Trouble With Curling my Fingers and reaching

Hey Folks , Just upgraded to full access acount and need some help , I'm currently in chapter 2 of guitar fundamentals 1 and need to know if there is any exercies that i can do to help my fingers .

I'm right handed and have no problem curlng my Index and middle fingers but often when i am trying to play a chord and it covers 4 frets my ring finger and and pinky often has trouble trying to curl and reach some of the strings .

Will my fingers with curling and stretching improve over time as I practise ?
or is my guitar the problem ?

here is a link to my robson guitar which has a big body but the neck is alright if you ask me but I am a beginner after all hehe .

http://robsonmusic.com/acousticpack.html

Originally Posted by: Merwood
Will my fingers with curling and stretching improve over time as I practise ?
or is my guitar the problem ?

Most definitely, practice will make it all work better over time. Keep at it and don't get discouraged!

Thanks Razbo , I appreciate encouragement like yours will definetely keep me inspired to keep going :) And hey aren't you supposed to say Welcome to GT because believe it or not what you posted in my first topic was what convinced me to sign up for full access :D

And by the way Razbo I didn't know you were a canuck , What's your favourite beer and who's your favourite hockey team "Eh"

Originally Posted by: MerwoodThanks Razbo , I appreciate encouragement like yours will definetely keep me inspired to keep going :) And hey aren't you supposed to say Welcome to GT because believe it or not what you posted in my first topic was what convinced me to sign up for full access :D

And by the way Razbo I didn't know you were a canuck , What's your favourite beer and who's your favourite hockey team "Eh"

I remember your post... I think we are in a bit of a lull in board postings right now. It's been quiet, but it will pick up.

You didn't put your location info in your profile, but I'm betting you are Canadian, too just from the spelling :D

Favorite team would be the Leafs. If they still play. I'm not much of a Sports nut. :rolleyes: As far as favourite beer, that would be Any. :)

Cool to hear Razbo and please call me Doug :) , Glad to see you a leafs fan but to be honest i thought you would be a habs fan given you live in nova scotia eh I'm also a leafs fan and as for my inspirations here's are the following

Keith Urban
The Wilkinsons
The Gipsy Kings
Kiss
Paul Brandt
Brooks and Dunn

and as for beer well I'm like you i like any beer as long as it's canadian eh lol

Well, I was actually rooting for the Habs during the playoffs against Pittsburg (and Philly for a while). My better half was rooting for Pittsburg, because of Crosby, and we had some, er discussions about being loyal to the Team or the Person. I stick to the Leafs just because they almost never even get close. I guess I like to support the underdog!

Nice variety of guitar influences you have. Too bad you are all the way in Toronto :p

Aye indeed the leafs are the under dog but I think i'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel perhaps under burke's guidance we may actually bring a cup home for once .

As for crosby yeah he may be canadian but he's really not my favourite player , i Like ovechkin as he really reminds me of the great russian rocket Pavel Bure which is my all time favourite player .

Yeah it's a shame I live in toronto but perhaps in the nearer future I can come over to quebec and visit where my dad grew up in montreal and stop by in nova scotia eh .

Hand positioning is very important in regards to being able to reach, stretch and curl your fingers. What I mean by that is if you position your guitar more like a classical player might do and keep your thumb behind your second finger then it will be easier to utilize the pinky finger (fourth finger). It's called keeping "square" to the fretboard.

As far as finger exercises I have a free eBook at my website (http://www.guitarlessonsbuffalony.com) available for download that goes over many different picking patterns and left permutations. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

All the best,
Joe Pinnavaia
http://www.digital-nations/artists/testtuberhino
http://www.guitarlessonsbuffalony.com

I'm pretty much a newby as well, and I am religiously starting each practive with Lisa's Spiderweb practice. I even repeat it during lessons just to do something different in between excessive repeats just to give my brain a bit of time to let sink whatever I just learned.

It's in this post http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31724 the reply from Lisa.

Thanks for the tips guys , Surpringsly you were right razbo , every time I practise it seems my fingers are starting to curl around the strings more naturely and starting to toughen up , Heck even my thumb positioning has tremendously improved in the last month :)

Originally Posted by: MerwoodThanks for the tips guys , Surpringsly you were right razbo , every time I practise it seems my fingers are starting to curl around the strings more naturely and starting to toughen up , Heck even my thumb positioning has tremendously improved in the last month :)

Glad to hear it! :)

cool book on your site Joe. Thx for putting it together.