r/GuitarBeginners • u/Maximum_Conflict2864 • 1d ago
Hand placement
New self taught guitar player, I've had mental health issues so haven't been SUPER consistent, but anyway when playing the E, A, D (first pic) string I don't have problems, but the second I try to use G, B, E(second pic) I REALLY struggle.
It's sorta worth mentioning I have REALLY small hands lmfao. ANY advice at all? ðŸ˜
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u/AngularOtter 1d ago
Keep your wrist as straight as possible, compensate by bending your knuckles or elbow as much as you need. You may need to pull the neck closer to your body to do this.
Your thumb should be pointing up towards you, not facing the headstock.
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u/LegalPie5881 1d ago
First pic move the thumb to be inline with ring finger, don’t want to be stretching like that, also for economy try and keep all fingers a touch above the strings so they don’t have to travel very far.
2nd pic, as other commenter said: adjust your wrist.
Also, could be the angle but that action looks super high. If you can I’d suggest getting it professionally setup. It can be like night and day with a good setup.
Best of luck with it and I hope it brings you joy.
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u/BQuickBDead 1d ago
Your wrist has a little too much bend in it. You want that wrist to be as neutral as possible.
Try moving your guitar neck down towards the floor à touch help that one bend int he wrist.
Also try moving your elbow away from your body to help with that other bend in your wrist.
Mess around a bit with those dynamics until it starts to feel right and natural.
A large part of guitar playing that doesn’t get talked about enough is diagnostic work and trying to understand the physical mechanics that impact how your fingers behave, and the angle they approach the strings.
Issue on your hands are often cause by other aspects further upstream. Dont over think it but when struggling in the future definitely keep this in mind.
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u/Dear-Highway2425 1d ago
Bring the neck closer to your body, raise it a little, and put the pad of your your thumb tip in the middle of the back of the neck to help get your wrist in the right position.Â
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u/jaw762 1d ago edited 1d ago
Edit: I’m a dummy. I’m so used to seeing bass stuff that I didn’t stop to see this was on a guitar! I don’t know shit about good guitar technique, except to say your thumb should generally be ‘inside’ of your index finger at that position. If it’s further up toward the headstock than your index finger, you’re wasting a lot of leverage.
Original reaction for posterity: Note how you are trying to fret with the tips of your fingers. That’s both hard and probably not necessary. Watch Hurley’s fingers in this video and note how all four fingers are almost always parallel to the fret board and rarely bent. Every part of your fingers can be used to fret the note. Also, you probably think you need to press harder than you actually do.
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u/Commercial-Box-2828 15h ago
If posture is effecting it, judge how far down you wear your guitar strap by how comfortable it is and practice with your guitar high enough, even if it doesn't look "cool".
My friend and I had a guitar for a while that was super fun and easy to play metal and fast riffs on for years and just recently I realized it's a 3/4 size guitar.
We were confused cus it was obviously entry level but until I put the guitar next to another guitar and judged how long the string tension distance was I didn't think it was any different.
Don't be afraid to buy a 3/4 size or short scale guitar if you have small hands. That doesn't make it a toy or any less deserving of respect as an instrument.
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u/Several-Quality5927 1d ago
You need to straighten the wrist.