Tony’s Acoustic Challenge – The New Way to Learn Guitar › Family Forums › Community Support › Frustrated!
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Frustrated!
Posted by Donald B on February 9, 2026 at 12:54 pmI guess my hand is too small, fingers too short and I can never reach anything with my ring finger. Falling behind.
the-old-coach replied 1 month, 2 weeks ago 6 Members · 5 Replies -
5 Replies
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You may need a smaller guitar, or just keep working at your manual dexterity. Also, note where you place your thumb on the back of the guitar… it can help you reach up a bit higher on the fretboard by moving it lower on the back of the guitar. Good luck !
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Also raising the neck might help. Positioning the hands in relation to the guitar neck is key! Play around with neck level and position of your elbow, you may need to bring it toward your body.
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im experiencing the same thing plus i can’t E and A strings i keep hitting all the other s
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Not going to repeat the recommendation that you might look for a guitar that fits your hands (it would help)… so I’ll just say….
There is no “falling behind!” Everyone is on their own pace. You should not expect to breeze through this program. You just do what you can… you complete the challenges each day no matter how “good” it is on the spectrum. My technique on today’s challenge was absolute trash… I did what I could and I hit complete! These will come back around and I’ll see how much I improved next time.
Showing up and practicing whatever you can that day IS ENOUGH! It is a struggle but that’s part of learning something new.
Keep going!
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Don B–
Don’t be frustrated. It in itself will suck the life and fun out of your guitar journey.
Don’t ever compare your ability to “where you think you should be”. Or, to anyone else.
DO your stretches! Both…. before practice and occasionally– during. This will REALLY help when starting-out!— (but don’t get to the point of pain!)
Try tuning your guitar down (say 2 half-steps)— and then put a capo on the second fret. Your guitar will be “back in tune”— but now the strings will be easier to fret– because they are “lower”– as-in (now) closer to the frets.
Carry-on– remember the fun– and remember that learning to play guitar is NOT easy. But– you will begin to enjoy those moments of inner pride at your improvement(s), and a quiet smile will start to show up once in a while.
the old coach
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This reply was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by
the-old-coach.
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