[CaliaMoko]

As I may have mentioned before, I would like to learn how to play guitar for real. I can strum some easy chords--the same easy chords I've been able to strum for something like 50 years--and have recently started to teach myself how to barre.

I had a guitar lesson this month (my first ever), so now I have some specific exercises to do to learn how to find my way around the strings on an individual and personal basis. The main problem I'm having is reaching with my little finger. I can't reach the 6th string with my little finger without bending my wrist in a twisted and painful manner. Anyone have any solutions for that? Exercises? Is it just a side effect of old age?

By the way, I'm talking about the left (fretting) hand here, in case that wasn't obvious.

[Johnnyuk]

Hi,
Piano is my main instrument so i am wondering if you can play piano. The reason i am asking is because there are some very good acoustic guitar vst's around these days so if trying to play the real thing is a problem you still have alternatives to consider.
Below is a link to what i use to get guitar into my songs.
Sorry i can't help you more than this but i'm sure all the guitarists in here will post something to help you out.

Johnny

&t=91s

[CaliaMoko]

Thanks, Johnny. Right now I'm saving my coins for Melodyne, so it'll be awhile before I can start saving for another VST. Since my hearing is compromised, I outsource all my serious recording/mixing, anyway. I'm hoping to be able to play decent for live performances, though. It would be kind of cool to have a virtual instrument that sounded like someone playing a real guitar. I may have to consider that eventually.

[tone]

You're talking about the low E string when you say 6th string? I don't think your problem is unique to you or age related. I was a teenager when I learned the guitar, and I remember having many little finger related difficulties. Considering that you're asking it to move in completely new ways, it's to be expected.

Just practice regularly and gently, and try your best to keep your wrist relaxed. Be sure to bring the problem up with your teacher, because being able to see how you're moving your hand/ wrist/ fingers will be key to helping you achieve a relaxed playing position with full access to the fretboard.

[Martinswede]

Hi CaliaMoko!

Nice to hear you have started with lessons!
The little finger is a bit difficult. I fretted most chords I could imagine and I only found one with the little finger on the 6th string E/G#. But I assume you have scale like exercises to develop strength and some muscular memory.

The problem might be the placing of your thumb. My advice is that you put your four fingers on the strings. Not just the points. Place your thumb on the other side of the neck. Move your hand up and down but also move your wrist till you find a comfortable spot. Try fretting the 6th string with all four fingers.

Martin

[Boydie]

I wouldn't worry at all at this stage about not being able to reach the 6th string with your little finger

As @Martinswede has said there is very little requirement for this - perhaps some more unusual voicings of chords and extended 3 octave scale/lick runs, which knowing your writing and performing style you will certainly not need

If you are just getting in to barre chords I would just focus on learning the "E Major and minor shape" barre chords with the root on the 6th string and the "A Major and minor shale" barre chords with the root note on the 5th string

This alone will open up the guitar for songwriting and chord voicing choices - e.g. a C Major chord will sound VERY different played in the normal open position, as an "A Major shape barre chord played at the 3rd fret" and played as an "E Major barre chord played at the 8th fret"

All the same chord (C Major) but very different "sounds" that can be used to suit a particular song/section

[RealKevM]

It really is a case of keep practicing. Before long your muscle memory will umprove though it can be frustrating, I used to think I'd never pick certain aspects up but practice really does make perfect.  I've started doing guitar lesson videos on my youtube channel if they are of any help

[Skub]

As I may have mentioned before, I would like to learn how to play guitar for real. I can strum some easy chords--the same easy chords I've been able to strum for something like 50 years--and have recently started to teach myself how to barre.

I had a guitar lesson this month (my first ever), so now I have some specific exercises to do to learn how to find my way around the strings on an individual and personal basis. The main problem I'm having is reaching with my little finger. I can't reach the 6th string with my little finger without bending my wrist in a twisted and painful manner. Anyone have any solutions for that? Exercises? Is it just a side effect of old age?

By the way, I'm talking about the left (fretting) hand here, in case that wasn't obvious.

Yo Vicki.

Silly girl,you are playing the guitar for real,that happens when we first decide to play. It may be early in the never-ending journey,but it's real for sure!

Getting lessons is great,I never did that,but I learned in my own way by playing with folk way better than me,so do that too!

