Your Hand is Not Too Small to Play Guitar! Secrets of the Stretch REVEALED

[@Sydberg]

"There is nothing wrong with your hand". Says the guy with fingers longer than my manhood.. Update: It's been two years and I can confidently say that I can play things I struggled with for a long time. Had nothing to do with the size of my manhood or length of my fingers.

[@monishkumar393]

Hahhahahhahahaha

[@Frxsty_fantasies]

Monish Kumar LMAO 🤣

[@jimalice1]

I always say, it's not the hand size, it's length of fingers. I have short to medium lengthed fingers, but I know some female guitarists I like to watch, have a much smaller hand size, but they have these long beautiful digits and have pinkies that can really cover the frets. Joan Baez, I know, an older lady, but check out her fingers.

[@guillermochavez2170]

jajajajaja Saludos amigo!

[@generalawareness101]

LOL, yeah. :( He has the finger length I always wanted. I don't have long arms so I never could play the Trombone. I never had long slinky fingers so the Piano was out. Guitar? Nope. Go play Trump/Coronet/Bass. I went to Trumpet/Coronet in school.

[@Jabob_Linda]

I knew the dude with the man bun would be the expert to solve my problem. Thank you.

[@ukuleleangela6153]

lol😂 thats hilarious

[@jags4all]

Hilarious 😂😂

[@outtasorts1634]

He doesn’t even have a man bun

[@HouseholdDog]

He also makes a mean latte.

[@mistergrendel32]

@Outta That’s what I say! Where’s the man bun? 😜🤪🤓

[@DanishLay]

I just started playing guitar and I have very short fingers. It drains my motivation not to be able to reach the right strings with my fingers, however somehow your video gave me hope. Thank you!

[@kathyowens890]

@James bond 007 I FEEL YOUR PAIN

[@tkenglander6226]

Hope things are going well re your guitar playing! Did you get a 3/4 sized guitar maybe?

[@anuskaannaroy1067]

Same here dude..!!! :( my fingers don't reach some chords

[@asylumrain]

How have you been doing? It’s been 2 years

[@generalawareness101]

My longest finger is just bit over the length of an AA battery. No way am I stretching it like he shows on a standard 25.5 inch scale neck. Heck, even on my 24in Mustang I would have issues so maybe on a 22in.

[@areuuum2452]

your pinky finger is like my index finger, my fingers are so smalllllll

[@jimsteele5392]

Wow! Just that one difference of stretching to the side has given me hope when I thought at 72 years old it must be arthritis that was stopping me reaching from 5th fret on strings G and B to the 2nd fret string F when trying to play Nothing Else Matters by Metallica! I couldn't understand why I had been able to reach sometimes in the past but could not do so now and this very clearly explains what I'm now doing wrong ... brilliant! Many many thanks Ross. JHDS

[@jeffbecnel]

Opens things up catering to your pinky instead of the index finger “beast finger” as you called it lol. Some of the simplest and best advice I’ve run into in a long time. Thanks for the tip Ross🤙🏻

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

Very welcome 🙂

[@ojsojs6004]

Very good tips on stretching with your index finger and placing your pinky finger first. Tried it for the first time. It makes it so much more comfortable and easier to stretch your fingers. Thanks.

[@ss.sekiro]

setting the pinky first really works, thanks a lot!

[@Destess]

Even if they are actually too small, just pick up a smaller guitar scale. Unless you have smaller hands than young kids, your hands are never too small.

[@boni1982]

That is my point. Otherwise I would be able to play 120-basses accordion which I hardly can (short fingers).

[@kittenmarie5668]

I am a young teenager and I just got a guitar for Christmas.. My hand is as small as my nine year brother's hand. This is stressful..

[@savannahjustyne4120]

@@kittenmarie5668 RELATABLE LMAO IM 15 AND HAVE BABY HANDS

[@arianneseavey2328]

im 13 4'11 with a full sized guitar 🤓 not easy

[@DontTouchThatPootisBird]

I'm 17 and have the same size hand as my 12 year old sister.

[@soli2702]

holy hell. i have literally been trying to play this chord for more than half a hour until i gave up because i couldnt reach the last fret with my pinky. i find this and it worked immediatly. thanks so much

[@emma-rp3qp]

This is about the best advice I have ever gotten regarding guitar playing wow!! Made a hell of a difference

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

Glad it helped 🙂

[@keithrice1236]

Awesome!! I was trying to stretch my pinky finger to reach the high e string. This will help a lot. Thanks!!!

