I have been taking guitar lessons for a few months now, and so far, I think I’m progressing fairly nicely. I have hit a brick wall with barre chords though, and the biggest obstacle seems to be the size of my fingers. They’re not “fat” per se, I just have big hands and fingers, especially for a woman. So for example, when I try to play a barred Bminor, the pad of my ring finger (near the top knuckle) invariably mutes the G string. Even my instructor is at a loss as to how I can rework this. If I arch my fingers any more, my forefinger lifts off the high E. I’m stymied, and frustrated. I can play all the other chords without trouble - but the physics of the barre chords just don’t seem to work with my hands.
To make the problem make more sense; if I could find some kind of thimble-like device that effectively “flattened” the pads of my fingers, I’d be all set.
I’ve been playing for 35 years, and I have big fingers that just will not bend into the shapes required to play barre chords. So I found other ways to play the guitar that work just as well. A guitar teacher would have a fit if s/he saw some of my techniques - but they work. And if it works, go with it. Of course, this comes in handy in a group with another guitarist who can play barre chords. I get to be lead guitarist and do fills, etc. So I have recognized my limitations, and work around them to get the same results, or a reasonable approximation. If I can’t make it work, I’ll just go play the drums, or the keyboards, or bass and let somebody else play the guitar.
Thanks for the input. I’m still just working on the basics (started lessons in January) so I don’t really have an idea of how “crucial” barre chords are? Hell my repertoire at the moment consists of Horse With No Name and a few bars of Wish You Were Here. (The essentials, of course). I’ve seen some sausaged finger guitarists in my time, so I would never have stopped to wonder if finger size was a hindrance. I guess maybe they just skip the logistically impossible parts too?
Any hints as to things you’ve figured out to “work around them”? I’m assuming you mean alternate fingerings, etc.
Alternate fingerings are definitely an option here, but I’m afraid I can’t help you in that area. (I do know, though, that Hendrix played barre chords with his thumb on the low E string.)
Other than that, I’d say that if you keep at it, you’ll get it eventually be able to play them. I know a lot of great guitarists that were hindered by their finger size when they first started out. And when I say, “keep at it,” I mean anywhere from a few months to several years of practice.
Well, before I gave you any pointers in how your teacher would tell you not to play the guitar, I would recommend that you try and learn all the proper ways first. It does take a long time to develop the basic skills enough so that you can have anything resembling a technique. And of course, since you’re just starting out, any number of hand positions will hurt until you train your hand to make those shapes. I never had any lessons, until I’d already been playing for 11 years. I went to a very respected teacher, who just happened to be playing along with Eric Clapton, note-for-note and nuance-for-nuance, to the John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers album… to see if I ought to learn the right ways. He had me play, and told me I didn’t need to take lessons. Coming from this guy, that was quite a compliment! And I’m not a brilliant, flashy guitar stylist, either.
As for those other guitarists you mentioned, I believe that if they find that their fingers won’t do what their mind hears, they’ll abandon it and play something else instead. So I’d rather not wreck your learning experience for you by telling you how to do it wrong. Go learn the right way, and get a style. By the time you know the guitar neck well enough to play what you hear without looking, your playing style will have improved to the point where you won’t even notice whether you’re doing the fingering “right” or not.
what everybody else said - do what works for you. To speak a little more on that: do stuff that works for you (alternate fingerings, “cheater” chords, etc…) so you can play and have fun - and therefore are willing to stick with it - while at the same time you practice the proper techniques. Sticking with playing is far more important than doing it perfectly…
I have played for 25 years and there are many techniques that I simply couldn’t do for years, so I faked it and played and had fun, and gradually over time got to a point where I could play it the “right” way.
I have huge hands and big fingers - over time I was just able to play barre chords and tight-clustered chords fine; it just took a lot of practice…I wish I could point out a short cut, but it just took time…
I assume your talking about the 5th string root B minor? What does your ring finger mute of the G have to do with the barre? Is your finger muting the G string because it bends at an acute angle off your fingering of the D string? It should be at 90 degrees (at least the first knuckle). Damn gotta go watch Sopranos but I’ll be back. One last thing is that barring with the side of your finger right behind the fret makes for an easier, cleaner barre.
Exactly - the pad of my ring finger hits the G string. If I bend the first knuckle of my ring finger further, then my forefinger also bends (but backwards), and lifts off the high E string. I honestly don’t see how I can get my fingers to do both.
I’ve tried first placing my ring finger in the “proper” position for the D string, and working my forefinger into the correct position for the barre. But my fingers simply won’t do it. As I mentioned, even my teacher can’t seem to figure out exactly why it doesn’t work. I do keep practicing, and trying… And hopefully eventually I’ll figure it out. I also realized that I apparently have rather short pinkies - the rest of my fingers are long “piano fingers” but my pinkies… Well they’re just odd. They don’t reach the first knuckle of my ringfinger. And the other obstacle that I come up against with them is that my fingernail (and this is only on my pinkies) comes right up to the end of my finger - there is absolutely no “meat” at the end. This makes it difficult - but not impossible - to fret with my pinky (the nail hits the fretboard, no matter how short I cut it).