Like Tone,I'm not sure what you mean when you say 6th string. Guitar players will assume you are talking about the bottom E string (the thickest) but I suspect you may be referring to the top E (thinest string)

In standard tuning,

E - 6
A - 5
D - 4
G - 3
B - 2
E - 1

Take it one step at a time and you'll get there. Many guitar players will admit to floundering on the rock of the 'impossible' F major chord,even before hitting the heights of the mighty barre! 

[Boydie]

Many guitar players will admit to floundering on the rock of the 'impossible' F major chord,even before hitting the heights of the mighty barre!

AMEN to that!

I can still remember first learning and finding F Major and B Major a HUGE challenge

I also assumed VICKI meant the "thickest" string - with it being a struggle to reach

[CaliaMoko]

First of all, I didn't mean to be confusing. For some reason I made an assumption all guitar players are accustomed to numbering the strings from highest to lowest, 1 through 6. So, yes, I did mean the lowest E string when I said 6th string.

You're talking about the low E string when you say 6th string? I don't think your problem is unique to you or age related. I was a teenager when I learned the guitar, and I remember having many little finger related difficulties. Considering that you're asking it to move in completely new ways, it's to be expected.

Just practice regularly and gently, and try your best to keep your wrist relaxed. Be sure to bring the problem up with your teacher, because being able to see how you're moving your hand/ wrist/ fingers will be key to helping you achieve a relaxed playing position with full access to the fretboard.

Thanks, Tone. Most important thing you said, in my mind, is the opinion my problem is not age related. It's going to be weeks between my lessons, but when I do go for the next one I hope to remember to ask about the wrist thing. I better make a list....

...The little finger is a bit difficult. I fretted most chords I could imagine and I only found one with the little finger on the 6th string E/G#. But I assume you have scale like exercises to develop strength and some muscular memory.

The problem might be the placing of your thumb. My advice is that you put your four fingers on the strings. Not just the points. Place your thumb on the other side of the neck. Move your hand up and down but also move your wrist till you find a comfortable spot. Try fretting the 6th string with all four fingers. ...

Thank you Martin. Yes, I have scales and fretboard exercises. I get little or no sound from the little finger, especially on the lower strings, as I am not able to use any force with it. I just go ahead and do the exercise anyway.

Thumb placement is a problem. My instructor corrected the placement of my thumb while I was there, but I am not able to keep it in place. Focusing on relaxing may be helpful eventually. Getting my hand in the proper position tends to be painful so far.

...If you are just getting in to barre chords I would just focus on learning the "E Major and minor shape" barre chords with the root on the 6th string and the "A Major and minor shape" barre chords with the root note on the 5th string....

I've been doing some of that, although it looks like it will take some time to master the A shape with barre chords. The fingering I use when not barring doesn't seem to work for barring, so I'm trying to figure out how to get it to work with a different fingering. Thanks for the encouragement!

It really is a case of keep practicing. Before long your muscle memory will improve though it can be frustrating, I used to think I'd never pick certain aspects up but practice really does make perfect.  I've started doing guitar lesson videos on my youtube channel if they are of any help

Thanks, Kev. I will definitely be checking out your channel. Sometimes a difficulty can be solved by hearing just one more person explain it just one more way.

Silly girl,you are playing the guitar for real,that happens when we first decide to play. It may be early in the never-ending journey,but it's real for sure!

Thanks, Skub! I like that attitude. I am a guitar player. Yeah.

Like Tone,I'm not sure what you mean when you say 6th string. Guitar players will assume you are talking about the bottom E string (the thickest) but I suspect you may be referring to the top E (thinest string)

Well, at least I did really mean the lowest string. I'm accustomed to thinking of highest to lowest, though I think I can see why some people might think "upside down", since on the piano low is left, high is right, and we tend to think linearly from left to right. In fact, I never even thought about it before, but octaves are numbered from one to eight, low to high, on the piano, while guitar strings are numbered one to six, high to low. No consistency there, is there?!....

Take it one step at a time and you'll get there. Many guitar players will admit to floundering on the rock of the 'impossible' F major chord,even before hitting the heights of the mighty barre! 

Many guitar players will admit to floundering on the rock of the 'impossible' F major chord,even before hitting the heights of the mighty barre!

AMEN to that!

I can still remember first learning and finding F Major and B Major a HUGE challenge

Oh, I do remember the first time I managed the 4-string F major chord with no dead strings...when I was 16, away at a kind of summer camp (a 7-week pre-college program). That's when I first started playing and singing in front of people.

