#1332986 - 01/03/01 01:52 AM
Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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gdptay
Member
Registered: 12/18/00
Posts: 6
Loc: Brook Park,OH,UNITED STATES
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and check your hand size to mine.if you have the same size i would be very interested how you are playing certain chords etc.or if you (and i) are were even able to. I'm pretty sure if i went to a piano teacher for lessons he or she would tell me don't waste your time.(short fingers big palm)check these sizes out and if you match i would like to talk to you.
from wrist to tip of middle finger-71/2"
from outer edge of palm to tip of thumb-71/8"
length of thumb-2 3/4"
length of index finger-2 3/4"
length of middle finger-3"
length of ring finger-2 5/8"
length of small finger-2 1/4"
distance from middle of tip of index finger to middle of tip of small finger stretched out width wise-5 1/2"
if your hands are close i'd like to know how well you are able to play and what you can play chordwise (not tunes)and hopefully be able to show me some tips to compensate.
appreciate any help
gdptay
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#1332987 - 01/04/01 11:36 PM
Re: Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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Tedster
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 5933
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I dunno, don't have a ruler, but I've got pretty small hands. My 17 year old son can put his hand up to mine and wrap his first knuckle easily over the tip of my finger. I just do what I can.
_________________________
"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine...(WAH WAH WAH WAHHH!)"
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#1332988 - 01/05/01 03:17 AM
Re: Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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Anonymous
Anonymous
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I couldn't find a tape measure or ruler, but my fingers are short for my hand. I have a large palm, but when comparing with others, my fingers are short. To play a B bar chord at the second fret, I have to use my 3rd and 4th fingers to hold the 2,3&4 strings. My 3 rd finger will not bend backwards like normal people.
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#1332989 - 01/06/01 11:27 PM
Re: Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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Rusrant@aol.com
Senior Member
Registered: 11/15/00
Posts: 61
Loc: ,,UNITED STATES
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Hello,
Don't wanna sound obvious but the best advice no matter your hand size is to practice. I just measured my own hands and found them to be virtually the same size as yours. I've been playing guitar for over 10 years. I also teach guitar and can play bass, piano/keys and several other stringed instruments. Really though, just practice and work around your obstacles.
Check out my website for some clips of my playing, http://www.geocities.com/rusthomas
Thanks, Rus
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#1332990 - 01/07/01 10:31 PM
Re: Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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Anonymous
Anonymous
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From your measurements, you hand seems about the same size as mine. But, my impression of my hands is that I simply have larger than usual hands that are well proportioned.
I play piano and have observed many different hands. I have never noticed a correlation of hand type to expertise. Instead I have noticed that people make their hands accomodate what they want to play by their ingeniousness. There are some things that some people can do that others can't, due to the size or shape of their hands.
Since the ability to make music is an art and not an athletic contest that is measured by the size of one's span or the speed that one plays, how ever you make good music is what counts. Your hand might be suitable to do things others can't while you might not be able to do some things others can.
For guitar playing, I feel that I have rather large hands. I sometimes compensate for chord playing by doing alternate fingerings from what I would expect. There are some things I can't do, because I can't fit my fingers in the spot to play those chords. I just can't play those things, but there's a lot of other guitar playing I can do.
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#1332991 - 01/08/01 05:04 PM
Re: Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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Chip McDonald
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/19/00
Posts: 4792
Loc: Augusta, Ga. USA
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Originally posted by gdptay:
if your hands are close i'd like to know how well you are able to play and what you can play chordwise (not tunes)and hopefully be able to show me some tips to compensate.
Gosh, I feel for you. NOT! I wish my hands were that large; unless you're measuring them differently than I think....
I can play anything I want; the only exceptions have been certain Allan Holdsworth chord voicings that totally exceed the span of my hand - voicings that for all practical purposes are too exotic to worry about, they exceed 6 frets in the lower range of the neck.
I'm a short guy, about 5'7". I'd say I have average sized hands for guys my size. I've met a number of players that are "guitar heros" that are my size that have no problems: Neil Schon, Frank Gambale, DiMeola - I remember shaking Eric Johnson's hand, looking down and thinking "interesting - same size".
In teaching guitar for the past 15 years or so, I'd say hand size *isn't* something that varies as much as you would think. I've encountered a number of guys 6' and over whose length of fingers were not appreciably longer than mine (probably the size of yours), and I've encountered a surprising number smaller than my own.
What's more of a hindrance are fingers that are so physically large at the tip that it's impossible to dextrously finger chords on a Fender-width guitar. Not only that, but long fingers have more mass to move versus the potential strength/muscle density which makes them inherently slower.
One measurement I have you beat on by a big distance is the stretched distance from the index to the pinky: I can do well over 6.5" (my ruler here doesn't go higher than that)...
That's NOT because my fingers are longer than yours, or my hands bigger - they're not. It's because I'm completely stretched out. I have taught a number of big guys that have heeeyooge hands that couldn't stretch as wide as I can - merely because they're not stretched out.
Which is something you can change by slowly working on isometric chord voicings that are a fret wider than you're used to. 6 string ninth chord bar voicings (ala Andy Summers (again, not exactly Shaquille O'Neil) are called for. Learn "Message in a Bottle" by the Police.. and for more fun, "Every Breath You Take". I promise you, Andy Summer's hands are no larger than yours....
But if you do that *slowly*, gradually your reach will increase and dexterity with it. By "slowly" I mean force yourself to play the voicing by stretching. Don't worry at first about getting each note to come out clearly; just sit there with your fingers stretched out. Do a little everyday, increasing the pressure you exert on the frets until you can do the Fmin9 in "Every Breath You Take"... then, do it on acoustic (which I admit causes me some strain when I've found myself doing this in acoustic cover gig situations...). After that you shouldn't have any problems, as long as you gradually work into it. Stop if there's any serious pain.
As it is, your measurements now should allow you to play any conventional voicings you're likely to encounter; I think you just need to stretch your hand out a bit.
http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald
_________________________
www.chipmcdonald.com (tagline inlieu of having a representational page of downloadable music for the moment...) / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien
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#1332992 - 01/09/01 04:46 AM
Re: Who's got hands the same size as me?Get your ruler out...
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michael saulnier
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 12/06/00
Posts: 4070
Loc: San Diego,CA,UNITED STATES
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I'll have to add my voice to this chorus... Your hand and finger size are not the important factor in making guitar music.
Ever heard D'jango? Two fingers baby...
Heart, dedication, practice, patience, dreams, feel... ALL are more important than your hand size.
Here's a few more small or normal sized hands guys: Van Halen, (he stretches like Chip suggested), Trower, Santana, and Steve Morse.
I used to have posters of Hendrix on my wall growing up. The guy had HUGE hands. He could lay his thumb over the fretboard, and bar chords in a way I couldn't... I thought because of this, there was no way I could play his songs, and thought no one else could either... But as I grew as a player I found my own way to play my favorite Hendrix tunes and saw many others do it as well. And I realized it wasn't the size of the hands, it was the soul of the player.
Good luck on your journey...
guitplayer
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