[@peri7597]

ye

[@ianfraser8088]

Thanks alot man. I have small hands and I stopped playing guitar over 10 years ago. I recently got back into playing and I'm learning all the chords and this video gives me motivation to be able to play bar chords perfectly with smaller hands. Thanks again.

[@Billi_crow]

man hope it’s been going good for you !

[@alexanderds9029]

Woah, finally! I've been strugglign so hard with the C chord because I have tiny fingers, and it really helped to set up the "weakest" finger first and make my first and second finger stretch out!

[@vandizam2347]

I really like how u explained urself . How u explained problems and correction.i learn best from calm patient teachers and. Expecially if they show me where I'm struggling and correct it instead of most showing how and pointing out y a d a solution.. I like ur vibe and attitude. U have care in what ur showing and that's a teacher @100

[@Lilacleaf49065]

Thank you Ross, lots of people dissing your hands for not being small but I appreciate the knowledge you share from teaching stubby fingered people like me! I was having issues with 2nd and 5th fret chords but can now reach and despite it sounding awful still I know that eventually it will click. Thanks again!

[@minimotoadventures867]

Wow I really like the technique for stretching my fingers. Was practicing 30 minutes ago and was really frustrated so got on KZbin and found your video. Going to use you more often. I really need good constant lessons.

[@daveshaw7761]

This is a great finger stretch video, concise, and very much focused on achievable tips. Just brilliant!

[@louieo.blevinsmusic2011]

I couldn’t play that first chord you played to save my life. I’ve got mad Trump hands. Been playing for a long time tho and lately have been stretching my fingers/hands more. A little over a year ago I feel and landed/broke my scaphoid. Was in mad pain for months ‘till I started stretching that crap out. I’ve gotten around to playing chords in different ways so I don’t always have to play the hardest version of it.

[@mikep5393]

Enjoyed this. Most teachers expect you to have fingers absolutely parallel to the frets.

[@mikedoingstuff9540]

Thanks Ross, the tip to move my thumb down the neck was very helpful.

[@Peterjan1995]

Wow, that last tip is a game changer. Tyvm

[@psutter5]

Dude! Exactly! Set the pinky up first. Plus the angle of the stretch. Way easier. Great tip

[@autoenglish]

Fantastic. Thanks. Careful with the V sign there.

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

V Sign?

[@heidibaltom8138]

You are such a great teacher. I love the short little videos as they give me something to work on. I have small hands and kind of knew about slanting your hand but the last one im definately going to try.

[@jazminsafarian7228]

I couldn´t figure out sol mayor and after watching your video I CAN. Thank you so much!!

[@raquelperalta8839]

When i do C chord for example , i place my thumb behind my weakest finger which is my ring finger to add support or behind my first finger when i do bar chords.

[@baycrossingsubdivision2627]

I just want to say thank you!! Moving my thumb made all the difference in the world.

[@johnletitia]

Thanks, I had never figured out how to solve this before...this helps!

[@ShareholderValue50]

Holy hell, this is literally a "magic quick fix". Despite having enormous hands (i can stretch from the first to eight fret), i struggled with comfortably stretching whole steps. This is actually magic, i cant believe that this worked immediately.

[@pacheco3328]

8 frets? what the fuck

[@Rallison6996]

@@pacheco3328 my thoughts exactly haha!, I can only go from 1st to 4th fret lol

[@alv1174]

Some pretty good advice. The best that I received on this topic.

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

Glad it was helpful!

[@themacetones]

Deffos. Really helped with a 5 fret stretch that was annoying the life out of me.

[@donjoseph73]

Dude I been playing of an one for decades. This stretches are great. I need an exercise with my fingers stretched. 5 frets is the max for me.

[@eldorado111]

Mind blown. Been playing for decades and these tips never occured to me.. Despite getting it right *some* of the time I now know how to deliberately use and practice this technique.. and what a difference it makes. Thanks bro. Liked and subscribed!!

[@allancerf9038]

Me too. Not so much with hand positions but your remakr about doing years without learning the right techniques. Makes a huge difference.

[@lesm2373]

the pinky tip is awesome. thanks

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

Happy to help!

