[Oily]

'Cos i'm really struggling

As you may have guessed from the title I'm learning to play(or trying to)the guitar but my fingers seem to 'fat' as they touch the other strings when i try to play a chord?
Take the 'A' chord for instance,there isn't a cat in hells chance of me getting all 3 fingers in that narrow fret no matter how I position my hand etc.

I know there's not much people can do to help me but i'm just interested in anyone else who has had or having the same problem and did they manage to overcome it and what tips could they pass on etc

[the_jinj]

Hold 2 (or more) strings with one finger for the likes of A.....course you can play no matter what size your fingers are.....different guitars have different widths of fretboard too

[Oily]

Originally Posted by the_jinj

Hold 2 (or more) strings with one finger for the likes of A..

Cheers.Why can't they just say that in the books/youtube vids

[Bill Hicks]

My guitar teacher told me a story of a guitar player in Mexico who plays with his feet!
You shouldn't have any problems with your fingers then.

[Oily]

I'll keep plugging away then,I've wanted to this for a long time now but it's getting me down not being able to play simple chords or avoid the 'buzzing'

[Switch625]

Keep at it, there's lots of "healthy" guitarists out there - BB King, the guy from The Mavericks, the chunky guy from Bowling For Soup etc

You'll get there if you persevere

[pmc]

Having difficulty fingering a note without touching the neighbouring strings is a perfectly common problem for new players (whatever their finger size). So don't assume you have some sort of physical limitation just yet. Make sure only the very tips of tips of your fingers are touching the strings and that they are pointing straight down, perpindicular to the fretboard.

Even if you do have unusually thick fingers, you can find other ways to play. Django Reinhardt is one of the greatest players of all time despite losing the use of two of his fingers in a fire. Tony Iommi lost his fingertips in an industrial accident but became one of the most famous guitarists in the world. Even Jimi Hendrix had freakishly long fingers, I'm sure he struggled with chords at first as his fingers were too long to finger them in the traditional way.

As mentioned, different guitars have different neck widths. Head down to a big guitar shop and ask them to try some specially with wide necks.


If all else fails, take up the bass

[Oily]

Thanks for the encouragement

I've borrowed a guitar off a friend for the moment so I'll stick with it for the time being as i didn't want to splash out on my own just in case

[Monarch]

As everyone has already said, keep plugging away.

I have really long, skinny fingers, when I started playing I couldn't get 3 fingers in one fret for the A chord, and I was muting notes with my fingers in the G and C chords all the time, now I take 'chord playing' for granted and it's my strong point.

You can try different ways of playing chords like barring off notes with one finger, but I am certain that if you just kept on practising you'll get there. Just practise regularly, not necessarily for hours at a time, but regularly.

[karkus30]

If we were all the same then we would play exactly the same way. The whole point of playing an instrument is to learn to put your own character into it........fat fingers, thin fingers, one finger, feet, lips or any other way is perfect. It's your passion that counts.

[Oily]

Guess I'll just keep practicing guys,thanks for all the replies

[TEKNICOLOURFOX]

apparently Jimmy hendrix had fat fingers...

so thats a yes

[Azazael1984]

Physical "limitations" should not hold you back.

If a man with no right hand can rip it up then havin chubby fingers is not going to stop you!

Its all about determination!