Small hands

Compaq · #1 06-01-2011, 07:23 AM

Hello!

I am having an issue playing 4 frets with 4 different fingers; aka if I wanted to play frets 2,3,4,5 with fingers 1,2,3,4 respectively, I am having huge difficulty playing fret 5 with finger 4 while keeping finger 1 on fret 2. In short, I have quite small hands for a guy! I was watching a few videos and most said with my hand at rest it should cover about fret 1,2,3. My hand at rest covers fret 1,2 and about 1/4 of 3.

Is there any tips or ways to get better with playing with finger 4 (My pinky) with such small hands, or should I just play any frets at that level with finger 3?

MisterFabulous · #2 06-01-2011, 07:45 AM

Practice using your pinky so it is strong enough. I think my hands are small, but lots of people will have trouble fretting a 34" or 35" bass at some point.

Hand size is relative. Here's a worldwide metric for hand size.

File:HandAnthropometry.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Use tricks. Learn to shift hand position. Don't slavishly adhere to one-finger-per-fret. Here's a short video about that.

YouTube - ‪davemarks's Channel‬&rlm;

Mayers · #3 06-01-2011, 07:47 AM

I'm a small guy ( 5'2 ) but I can cover fret 1 to 4 with my fretting hand but of course if I don't spread my hand I cover about 2 and half fret too.

I work a lot the first year of playing to open my finger and be very agile. It just take time but it will pay off.

Working between fret 5 and 9 help to develop what you need to open your hand. Doing excercice like 1,4,2,3 or 4,1,3,2 or whatever you come up with. Guitar players work a lot on that kind of stuff to be agile and be able to cover a lot of space on the fretboard.

Compaq · #4 06-01-2011, 07:54 AM

Thanks guys, that video was great.

I can do it just as well using my third finger and moving quickly down a fret, but I feel that's a bad habit to get into as opposed to using my 4th finger.

I will definitely practice a lot and try and get my pinky a lot stronger though. Thanks again!

sidez81 · #5 06-01-2011, 08:02 AM

bein someone with smaller hands aswell (altho 3 frets well and comfortable) one trick i learnt to help add strength and better usage of my pinky was playin guitar. practice alot using chords that require all fingers and also some basic lead stuff switching it between all 4 fingers. it helped a great deal with bass.

sparktone · #6 06-01-2011, 08:19 AM

Not only are my hands small, but my fingers are much shorter relative to the palm. My playing is a study in bad technique. Playing OFPF is out of the question until around the
9th fret, so I use my pinky A LOT. With constant use, it will get stronger. Further up the neck, I also have to move my fretting hand around a lot to cover the same ground. The downside to that is I spend more time looking at it while I play. Not pretty, but I get the job done.

JakeDPR · #7 06-01-2011, 08:20 AM

I have small hands and had major problems using my pinky when I started. Practice practice practice. For my first year of playing I did so many boring hand exercises at the beginning and end of every practice.

Every time you are watching TV run exercises and you will be amazed at your improvement. Start your exercises at a higher fretting position at first, the frets are closer together the higher you go.

Mushroo · #8 06-01-2011, 09:10 AM

I recommend using fingers 1-2-4 like an upright bass player. This means your hand will only cover 3 frets and you'll have to move your hand more, but it is more relaxed and comfortable than straining your hand to reach 4 frets. Also your 3rd finger "backs up" the 4th finger as a unit so it is stronger than one finger individually.

Ric5 · #9 06-01-2011, 09:18 AM

Bass players with big hands tend to not use the little finger much. Bass players with small hands tend to not use the 3rd finger much.

john grey · #10 06-01-2011, 10:54 AM

Some of the best technical players I have ever heard in my life were folks with small hands. I had once thought I had an advantage because of my reach. When I started taking piano lessons I could easily reach an octave, but in reality it meant little without the same level of practice that anyone else would have to do.

My false assurance that my reach could help was out-weighed by the demand to practice and often those with shorter reach practiced harder to out-weigh their reach issue.

Compaq · #11 06-02-2011, 01:25 AM

Thanks for the help guys!

Been trying it out and it seems a fair bit easier if I use 1,2,4 and then use 3 to "back up" 4 when needed. Thanks heaps again.