[@PierrickUke]

What really did it to me is when you said to align the thumb with the finger which I want to place. That forced a stretch that I wasn't able to recreate no matter how hard I tried to extend my fingers.

[@puranjanprithu6337]

I am learning through utube only....so this video really helped me.... Thanks bro

[@lorentart]

I bought this software some years ago...about ten maybe...and then i left playing guitar for some reason. Now i began to play and think that this software is the best way to get great guitar level

[@ToxicTeacherTTV]

Great vid! Been working on stretching and now going to try by stretching the index. Seems like it'll be more ffective!

[@blakeylol8837]

Thanks so much. That second tip is brilliant, worked right away for the XX1343 Eb I was struggling with.

[@AbysswalkerASMR]

Thanks for the tips, really appreciate it. Beyond frustrating, when you can't even reach the frets on a GS mini...

[@jenniferbyers1375]

Also struggling on the GS mini here…. Currently the F bar chord seems to be a physical impossibility for me… forget about index finger strength , I can’t even place all my fingers on the correct spot :/

[@icejake1995]

Sry for random comment here. I thought you were talking about paintball because there is a marker called the mini gs

[@pronubcentral]

My fingers are an inch and a half shorter in length than my palm is (from wrist to finger joint). My hands aren't small, they're just built like freaking mittens so yeah, that stretch is pretty much a mathematical impossibility for me!

[@Will3Galway]

Nice one. Thank you for those insights. You can't beat experience.

[@somedude8604]

Stretching with the middle finger really helped me out, thanks for the great tips :)

[@markanderson6405]

Nice man! Great tip on the thumb position behind the pinkie!

[@melissakaye1037]

Hey Ross, this was a great video!! Thank you! I'm working on stretching a bit more and this has helped a ton! Do you have any videos/tips/advice on how to wrap your thumb around the neck to hit the E string while playing a D chord? I cannot reach it to save me and would love some advice. Thanks so much!

[@peterdragon2822]

For me this was the most helpful lesson in a long time, thank you so much! I do have small hands and always felt that should position my hand as parallel as possible on the neck. I tried your tip and all felt instantly much easier. Do you have any Book-recomendations, maybe for classical guitar where I can dice deeper into this subject? Again: thank you so much!

[@UntrainableWizard]

This legitimately helps a lot for me trying to learn. Thank you. Something that I have to ask, because it's so demoralyzing to me, is the B chord. I so desperately want to learn to play bar chords, I can't name a single song that I've said "Oh, that sounds fun to play" that hasn't had at least one, and the two I find the most are B and F. F, the problem I have is I don't have the strength needed for the barre yet, but B, the problem I have is I just can not get my hands to form that A needed under the barre. It doesn't as much drive me mad, as it does just so quickly bring my spirit down, so I'd like to ask if you have any advice on this. I've been trying for a good number of months now to get this, and I just can't stick it. I don't know if my fingers are too chubby, or what, I just always mute another string by accident. (Sorry this is needlessly long, I don't know if it shows but I found this video, while upset, trying to work out if this was the problem I was having. lol)

[@tkenglander6226]

O.M.Gee!! I have had tons of trouble playing bar/barre chords as well! Every once in a while, I work on placing my fingers in the right places for the F major and B minor bar/barre chords just to create some muscle memory, but I still can't get my fingers in place on time with whatever song I'm learning. It's gotten a little better over time, but it's still not easy; keep placing your fingers in the right places for those chords and pick each string in that chord to make sure it sounds clean. Two things to think about are the size of guitar you have and the type of guitar you have (electric or acoustic). It's much easier to play bar/barre chords with an electric guitar!! Last note: you can find alternate ways of playing some chords so you can still play some of those songs you like! For example, you can use F major 7 to substitute for an F chord in some songs and there are different ways to play B minor. Hope this helps!!

[@UntrainableWizard]

@@tkenglander6226 That actually does help a lot, thank you! I looked up alternative ways to do some of the chords, while I practice the bar chord. I never knew there were alternative ways!

[@gabrielbalogh3910]

Wow this is super helpful! Thanks Ross man

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

You are most welcome Gabe! I know you already have a heck of a stretch though haha :)

[@Trollerx1]

The switching which finger u should be stretching, literally s tier advice

[@mikepercival7424]

I was doing it the opposite way. Such a "duh" moment. Thanks for the help.

