TAC Family Forums

Share your wins, get unstuck, or see how others use the TAC Method to create a fulfilling guitar life!

  • petelanger

    Member
    January 12, 2026 at 5:55 pm

    That’s great! And welcome to TAC @dewilsonarbgmail-com you will find people here are very willing to help. It might take a day or 2 for many to chime in so try to be patient!

    To get back to your initial problem: small hands. Almost every beginner things there is something physically wrong that is holding them back. While it’s possible for there to be an actual issue, in many cases people’s hands are just fine. If there is a real handicap, there are all sorts of ways to overcome most any obstacle.

    At this point I am capable of most of the shapes to be more than adequate, but I often think my fingers are waaaay……..slow! I’m staring my left hand down as it’s crawling like a snail from the folk G to A minor, and my brain is giving the hand the what for (hand you better get your act together!) I’m sure I’ll get faster although I’m not going to be shredding like Eddie Van Halen.

    Some pointers that could help:

    1. Positioning: you want to get your hand in the optimal position to form the chord that’s giving you trouble. If you feel your hand is too small maybe you aren’t getting your palm far enough under the fretboard. Pushing the palm forward so you get the palm further allows you to wrap your fingers better, so they’re coming at the fretboard with a better angle. You want to get as perpendicular as possible. Often it’s helpful to raise the neck even up to eye level: it can be more comfortable, more favorable for many of the chords and easier to see.

    2. Are you keeping your fingernails short? I trim my fretting hand nails about 3 times weekly. Some players just file them every day but I prefer the old clippers.

    3. Warm up exercises, take a look at this mini course: https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/guitar-players-daily-stretch-guide/

    4. Don’t press more than you need to. When fretting any chord, get as close to the fret wire as possible. Experiment pushing down and then letting up while you pick the string. Feel the pressure when the note is no longer clean, now press just a bit harder. Beginners tend to press WAY TOO HARD and this causes pain and poor technique.