Big hands and long fingers


Fruitbat
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Fruitbat
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08/12/2003 9:54 am
Seems to me that guys with big hands and long fingers have a head start on those of us with stubs when it comes to playing guitar. Tal Farlow, the great jazz player, had massive paws. Ive got small hands and fingers like sausages. This is why I turned to steel strung guitars and not nylon.

So a couple of questions here -

who'se got big mitts and long thin fingers like asparagus and finds it a big help in playing? If youve got stumpy hands how do you overcome problems with stretching along the fretboard?

Second point it'd be intersting to find out which guitar greats had/have hands like a chimp and which manage/d to deal with having the hands of a bushbaby.
# 1
lalimacefolle
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lalimacefolle
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08/12/2003 11:04 am
I have big massive hands, I'm 6'4 and I can pretty much crush anything in it, so I rarely have problems when it comes to big necks and thick strings :)

But there are a couple of guys out there with small hands:
Joe Satriani, Angus Young, Shawn Lane (when you hear those stretches!!) and others.
I'd say that even though some guys (Steve VAI and Paul Gilbert come to mind) are truly gifted by nature, don't make it an excuse for what you supposedly lack.
Some guys have played in the NFL and NBA even though they weighed 200 pounds and were 5'5
So get to work ;)
# 2
TheDirt
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TheDirt
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08/12/2003 1:33 pm
I'm pretty much full grown... I'll be 19 in January. My hands are only slightly larger than my 12 year old sister's. My palms are wider and thicker, and my fingers are a bit thicker too, but my fingers are super short (my middle finger is like 3.25 inches). I have been playing guitar for about 4 years now, and I played piano before I played guitar, so I have been stretching for a long time now. I have no problem stretching from like the 5th fret to the 10th, and I can reach the 11th, but not reliably enough to use it in a passage. I can do an Am9 chord (x, 0, 2, 4, 1, 3), or an Fadd9 (1, 3, 5, 2, 1, 1) which are pretty tough stretches. I rarely feel the need to stretch more than 4 frets anyway. Having small hands is somewhat of a hindrance in the beginning, but it can be overcome by stretching. I can set my palm down and stretch my thumb and pinky just about 180 degrees. Just keep working, and you'll get it.
"You must stab him in the heart with the Bone Saber of Zumacalis... well, you could stab him in the head or the lungs, too... and the saber, it probably doesn't have to be bone, just anything sharp lying around the house... you could poke him with a pillow and kill him."

- Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Universal Re-Monster
# 3
Enslaved2Metal
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Enslaved2Metal
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08/12/2003 2:03 pm
Oh man i am so lucky...my dad knows alot of music theory and stuff so one day a LONG time i asked why he didnt play guitar....then he compared his hand to mine and my hand was already the same size as his except the fingers were much thinner on mine...he said that he never really had the hands to play guitar...wow...cool...i guess im ahead of other people who started 5 years ago...LOL
...Only one of us walks away...
# 4
sambob
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sambob
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08/13/2003 3:31 pm
I have very large hands (almost freakishly so some might say), but they really don't give me that much of an advantage. Size isn't the issues, its flexability. If you look at Shawn Lane, he has small hands, and he's known for playing everything in wide intervals, all over the neck.

I think the biggest hands I've ever seen were on Michael Harris, on stage they didn't seem that big, but when I got up close and shook his hand it was like I was a little kid again and I put my little hand in my fathers.
# 5
concrete chaos
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concrete chaos
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08/13/2003 11:02 pm
i have fairly long thing fingers which is reasonable for a girl, but i dont think hand size matters. hehe

i own a classical guitar and a fender strat. sometimes i find the thinck neck more comfy wheras i find my fingers sort of flying around avrywhere withthe thin fender neck. [thats cus im not very good yet hehe]

but seriously practice is the only key not how big ur hands are, i still dont strech em 180 degrees.
'i dont have low self esteem, it's a mistake. I have low esteem for everyone else' - Daria
# 6
Fruitbat
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Fruitbat
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08/15/2003 9:04 am
I asked the question because Im relatively new to guitar, my main instruments being drum kit, all sorts of hand and stick played drums and the trumpet. it'll come i guess.
# 7
Metalic Dude
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Metalic Dude
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08/15/2003 12:38 pm
It's maybe hard at the start guys but later it doesn't matter, when you get better you wouldn't notice that, you'll be good enough to get over this and play as well as all other guitarists.
Metal goooooood, Pop Baaaaaaad!!!
# 8
David C
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David C
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08/15/2003 4:56 pm
They say Robert Johnson's small hands and skinny fingers allowed him to play the way he did. I saw a great video about him recently, with Danny Glover narrating and Keb Mo' playing Johnson. Good flick. I can't remember the name right now, though.
"It's all right son . . . we told you what to dream"
# 9
iiholly
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iiholly
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08/19/2003 10:39 am
I started out with my brother's guitar, and he has huge hands. The neck was huge, and Im about 5 nothing compared to his 6'4. It was hard at first, but in the long run I think it really doesn't make a difference what your hands size is. Of course, Jimmi Hendrix had monsterous hands...

# 10

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