[@joebloggs619]

Thanks Ross. I never thought of stretching the index finger and always put too much strain on the pinkie one, thinking it was plain slack and lazy and needed to try harder to stretch more. Will try your tricks.I can stretch a respectable distance of about 5 frets for a female with small hands because I have long fingers but the stressed out Pai ful pinkie is the problem. Your tip about stretching the index instead might help remove so much strain on the small weaker pinkie finger and make guitar practice less digital torture.

[@DingoFlexa]

Struggled with a tab because of a stretch for the chords necessary. Watched this and now i can play the chords. Now I just gotta get comfortable with it and train out the sloppy hand position that I taught myself 😅😂

[@CaesarCapone]

I love your videos! Your "things that took you a long time to learn, & don't think anyone taught you" are great! It would have been great to learn these things early on! Your how to Barre video is the best on KZbin!!!

[@chiklugupta8403]

The first video i watched on ur channel is this..and i hammered on the bell icon😄

[@recordartistdyanvillavicen4539]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TIPS Ross the Music and Guitar Teacher

[@TFShaw]

Thank you! Can't wait to try this.

[@iantaylor827]

Brilliant. Like so many things obvious once someone tells you but I've been doing it the hard way for years. Thank you

[@Coga_official]

Thanks so much mad was revealing getting pissed that I couldn’t reach even after stretching. Just saved me so much time and frustration.

[@harishreddy2669]

Great tip, thanks. I was doing it precisely as you described - trying to stretch the pinky.

[@WilliamSives]

My hands are Really Small But Over Time from Practice I Got Better However I Still Struggle with the 12 Bar Francis Rossi Type Chords and Certain Types of Lead Guitar Like Playing a Certain String and Then Bending a Lower String Down the Guitar Into the Same Note To Make It Sound More Substantial and Scream Always Wanted to Be Able to Do This But Didn't Have the Finger Length and Strength.

[@Asterionandon]

That second tip is great. Thank you!

[@sluggo12345]

im the kind of dude who needs to hear something 50 times before it sticks. even though ive heard this a bunch before i never really got it til i watched your video and i just solved a bunch of problems in my left hand in like 2 minutes! thanks! now to make it a habit

[@STEVENSONkassy969]

Thank you SOOOO MUCH!! just saved my life no joke. 🙏

[@tuckerdecosta]

Incredibly helpful. Wish someone told me this sooner. Cheers

[@beardedshadow]

Anchoring with the pinky finger, first, is a great idea, thanks.

[@lornrandall5234]

Just tried this and like all things guitar- very uncomfortable at first, but ultimately a great solution. Thank you!

[@bs15099]

Omg this literally made my day man, i finally could do the 2 - 7 stretch great video man

[@uniworkhorse]

That tip was so helpful, it's so intuitive thank you man!

[@Nmwv-16v]

Good points. I can do so much more now adopting your method.

[@dimitheguitarman6898]

Very good point friend. Thank you very much

[@timspencer1]

Fantastic tip.! Just goes to show how much habit can hinder play (I've been doing this wrong for a long time it seems)

[@saggarwal01]

Thank you, this solved 2/3 problems. When I try to hammer with my pinky it is cramping - just practice?

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

Yes, and relax after making contact with the string

[@けんけん-g8g5r]

Thanks for the tips. Came here exactly for the pinky hammer issue. Well see if I get it figured out haha

[@InterLin]

I could physically see the lightbulb above my head when I tried it This helps a lot actually

[@loulou_cannon]

Oh my.. I've just started, this is huge help I'm now going to go try this!

[@grrrrrgh]

Thank you, great information!

[@GalaxyOreos]

Thank you for the video! i find that in my case I'm not having so much trouble stretching my pinkie finger but rather....spreading my ring finger and middle finger out as they sure love to point towards each other when grasping for a chord. Or, heck, even placing all four fingers along the same string, i'm having difficulty keeping my middle and ring finger farther apart as they're almost always touching, if not a fraction of a millimeter apart. Thank you for this information! i'll have to find ways to stretch and hopefully gain some range with my middle-two fingers.

[@Gizm0_760]

This helped me immensely! Thanks.

[@johnmitchelljr]

No problem, I just surgically added another finger to my hand. Now I make a C chord. Thanks for the video. H. D. Taylor.

[@maphi1947]

:) I'm hoping to get a left hand transplant from a basketball player.