SLaPiNFuNK · #12 06-02-2011, 04:51 AM

Don't bother trying to keep 4 fingers per fret till you are after the 6-7th fret in your case.

1, 2, 4, w/ 3 as a back up is the way to go. Our instrument is tuned in 4ths, you don't really need to use that pinky to grab a b6 or b9 very often...

Most important thing is to make sure your left hand is comfortable.

Also, watch your thumb position. If you angle your bass higher (angle, head stock higher than body), and move your thumb lower on the neck (behind the D / G strings) more than further up the neck (behind the E / A or even thumb OVER the E), you will have a little bit more reach.

I don't 'have the largest hands in the world, but friends of mine with larger hands wonder how I can play my 6 strings when they have hard times with 5's...

dbhokie · #13 06-02-2011, 06:33 AM

That chart makes my hands feel massive. I have large hands, but it's not always an advantage, chubby hands sometimes get in the way, but I use my pinky finger a lot, well all of them I use a lot.

john grey · #14 06-02-2011, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbhokie

That chart makes my hands feel massive. I have large hands, but it's not always an advantage, chubby hands sometimes get in the way, but I use my pinky finger a lot, well all of them I use a lot.

+1
But then charts of that nature conclude that men of my height should weigh as much as a carton of roofing tiles.

sammyp · #15 06-02-2011, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mushroo

I recommend using fingers 1-2-4 like an upright bass player. This means your hand will only cover 3 frets and you'll have to move your hand more, but it is more relaxed and comfortable than straining your hand to reach 4 frets. Also your 3rd finger "backs up" the 4th finger as a unit so it is stronger than one finger individually.

+1 i have small hands too...i don't worry about 1 finger/ fret at all in the lower regions of the bass...get used to thinking thru the fingering for lines ...some lines require you to play a note with your 2nd finger then play it again with your 1st finger in order to get ready for the next series of notes..

MrSaturdayNight · #16 06-06-2011, 02:29 PM

I thought my hands were small until I saw that chart... I fall at least in the 50th percentile in everything or more.

My pinkys are a little small for how long my other fingers are but with work you will overcome it. My pinky's only 2.5 inches long and I can still use it anywhere on the fret board.

Rockmusician · #17 06-06-2011, 02:36 PM

You might be able to reach after stretching over time. Try holding your pinky on the 5th fret and practice stretching as far as you can toward the first fret. It is easier to do it this way than it is to plant your index finger and stretch your pinky. It will take a while but eventually you will find that your fret hand will be able to stretch farther than your picking hand.

john grey · #18 06-06-2011, 04:23 PM

I had once thought that having large hands would be an asset (they appeared to be for keyboards) but now I think that practice elements aside; smaller hands may have a unique advantage. I feel "crowded" on a J-bass neck (1.5) & I've found I play more linear progressions, scales, alternatives than others due to both palm & finger length & girth. I'm not convinced it's an advantage.

warnergt · #19 06-06-2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Compaq

...if I wanted to play frets 2,3,4,5 with fingers 1,2,3,4 respectively, I am having huge difficulty playing fret 5 with finger 4 while keeping finger 1 on fret 2...

Don't keep finger 1 on fret 2 while playing fret 5.
Using one finger per fret does not require each finger to be
constantly hovering over its respective fret. Place your thumb
on the back of the neck more or less across from your middle
finger (or wherever is comfortable). A slight pivot at the
thumb should allow finger 4 to get fret 4 or finger 1 to get
fret 1.

Finger 1 doesn't have to hover over the first fret while you
play the fourth fret; it just needs to get to the first fret as needed.

In time, you will have mastery over four frets without the
need of a shift. This will allow you to play many scales
without shifting or looking.

oniman7 · #20 06-06-2011, 07:10 PM

I have smaller hands than probably anyone on this board, or at least very close. The According to that chart, I'm somewhere between the 1st and 50th percentile as far as hand size. I play a 35" scale Ibanez BTB. I use 1,2,4 fingering a lot on the lower frets. Between the 6 and the 9 I can usually start to fit one finger per fret. I rarely keep any one finger rooted anywhere if it's not playing a note. I have a very fluid style and have learned to angle my hand to quickly reach new notes. It's probably less than ideal, but works well for me. I also experiment with alternate fingerings.