Beginner and need advice

Hi, this may sound very weird and strange, but this question has been chasing me since I started
playing guitar. Is having long fingers important to be a good guitarist ?
My fingers aren't very long and I have problems spreading the fingers
to fret the 1st and the 4th fret at the same time, like here:

e 1-4
A -
D -
G -
B -
E -

When I try to play e1 with my forefinger and the e4 with my pinky I already have problems.
I don't know wether my hand is too small, my fingers are too short or I just have to practice the spreading.
But my fingers and my hand won't grow any more cause I am already 21.
My friends can spread their fingers much better and play things like this here

e 1-6
A -
D -
G -
B -
E -

They can play e1 with their forefinger and at the same time they reach e6 with their pinky.
I could never do that. Can you spread your fingers in such a way ? What do you think how can I improve this and
would you say that it's because of my short fingers ?

Your hands usually become stronger and more flexible as you play more. I dont really have big hands, in proportion to the rest of me. I guess they are big compared to the guitar though, because I'm a big person (I stand about 6 foot 2 and a half)
My hands did become more flexible as I played more. I used to have trouble reaching the 5th fret with my pinky, now I can to fancy pull off and tapping tricks from the 6th fret using my pinky( major streaching).
My advice to you, make up some streatching excersises and practice them often, they'll help you bigtime.

Hot Licks videos has an instructional video to help your hand flexability...might be worth checking out.

BB King: Big fat fingers...he plays beautifully
Angus Young (ACDC): he stands about 5'3"...I'm sure he has tiny hands...you know how he plays.

Don't let that get you down...it's all about practice.

It's not the size that matters but how you use it that counts. Flexability and dextarity are the important keys to godd left hand fingering that and playing the licks in a manner that works for you not necessarly the same as your hero.

as you can see I don't have godd right hand typing.

Wow, Im almost a foot taller than Angus Young.

The longer the play the more freakishly flexible your hands will become. But of course there is always the case when some people bruise a nuckle (spell check) when you learning bar chords... or was that just me. I don't know? Guys don't usual admit that have small hands ;). Oh ya and not all short people have small hands.

Yeah, I find that if I've practiced for an hour or so my hands are faster and more flexible than when I started practicing.

i dont know if you know what a double stop is but the term "power chord" might help

e------------|
b------------|
g------------|
d-------7---|
a-5-2-5-5-|
e-3-0----3-|

those are power chords....anyway...for the longest time(for the better part of the three years ive been playing)i used my index and pinky to play power chords...and for hammer on's and pull off's i used i used my index and middle....make sure you get your ring finger involed...and play chromatic scales until your fingers are discolored

heres a chrom scale..use this(i couldnt strech 3 frets when i started)

e------------------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-|
b--------------------------------------------2-3-4-5--------|
g---------------------------------2-3-4-5---------------|
d----------------------3-4-5-6----------------------|
a-----------4-5-6-7-----------------------------|
e-5-6-7-8------------------------------------|

also...learn the intro solo to "fade to black" from mettalica and use that as an exercise......youll get there!!!

[Edited by bornoffire on 08-04-2002 at 10:56 AM]

A double stop is Rock and Roll terminology for an interval, witchy is simply just two different notes played at the same time, like 1 and b3, or 1 and 5 (thats right, power chords are intervales)

2 different notes played on 2 different strings