My Fingers Are Too Fucken Fat For The Guitar!!!

[Terinox]

How the hell do you guys do it??? My fingers are so fucken fat. When I try to play a string, my finger blocks the other string on the fret that is NOT supposed to be fingered. Also, my hands are small, i'd say from the wrist to the tip of my middle finger, it's only about 7 inches long. I can't get my fingers far apart enough! For example the C major, it's fucken killing me. Getting the 3rd, 2nd and 1st fingers so spread apart!!!

Is there any way in the world I can fix this? Is it just a matter of practice? I mean my fingers won't grow any bigger!

[Kid Shred]

It's just practice bro, I know a lot of guys with chubby digits that completely tear house on lead .Just keep hittin' those scales and arpeggios and you're accuracy will get better. I keep my strummin hand fingernails long and the other hand clipped and short so i don't muffle the other strings.

I just got this song last night, It's old but definately a classic and pretty easy to pick up, sounds nice on my accoustic, tell me what'ya think.

[Kid Shred]

EEK!!! That didn't turn out too well, let me try and repost if I can, unless you're in your advanced stages of autism.

[Terinox]

Well I bet the song is great, but unfortunetly I'm a pure newbie, and I don't know how to read the sheet music. I can only play notes that are drawn out on the picture as a neck of a guitar, with black dots telling me where to finger and where not to

I will get around to learning how to read music soon though

[Kid Shred]

I can't read music either (not very well), but I can read "Tab" which is the standard for music illiterates like you and I. It's really easy too, and drawn out on the neck of the guitar.Let me find an instructional.BRB

[Kid Shred]

E-----2-----------------------------------------------------------ThinestString
B-----3-----------------------------------------------------------5th String
G-----2-----------------------------------------------------------4th String
D-----0-----------------------------------------------------------3rd String
A----------------------------------------------------------------2nd String
E----------------------------------------------------------------Top Fat String

This is what I call the infamous "Tom Petty Chord" , i have no idea what it is in music terms nor do i care. The above is an example of music written out in "TAB". And it's real easy.

Basically the above diagram is the neck of the guitar facing up at you and on your lap as well.(Sinister Giggle) Each of the lines represents a string , the top one being the Skinny 6th string to the bottom being the Phat Fat One.(Another Sinister Giggle). Each of the numbers represents the fret number on that String. For example the #2 on the diagram is labelled on the 4th string and the 6th string. This simply means that you should have your fingers pressed (two spaces in from the neck) on the 4th and 6th string. A number 0 simply means that you play the string "open" or without and fingers. Since this is a chord diagram you play all these notes together. Try it out , it's the first chord to "Free Fallin".hehe.You just learned TAB!

[TNT]

Originally posted by Terinox
When I try to play a string, my finger blocks the other string on the fret that is NOT supposed to be fingered. Also, my hands are small, i'd say from the wrist to the tip of my middle finger, it's only about 7 inches long. I can't get my fingers far apart enough! For example the C major, it's fucken killing me. Getting the 3rd, 2nd and 1st fingers so spread apart!!!

Seven inches? Hell, mine is 8-1/2 inches.

(Get your minds out of the gutter, people. You too, Canes. Like Terinox, I'm talking about length from wrist to the tip of the middle finger. But I'm tall and have piano-player hands. To me, Terinox, it sounds like your hand span is pretty average.)

So here's your solution, o hairy Canadian bro. My guess is that part of the reason for your dilemma is that you are keeping your thumb wrapped around the neck of the guitar, which causes your fingers to be less angled than they should be.

Take your thumb and bend it at the knuckle, so that your more of your thumb-tip is on the back of the neck rather than the flat print of your thumb. Adjust the angle of your wrist as necessary. Thus will move the grip on the frets (front of the neck) to your finger-tips and less on the flat print area of your fingers. Make sure, of course, that your finger tips are just aboveeach fret rather than on the metal fret bars themselves. And then, my pudgy-fingered friend, you should be able to pull of a nice, clear C chord. Play each string individually and adjust your angle as necessary.

Once you get the clear sound on every string of a C major chord, switch to a G7 chord - they use the same finger pattern and same frets. just different strings. Move back and forth between the C and G7 and that will help you adjust to how to best put your fingers in the right position for each chord as they hit the neck at one time.

And once you have the C-G7 move down pat, try switching between C and E (major). You will make the change by moving the first finger up one string on the same fret, but your 2nd and 3rd fingers will reverse their angle. This will give you practice on how to do a different move when you change chords.

Take these slow. You'll get some cramping in the left hand as you get used to the correct angle, but it will go away. Your fingertips may also hurt until they get a little more calloused - also normal. So don't overdo the practice at first.

If you find that you're still experiencing difficulty - and assuming you're using a guitar with steel strings, whether electric or acoustic - try finding someone with a classical acoustic guitar, the kind with two slits for the strings at the top of the neck. They have wider necks than steel-string acoustic or electric guitars and will give you a little extra room with which to play. If you can get it together on a classical, it's easier to do it on a narrower neck. But my guess is that you won't have to do this.

It's all in the position of the left thumb, bro. And be thankful that you don't have to finger one of these . . .

__________________________

Ah, the questions we're called upon to answer here . . . Oh, well, another service from your friends at Anabolic Review.

[Terinox]

Originally posted by Kid Shred
E-----2-----------------------------------------------------------ThinestString
B-----3-----------------------------------------------------------5th String
G-----2-----------------------------------------------------------4th String
D-----0-----------------------------------------------------------3rd String
A----------------------------------------------------------------2nd String
E----------------------------------------------------------------Top Fat String

This is what I call the infamous "Tom Petty Chord" , i have no idea what it is in music terms nor do i care. The above is an example of music written out in "TAB". And it's real easy.

Basically the above diagram is the neck of the guitar facing up at you and on your lap as well.(Sinister Giggle) Each of the lines represents a string , the top one being the Skinny 6th string to the bottom being the Phat Fat One.(Another Sinister Giggle). Each of the numbers represents the fret number on that String. For example the #2 on the diagram is labelled on the 4th string and the 6th string. This simply means that you should have your fingers pressed (two spaces in from the neck) on the 4th and 6th string. A number 0 simply means that you play the string "open" or without and fingers. Since this is a chord diagram you play all these notes together. Try it out , it's the first chord to "Free Fallin".hehe.You just learned TAB!

HOLY SHIT BRO THNX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dammit, that's so easy now!! ROFLMAO!!!

I have seen those before, and I kept thing that they are freaken complicated "staff" diagrams from music like the piano and shit! But now that you explained it like that, damn! Thnx man, that clears up a lot of confusion

I'm gonna start downloading TABS like mad now

[Terinox]

And thnx to you as well TNT, as usual, great advice.

I will concentrate more on the left thumb! And yes, the finger tips are painful as hell. Starting to harden up I will take it easy with the practice, I think I sometimes do go crazy and try too hard and too much! I will keep the practice time down. I've got an acoustic, so the neck is about average I guess. I guess i gotta just get used to it, and i'll keep practicing those chords

[Kid Shred]

Glad to help out. Enjoy Bro!