I Started Taking Guitar Lessons but Having Trouble Reaching the Strings Cuz I Have Three Short Fingers HELP?
Posted in guitar lessons on 27. May, 2010
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Question: I recently started taking lessons for the electric guitar and I’m having trouble because I have 3 short fingers that can’t reach the strings to well and I have heard that there are some finger objects that can help people with short finger play guitar by lengthening the finger a bit with a plastic or foam of some sort more so it won’t be as difficult does any one know what the correct term is for it I heard it was called finger picks but I’m not sure if that’s right and I also wanted to know if I can get the info to where it is they sell them at please and thank you guys really appreciate it would make my life easier
my fingers from my left hand are missing a segment so they look like i had my fingers cut of but i was actually born this way is there anything out there for people with fingers like me so we can be able to play the guitar? the fingers on my right hand are normal its only my left fingers
my fingers from my left hand are missing a segment so they look like i had my fingers cut of but i was actually born this way is there anything out there for people with fingers like me so we can be able to play the guitar? the fingers on my right hand are normal its only my left fingers
Answer: Hate to burst your bubble but that is a total myth! There is no prosthetic available to "lengthen" your fingers unless you have actually had your fingers damaged by some kind of accident (lawn mower cutting off tips is the usual problem) Tony Iomni of Black Sabbath has used custom made metal tips for his fingers due to a similar accident when he was a kid.
The problem is not your finger length, it is how you are holding your hand on the neck. Proper guitar technique requires placing the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck. This allows the wrist to sit "below" the neck, not "behind" it. If you have ever taken piano lessons you know that the teacher insists on keeping your "wrist up and fingers curved!" The idea is the same for the guitar, just backwards! hold your arm out and let the wrist fall with the fingers just hanging there naturally. Now "flip" your arm over so that the wrist is pointing up. This is the proper hand position. When you are playing you must remember to maintain this position.
I have been teaching for a long time and I have small children who can effectively play and they have very small hands. I myself have somewhat smaller hands and I have no trouble at all playing (check out my link). With a bit of practice, and remembering to use proper technique, than you will be able to play effectively also.
A thing to remember: when we learn to play we are putting our left hand on the neck, and our right hand is doing the strumming. If you stop to think about it, this means we are putting our "stupid" hand (left) on the neck doing the much harder job! Our right hand is the smart one and we are using it for the "easy" job! Our left hand is much less coordinated than our right hand (in right handed people) It has a very tough time just doing a simple task, much less trying to figure out how to play the guitar! We usually only use our left hand to hold something and we use our right hand to affect whatever our left hand is holding! (we grab the jar with our left hand and open the top with our right hand, etc.) Be patient with your self and with your left hand! I tell all of my beginner students that "You are not stupid! your left hand IS!" This lets them know that it is very normal to have trouble doing the most basic task with the left hand, such as getting the fingers to properly reach the strings. Another thing I have my students do at first is to practice for about 10 minutes and then set the guitar down for a few minutes. After a few minutes of rest than pick it up again and start over. Do this several times for the first week or two. The reason is that the left hand has very little "mechanical memory". That means that after about 10 minutes it starts to "forget" how to do what it was just doing! This is very frustrating, but very normal. You may have already experienced this while practicing. After a little while it seems like your left hand is getting worse, not better! This is due to exhausted mechanical memory. Put the guitar down and come back to it in 5 minutes or so and do another 10 minutes. Your hands build mechanical memory much faster this way and retain that information longer. After a few days to a week you will notice that your hand is not having as much trouble as it was, and you can increase your practice time.
The problem is not your finger length, it is how you are holding your hand on the neck. Proper guitar technique requires placing the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck. This allows the wrist to sit "below" the neck, not "behind" it. If you have ever taken piano lessons you know that the teacher insists on keeping your "wrist up and fingers curved!" The idea is the same for the guitar, just backwards! hold your arm out and let the wrist fall with the fingers just hanging there naturally. Now "flip" your arm over so that the wrist is pointing up. This is the proper hand position. When you are playing you must remember to maintain this position.
I have been teaching for a long time and I have small children who can effectively play and they have very small hands. I myself have somewhat smaller hands and I have no trouble at all playing (check out my link). With a bit of practice, and remembering to use proper technique, than you will be able to play effectively also.
A thing to remember: when we learn to play we are putting our left hand on the neck, and our right hand is doing the strumming. If you stop to think about it, this means we are putting our "stupid" hand (left) on the neck doing the much harder job! Our right hand is the smart one and we are using it for the "easy" job! Our left hand is much less coordinated than our right hand (in right handed people) It has a very tough time just doing a simple task, much less trying to figure out how to play the guitar! We usually only use our left hand to hold something and we use our right hand to affect whatever our left hand is holding! (we grab the jar with our left hand and open the top with our right hand, etc.) Be patient with your self and with your left hand! I tell all of my beginner students that "You are not stupid! your left hand IS!" This lets them know that it is very normal to have trouble doing the most basic task with the left hand, such as getting the fingers to properly reach the strings. Another thing I have my students do at first is to practice for about 10 minutes and then set the guitar down for a few minutes. After a few minutes of rest than pick it up again and start over. Do this several times for the first week or two. The reason is that the left hand has very little "mechanical memory". That means that after about 10 minutes it starts to "forget" how to do what it was just doing! This is very frustrating, but very normal. You may have already experienced this while practicing. After a little while it seems like your left hand is getting worse, not better! This is due to exhausted mechanical memory. Put the guitar down and come back to it in 5 minutes or so and do another 10 minutes. Your hands build mechanical memory much faster this way and retain that information longer. After a few days to a week you will notice that your hand is not having as much trouble as it was, and you can increase your practice time.
To clarify part of your question; Finger picks are for your picking hand and are usually used on a banjo. There are plastic thumbpicks also, that are for guitar or banjo. Both of these are essentially rings that fit on the tip of the finger with a picking edge that extends from tip to strike the string. These are ONLY for the picking hand (right) and are not an "extension" for the left hand fingers.
With practice you WILL be able to effectively use your fingers to play. Your teacher should be able to help you with proper hand positioning.
Good Luck!
I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I don’t imagine they would work well at all. You really have to have the feel of the string under your finger I would think. My advise would be to learn to play without "finger extenders" and do your best that way. I think over time and with practice, you should be able to adapt your playing to be able to play pretty well regardless of your fingers. Hope it goes well. Stick with it and practice a lot.
I have no idea what you’re talking about, but maybe if nothing else you’ll be able to rule out that it’s called finger picks. The link below is the wiki page for finger picks.
I saw a video of a guy playing guitar with his FEET. He had NO ARMS.
Actually, the illusion that it’s your three short fingers causing you trouble is all in your head. To me, your first five words said it all, "I recently started taking lessons…" Getting used to playing guitar takes a while, and lots of practice. LOTS of practice.
When I began playing guitar ages ago, I had a hard time with it, too. My fingers were also pretty small, mostly because I was eight. Sure, in time I grew into it, and now I have giant sausage fingers, but the moral of the story here is that if my eight year old fingers could handle it, so can you. It just takes time and effort. Good luck.