Originally Posted by: diminHi folks, as I stated in my original post, I am 68 years old and have been trying desperately all of my life to play guitar without success. This will probably be my last ditch effort. I have quality instruments in both acoustic and electric. Now come the questions and comments I have and responses both pro and con will be most welcome. To begin with, I may be wrong, but it seems to me that most really good artists seem to have long slender fingers that are deft and seem to have a life of their own. My fingers are short and small. Could this be part of my problem. I practice regularly for hours at a clip (part of my problem maybe?) Now, I am a retired Law Enforcement Officer who has had to qualify with a weapon his entire life and for several years was a certified instructor. This required extreme and concise muscle control in the wrists and fingers and as a result, I am wondering if I have a tendency to put too much pressure on the strings and at the same time restrict smooth chord changes. The dreaded pause between changes. Secondly, is it recommended that I start out with light gauge strings on both acoustic and electric until I get the hang of things, and is their an advantage learning on either the acoustic or electric or vice versa? I could never get the "F" chord down either, any suggestions there? Finally, with my short little fingers, instead of gripping the neck in the middle back of the instrument, should I try it with my thumb overlapping the fret board? As previously stated, all comments and suggestions are welcome, including hang it up and try another instrument old man.
Thank you folks,
Dick :D

wow you got it all here.
first have you ever seen bb kings fingers? they are short and stubby like mine too. that mind of their own deftness comes from hours of practice and knowing excatly what to do next.
you say you were a firearms instructor for a while? do you crank down with all your strenght on the trigger? or do you squeeze it lightly? it may take a while but remember its the same thing a confident relaxed had has a lot more control than tight nervous hand. dont worry about the pause between chords as long as you are getting the right fingerings after the pause with practice that will go away.
light gague strings will help you out when you start because you hands/fingers wont get as fatigued as quickly.

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if this is the F major your talking about i find it easiers to barre the first for string with my first finger then only barrre the top two.

as for gripping the neck you do need to get propper placement when your first learing or youll devlope bad habits(i know that one for sure) if you need to raise the guitar all the up so its almost at your chin, just kidding. but you might need to raise it up some. there are tutorils are thiis site that will tell you how to hold it.

and finally enjoy yourself have some fun write kiddy songs for you grandkids(if you have them) write love songs for the love of your life. they dont have to be perfect or even good but they are a great way to practice.