Hi, I have just started playing guitar. I am just working on chords and am having a lot of difficulty. I have small fingers and I am having a hard time stretching my fingers that far. Does anyone have any tips on how to play chords better? Actually any guitar tips would be fantastic because I am teaching myself. 10 points to the best answer. Thanks!
Yeah, it’s hard at first.
Like you said, you just started. With that in mind, I need to tell you that you are mistaken, and it’s not your small fingers that make it hard. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some things on guitar that big hands such as mine are an advantage, but the basic chords that you start with, open chords, and simple major and minor chords, are not where my advantages lie.
It’s not the stretch that’s hard, it’s the awkward shapes that you need to teach your hand. When I began playing guitar, I was 8 years old, and these sausage fingers I have now were little links in comparison. What you need to work on is called muscle memory, which is the ability to contort your hand into those awkward shapes with a minimal amount of thought. The only way to do this seems to be through repetition, and eventually the difficulties will melt away and even the most awkward chords will be second nature.
My only advice is to practice often. When you’ve mastered something that you’ve been working on, move on to the next thing. I play my guitar every day, sometimes for hours, sometimes only for a few minutes. But, rarely does a day go by that I don’t pick it up. Don’t get discouraged. When it becomes frustrating, channel that frustration into your fingertips and turn it into determination.
You can totally do this. They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and guitar is no different. Take it one small challenge at a time, love what you do, and eventually you might be playing your guitar, and from almost a third person perspective look down at yourself playing and think to yourself, "Wow, when did I learn to do that?"