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Techniques for smaller hands?
Have started the play along in the 30 days to play course and am really struggling with the timing as my finger span if I hold my hand like Tony’s is barely a fret and a half not three frets.
Anyone have suggestions for quicker transitions for smaller hands?
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10 Replies
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@AnneD. You can try using a capo on the higher frets. That makes the distance much shorter for your fingers to have to reach. Once you master the fretting at capo 5th fret, you would move it down to the 4th fret and try it there. And so on, until you get it cleanly with no capo. I keep my guitar tuned down a whole step (DGCFAD) and play with capo on fret 2 which results in standard tuning but with the capo on 2nd fret it’s so much easier to reach those stretches!! Also lower action and less tension on the strings makes it easier to get clean tones with less pressure/less stress in fretting hand.
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Hi Carol,
Thanks for the suggestions. Um…what’s a capo?
TIA,
Anne
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Hiya @AnneD.
A capo is that little hinge clip, it goes on the fretboard and covers all the strings and shortens the length of all the strings. People use it to change the key they are playing in without changing their chord shapes, and it’s also useful to make learning new music easier because the frets are not so far apart.
Tony P. explains it much better than I can. He’s got a course all about capos in the Skill Courses section here in TAC. Here’s the link to it:
https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/capo-comprehension/
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This reply was modified 3 years ago by Carol-3M-Stillhand.
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This reply was modified 3 years ago by Carol-3M-Stillhand.
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Thank you, Carol!
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Hi Carol,
One more dumb question. Is the idea to put the Capo on and then retune so that with the Capo on I have the standard EADGBE tuning?
I appreciate your patience,
Anne
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@AnneD. If you are using a capo, you generally would not change your tuning at all. So without a capo your open strings are EADGBE, and if you place your capo on for example, the 3rd fret, your open strings are now GCFA#DG. It’s almost impossible to tune your strings low enough to maintain standard tuning with a capo once you place it higher than fret 2 or 3. You’d get buzzing strings from them being too loose. So anything you play with using a capo will be higher notes than if you played without one. If you’re playing along with a recording or with another person then you both need to have your capo on the same fret so they match. But if you are playing or practicing solo then it just doesn’t matter if the notes are all higher. So don’t fret it (hehe pun intended). Just tune your guitar to standard tuning EADGBE without the capo, then put the capo on fret 3 or 4 and then go ahead with your practice or drills.
(There is a “capo rule” that after applying a capo you should re-tune your guitar because the capo can pull the strings sharp, but for your purposes, you can skip that part. It can get a little confusing to figure out what the “new open string notes” are supposed to be with the capo in place on any given fret.)
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Hi Carol,
Thank you both for your patience and for the thorough answer about the tuning. I wanted to be sure as when I started the program I thought “Maybe I should replace these strings that have been on here since 1987 before I start trying to learn play” and promptly snapped two Elixir Custom Lights because I was turning the pegs the wrong way 😅
Good to know that it will sound a little off when I do the play through with the video but if I can get the technique, that’s what matters.
Thanks again,
Anne
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This reply was modified 3 years ago by
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Hello @AnneD.
I just answered this same basic question regarding small hands on this link:
https://tonypolecastro.com/family-forums/topic/c-chord-help/
The basic advice is, don’t give up because it will get easier. Use a capo so the frets are closer together. You can even tune the guitar down a 1/2 step so there is less tension on the strings. But the big secret is finger exercises. They work. I spell them out in my answer on that link above.
MG 😀
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Thanks N-lightMike! I’ll take a look
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@AnneD. I think every single guitar geek has at one time or another, inadvertently turned their tuning pegs the wrong direction. It’s like a rite of passage!! And there’s nothing like experience for being a good teacher.
I learned the hard way, to pick each string as I’m tuning it so I can hear that I’m messing with the correct tuning peg, and to hear whether I’m tightening or loosening it. It’s also good to always have your “next set of strings” in your guitar case ready to go on, in case you do snap a string.
So you are an official guitar geek now 🙂
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