As **Holden ** and **Fish ** mentioned, I will definitely keep trying, and see what I can come up with. Playing the guitar has been my lifelong dream; I certainly don’t intend to be taken down by a few logistical quirks. I appreciate any tips you guys throw my way.
And Wordman, I definitely have to agree - the biggest thing for me is keeping it fun. Which is why, when I get frustrated, I break into a song I can play, just to reassure myself that I can actually do this. Eventually.
What kind of guitar are you playing? Is the guitar properly set up? If the bridge is adjustable is it set to the proper height? My advice would be to go to a guitar store and try out a number of different guitars. You might find one that is a better fit than the one that you have now.
The first guitar that I owned was more suitable for launching arrows than playing music. It had a very warped neck which made fingering difficult.
It’s an Ibanez AW12. Nothing fancy, but nothing shabby either - I bought it in January. The bridge isn’t adjustable, but I really don’t think that’s so much the issue. My instructor can hit the chord on my guitar, but I can’t. And it’s only the barre chords that I struggle with, even some of what my teacher calls “trickier” chords aren’t a problem for me (technically, that is.)
That makes more sense because your problem sounded like one of small rather than large hands. I can’t say for sure that there isn’t a prohibitive structural problem with your hands, but I can say that it always seems that’s the case to people who’ve just started playing the guitar. Most likely it will work itself out in time if you practice correctly.
Don’t approach the problem as “trying to get your ring finger to stop muting the G,” but rather, “getting a full barre with your other fingers in the correct position.” This will obviously entail gently stretching those ligaments over time.
Here are a couple of tips:
Always place the barre last. The tendency is to place the barre down first and then get all the other fingers into place relative to the barre. You will eventually have to have them land at the same time, but while learning, place all the other fretting fingers before the barre.
Try bending your wrist a bit more and move your forearm forward. For instance, when you move from the position in which your ring finger mutes to the position where the bottom of the barre is lifted off the high E, the extra stretch you are getting should come from the pivoting of your wrist and the moving forward of your forearm rather than closing the space between your palm and the guitar neck. Some people need quite an acute bend in their wrists to get a barre chord.
Also, most people really use the outer side of their first finger with a slight bend to create the barre (rather than the flatter part that you would originally would think).
Don’t strain yourself out of frustration or overeagerness to complete the barre. You WILL sprain/strain your finger and it takes a really long time to heal.
When you find the part of your hand/finger that needs stretching you can do it in your “off” time. Just do it gently.
Fuck the B minor barre. Don’t ever let something like this frustrate you enough to put the guitar down. That’s a pussy chord anyway
This is tricky, not being able to see you and all but … my bet is that you have the guitar positioned so the that its top plane is angled back toward you. If you push the top of the body away from you you will find that your first joints are more perpendicular to the finger board.
It is so…ooo long since I learned how to do this that it’s difficult to get into a beginners mindset.
Loads of rock guitarists use the thumb round the neck method.
I think there’s a sort of knack to barre chords. For instance for the B minor you mention you only have to have pressure (for the barre) on the first and fifth strings you don’t need to wham down across the whole neck. After a while you get to find how to angle everything so you don’t need so much pressure - just keep trying.
As you build up callouses (sp?) and your fingers get tougher you may find your fingers don’t blob-out as much.
Just a quick word to say I’m trying out all the suggestions… Haven’t had much time to practice tonight so I haven’t struck gold yet, but am working on it.
I just wanted to second the “try a different instrument” suggestion. Although it may seem unlikely to you at this point (and inconvenient, who wants to buy a different guitar, right?) I can tell you from experience (as a bass player, but these things are not exactly apples and oranges) that different body styles definately affect the ease with which one plays certain things. I learned how to play on a P style bass, and then bought a 3/4 size Mustang, and I couldn’t believe how much easier it was to play. For that matter, each instrument I’ve played had different eases and difficulties…Why don’t you spend some time at the music store trying different models and see if there is a difference? (And it makes perfect sense that your instructor, with different hands, can play on a particular instrument with no problems.)
Well in general, big hands have been an asset so far. But for these stinking barre chords they’re just a hindrance.
So, I’ve tried shifting my hand forward and bending my wrist back and tilting the face away from me and … well, all the wonderful suggestions you guys have given me, and… nada. I am going to the music store again on Saturday… I am going to try out some other guitars while I’m there and see what I find. I think I’m still in the time frame to get a pretty decent trade in on this one so if I find something that makes a significant difference, that might be the way to go.