[@Radar101music]

Damn after watching this video my fingers got a bit longer lol. Its a bit tricky to find the correct angle but its definitely doable. I may invest in that support thingy to position below the guitar. Thank you brother!

[@musicmaker4him901]

Thanks for the info. I think this will be a big help for me as I’m a beginner.

[@goldflashgly513]

Really good tip! Thank you!

[@elizabethd2916]

Thanks. That was the beat explanation I’ve seen so far.

[@blackbird3526]

wow, thanks...it was killing my hand playing seasons to cycles by 10 years...this helped so much

[@lindathompson195]

Thank you. That was an excellent tip.

[@stoogemund]

Thank you, this has been a huge help to me!!!

[@TurnOnDistortion]

simple and effective, just saved me countless hours of insanity on the fretboard. thank you

[@robertcolema]

Will try this in the morning trying to stretch for the rhythm for b flat Johnny be good

[@astr___]

The pinky tip is soooo useful

[@xziolpsyxe9573]

This video helped a lot! Thanks, dude!

[@darwishhadi4326]

Thanks For the great/useful tips!

[@shawnfarrer4762]

So, am currently working on a Texas blues strumming. That interchangeable pattern. Bar cord. E3rd - A5 7th 8th &back to A5. Just trying to get a better more comfortable fluid feel to it. These stretching tips help. Just appreciate any more tips and or tricks.

[@aazmar]

True. Very good tips

[@OrangeNash]

When someone with longer fingers does stretching exercises, they will eventually be able to stretch even further! After decades playing and always hearing this "hand size doesn't matter", eventually realised it's a utopian ideal and size does matter! Perhaps it depends to what standard you want to get. Yes, everyone can "play" guitar. But the virtuoso guitarists, the famous ones, invariably do not have small hands. After years of daily left hand stretching exercises, the light bulb moment was my teacher saying "stretch both hands as wide as you can and put them together" and seeing that both hands were still identical. The span from tip of thumb to pinky is fixed and will remain the same forever. Also, a student of mine had largish hands and though only beginning, with no exercises, could already stretch from first to sixth fret, something most can't do however many years of practice. Basically, I think we have to be realistic and not expect everyone to be identical. Accept physical differences is the key to working around it *not* denying they exist. Guitarists with large hands (i.e .the majority of those famous for their actual guitar playing) will be able to play things that even the average hand size may never do. I think there are two possiblities a) change playing accordingly, rearrange those parts that need impossible stretches. Develop a style that doesn't *need* huge stretches. And b) get a smaller guitar built for you personally!

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

My teacher had straight up sausage fingers and seeing him play was something to behold....

[@rossdsilva5235]

Thanks mate this helped with the Leo Brouwer Etude 6!

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

You are welcome! I wish I could teach his stuff on this channel, but he is not going to be in the public domain for a while....

[@Jennie28844]

Thank you man! You just saved me 😁

[@cheyennebrault9258]

HI. I am a brand new player and am fresh off the shelf. I am learning to play the electric guitar, and am starting on a Fender Squire. My problem is, I fractured the bone between my pinky and ring finger. My pinky is also much shorter than my other fingers. What are some good exercises I can do, to be able to reach over the strings as I am learning to "spider" up and down the strings, without twisting in wierd ways. I do the thumb in the middle of the neck, and travel with my movements, but that pinky just can't seem to reach over without shutting down the other strings. Is there something that I can use to stretch them, or a method to help stretch them? Please no rude comments as I have only been at this one month. I practice every day. Just looking for some advice. Thank you.

[@harshithavs9759]

Omg thank so much! It really worked :D

[@btvart795]

Thank you so much, youre great!

[@SandersonGaryMr]

Thanks for the tip. I am sure it will help, and while I know everyone can play the guitar with enough effort and practice, it is equally true that some people do have an innate advantage due to mechanics. The bottom line is no matter how much stretch I achieve, I will never ever achieve the same degree or amount stretch of which you are capable or will similar ease. Why? Compared to my very average and rather short fingers, your indices are quite slender and long. Think of it this way. Former 5' 3" basketball player and NBA superstar Muggsy Bogues was exceptionally gifted and could easily reach the rim and dunk, but we all know that if his recorded height was 6'5" and up, slamming that ball through the 10 foot high hoop would have been a piece of cake. Long fingers do matter. Short will do, but not nearly as easily.

[@monnie508]

that was so helpful thank you