Still wondering if your hands are too small?

[blue]

Okay, not saying this is anyone's preferred style here, but watch a few seconds of this.



Now start watching this at about 2:20



Dang! Dem Pinkies be shorties!

[Larry Pattis]

"Too small"...?

One must always make the best use of what they have.

That said, I know for a fact that my "span" is way-less than that of the players/musicians I *most* admire, Bensusan and Towner in particular.

Even with a 24" scale guitar and 40 years of stretching/strengthening exercises, scales, etc., I will never be able to duplicate many chord-forms that these two use with regularity...I would likely need a 22" scale to make the proportional moves, given all the measurements.

...and so I end where I began, but with one additional thought (as always)...make the most/best of what you've got *and* learn about and own instruments that might best fit your size and genre.

Peace out.

[Earwitness]

I listened to several of her videos, homemade and recorded and live. I suppose it is impressive, but I just don't like it, stylewise.

Also, in my OPINION, not quite humble, my opinion.... a girl blessed with being that cute, appealing, and full of bubbly personality should not have spent her money on those large gaudy tattoos all over her arm and chest, but maybe should have bought the music gear she kept saying she had no money for. (My age?...)

Oh, that wasn't what your post was about! I have trouble reaching certain things, even that are within my hand span, just because sometimes my fingers just can't go in the differing directions required at the same time. It's not a reach thing, per se, but some internal limitation built into my hand musculature.

[Rosewood99]

Easier with small hands on an electric vs. acoustic.

[tbeltrans]

Anyone can do that, and do it better...

Q: How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb?

A: 50...1 to change the bulb and 49 to say they could do it better.

I think that many strings would throw most of us off. I have a 7 string acoustic and have yet to get used to having that extra string. Though the style in the videos is not my taste in music, I recognize she developed skill, both in shredding and in traversing that many strings. As for having small hands, she only plays on a part of the width of the neck at any one time - a skill that she also developed.

Tony

[cmd612]

No, not really.

[mahoriver]

I wonder if some think,as i did..That because they have small'ish hands they should go for a small neck..
But these days with small'ish hands my favourite neck is 2" on a classical.
And above 1 3/4 on a steel string..
Fire&Rain Small hands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSEOHd4Hhsk

[J.acoustic]

Shredding like that doesn't take big hands.

Now go try to play some Hendrix with his chord voicings and melodic lines or major bends and such. It is simply better to have big hands.

It doesn't mean you can't have big hands but shredding (and classical style playing) allows for most use of your smaller hands. However, that's pretty limiting and not a style everyone wants to play.

[Warrenaines]

[Rosewood99]

Actually hand size isn't as helpful as having long fingers. Large hands with stubby fingers aren't much of an advantage.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Easier with small hands on an electric vs. acoustic.

.... yeah, plus she's cheating with a capo.

[Larry Pattis]

I have grown weary of the North Korean kids video always being posted with these small-hands threads.

They are not playing guitar with normal chords (standard or open tuning), and it's not instructive regarding the challenges a teen or adult faces with trying to improve their guitar skills via an instrument that may be inappropriate for their size.

JMNSHO.

[rogthefrog]

Muriel Anderson is very petite and plays a harp guitar.

Hand size is not terribly important.

[bitraker]

I have grown weary of the North Korean kids

they're not kids; they're robots programmed to amuse a dictator

as for hands, small or otherwise, go to youtube and google armless guy playing guitar on street - learn from it

[cmd612]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

I have grown weary of the North Korean kids video always being posted with these small-hands threads.

They are not playing guitar with normal chords (standard or open tuning), and it's not instructive regarding the challenges a teen or adult faces with trying to improve their guitar skills via an instrument that may be inappropriate for their size.

JMNSHO.

Sorry it bugs you. I thought there were some impressive fretting hand stretches in there, especially from the girl sitting in the middle. Maybe I'm just easily impressed.