Thanks for all the helpful comments...I appreciate it a lot, and pretty soon I'll go do some more practicing. With less worry. 

[Mikey]

I assume you are playing while sitting with the guitar on your lap, it can make it easier to reach the bottom string if the guitar is raised up a bit, try crossing your legs, this will raise the guitar up, or use a strap and adjust it to the most comfortable  position, maybe stand up and angle the neck to give better access.

Good luck, mikey

[CaliaMoko]

Thanks, Mikey! I think I've tried all those positions, though I could try adjusting the strap a bit more, perhaps.

I approached my practice session today a little differently and I've decided (not that I'm an expert, of course) that my teacher is trying to have me do too much at once. He has me running chromatic scales all up and down all the strings after one lesson--and that after he declared he was going to pretend I had never touched a guitar before and would treat me like a total beginner. It doesn't feel like total beginner exercises to me.

Now, I know I'm not a kid, but I do have book one of some guitar course for children, and today I used it for awhile instead of the exercises I was assigned. I did some of those, too, but mostly I went through the beginner kid book. It was teaching mostly chords, but it had the notes for the songs the chords go to, so I played the song melodies instead of the chords. I was able to practice identifying where the notes are on the fret board, and I was able to practice a couple of picking methods. It was way easier on my wrist, so I'm going to keep doing things like that, at least for awhile. I am supposed to call when I decide I'm ready for lesson 2. I think it'll be awhile yet.

[cowparsleyman]

Hi Vicki

Good to hear youre still at it, don't let that teacher put you off, it's not necessary to play chromatics at this stage.

I'd been playing donkey's years when I started Classical lessons, and the first thing my teacher spotted was that I should try (not always, thats just not possible) and keep my thumb going along the 'skunk stripe' on the back on my Classical guitar, and imagine your finger tips drilling through the fingerboard at 90 deg, this really helps in avoiding touching adjacent strings, it makes your finger tips sore, it also improved my speed and accuracy in all the other genres of guitar I play.

Another thing I always scoffed at was a footstool and posture, it's funny to look at but it definitely makes playing easier and more accurate, and the hand falls correctly over the strings.

Just love it and play it whenever you can, when watching TV (play an unplugged electric)

hope this helps Vicki

cpm

[Jenna]

Hi Vicky, I have the same problem with my pinky on the bass E string, especially closer to the body of the guitar. What I've found when running through spider exercises along the entire neck is that I need to adjust my hand, arm and wrist positions while working horizontally. My wrist and fingers are pretty damaged and arthritic from doing deep tissue massage for a couple of decades, and I sometimes get a hint of carpal tunnel nerve pain if I do too many exercises. Just take it slow and be patient with yourself. I've read that it takes 100 repetitions of a movement to get that muscle memory established and there are shortcuts to getting there. Focus on your precision with every repetition most importantly. These can be done in quick succession as such, place your finger as stated above like you're drilling that fingertip through the fretboard, right next to the fret, pick it up off of the string and do this over and over again. This can be done while watching TV or listening to music. Think of it as something to keep your hands busy instead of smoking a ciggie. Ha.

The pinky is a problem for everybody starting out. The one thing that I've found has some incredibly useful exercises to address pinkie agility and strength is this 30 minute daily warmup video. I would not recommend doing the whole video initially, but maybe select some of those exercises targetting your weaknesses and built up from there. I started out trying to do this whole video everyday and soon came to regret it. It's amazing, but at an advanced age with much mileage on the fingers and wrists, plus being female to top it off (we just don't have as much room in our wrists for scar tissue as men), it's best to break it up in bits throughout the day or week.

I hope you find this as useful as I have. Some of the best exercises here for the pinkie finger are the hammer ons, pull offs and legato runs. Frustrating at first, but if practiced diligently, will have that finger following orders just like all of the others.  As for the wrist, it helps doing some wrist rolls that pinpoint the sticky spots you can gently stretch to make them more limber and mobile.

Oh, and welcome to the flaking fingertip club! It sounds like we're in very similar places with learning. Maybe we can share resources to keep that motivation going.  The internet is loaded with helpful resources we could only have dreamed of as youngsters. I'd have bankrupted my parents by now with all of the free stuff I've found online.