develop bad habits.

The goal at any level of playing ability is to be musical. There are many paths to get there.

BTW I have met Chris and chatted with him and watched him play. He's a nice guy so I doubt he'd get upset if you modified his arrangement to taste. I wouldn't feel locked in if its not working for you.

[raysd]

No particular advice on this one, but as a small-handed fellow picker, I know well it can be frustrating sometimes to find that one little bit in a song that you just can't do. Sometimes there's a decent workaround, sometimes there just isn't.

There's a lot of great songs out there to play, so I just pass on the ones that are problematic for me and focus on the ones I can reach.

On the other hand (no pun intended), sometimes it can be interesting to try to work out another way of playing it.

[Robin, Wales]

I'm 5' 7". I'm never going to run 100m in under 11 seconds. I'm not going to be a high jumper or a shot putter. I might make a reasonable golfer though if I took up the sport. And I was a competitive kayak surfer in my younger days and not a bad Telemark skier.

I am missing the last phalanx of the index finger on my left hand and have small hands anyway. I adapt and compromise when I play guitar. I can't barre, so I change arrangements to suit what I can do.

As J-Doug said, the goal is to be musical. So don't worry too much if your physical relationship to guitar is different from someone else. Learn "from" better players. But just steal what you can while gradually building your own playing style that works for your own physical attributes.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by TortoiseAvenger

I should have put this in the original post: I'm new to more advanced playing, and don't want to develop bad habits.



Just so I understand, you're saying I don't try to hold down the E shape but sort of lift up where I need to to get back to it?

Or are you suggesting I experiment with ways to keep the E shape held down?

You can still hold the E chord. Try moving your thumb so it's about in the middle of the back of the neck (rather than up top), kind of like a classical guitarist position. Your entire wrist will shift as well. Play the E chord, then play it again with your pinky on 4. Your ring finger may move up a fret but it's ok then just slide it back when you lift your pinky.

Experiment and you'll find something comfortable. It's difficult to explain but perhaps someone can do a better job than I can with the words.

[shufflebeat]

Slightly different take on this but concur with much of the advice.

My fingers are relatively long but also chunky so I have trouble pointing them in the right direction without tripping over each other. I have two options: extra wide neck to make room for banana hands or adapt the schematics to suit the tools.

I generally choose the latter, maybe covering two strings with one finger or maybe playing an odd 9th note because it's easy to reach/difficult to avoid and doesn't sound too out of place.

No complaints yet, although to be honest I probably wouldn't listen.

[Bluemonk]

If you cradle the neck in the crook between your thumb and index finger, try instead putting the tip of your thumb in the middle of the back of the neck as is part of the classical guitar pedagogy. This approach goes a long way toward opening up the possibilities of the fretting hand.

[donlyn]

How to work around short fingers?

Originally Posted by TortoiseAvenger

Hi there,

Thanks to previous suggestions, I got into Chris Smither's music and downloaded his classes from homespun. Unfortunately in the very first chord of the very first lesson I ran into an issue. On Capo 2 he plays a standard E Chord then while holding that he uses his pinky to reach up to the 4th fret on the A string for an alternating bass, Like this:

Capo 2:


e——————————
B——————————
G—1————————
D—2————————
A—2——4——2——4
E—0—0——0——0—


I've heard some say that if you keep practicing something your hands will get better, but this truly seems hopeless. I haven't been at it for more than a few minutes, but the best I can do is move the whole E shape up and down. Is this a viable solution, or is there something else I should consider?

Originally Posted by Mycroft

While it does bring it up an octave, you could also use the C# on the 2nd string.

TortoiseAvenger (in camelNotation),

Are you a strummer or fingerpicker or play some sort of hybrid style?
The answer may form part of your decision on how to play this.

Quick background. I have smaller than average male fingers, but I get around. My left pinkie has been trained to do a lot over 55+ years of play. But I never tried what you posted until now. My left pinkie will reach to just about the middle of the 4th fret and does require a little oomph to play that C# note on the 5th string. Frankly, don't believe I ever tried that with my pinkie before. Usually doing a blues shuffle, I do it with bass strings and do not fret the G-string G# at all. Plus that frees up the pinkie to play the D on the A-string 5th fret as part of the shuffle.

Having said that, Mycroft has a good suggestion to use the C# on the second or B string. That's something I use a lot also in conjunction with the D note on that string to do a full shuffle in the treble strings, for example "Before You Accuse Me (Bo Diddley / Eric Clapton and Robert Cray). I also add that B-string C# (alone) while playing Roy Orbison's "Uptown" as a semi-shuffle or whatever you want to call it, at least for my one-guitar arrangement.

(Wales) Robin has a missing pinkie phlange issue and he says he just does whatever he has to to compensate. I think he has the right answer. Just make the music as best you can. That's what counts.

I fingerpick everything using my nails as picks, and sometimes that allows me to move fingers around quickly because I'm not necessarily plucking/strumming a whole chord at once, but playing the chord piecemeal in a simple or complex arpeggio. That can be be a great help too in being able to add extra notes when needed.

Hopefully this will help you out.

Don
.