Small hand and classical guitar?

Question

I received a classical nylon-stringed guitar for Christmas a few years ago and I have difficulty playing it. My hands are kind of small (I will be 17 in three days) and that makes it hard to play. Would it be in my best interest to look into a steel stringed acoustic guitar? I heard that the neck/fretboard is not as wide as the classical guitar, so would that help me at all?

Thanks.

Answer 1

There are many accomplished guitarists with small hands.  Your hands can stretch more than you think, trust me!

Anytime someone mentions small hands I just remember Andres Segovia and his "Segovia sausages". :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG7y_CD9r...

Some more small hands...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydZeU0jov...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOaiPlYC9...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98y0Q7nLG...

Answer 2

I have this same difficulty actually. I bet you anything my hands are tinier than yours though! (I'm 15) Anyways, don't base what kind of guitar you buy on the size of your hands! Base it on what kind of genre of music you want to play, like more traditional classical stuff or modern music from your favorite bands or whatever.

Anyway, I actually started out with a steel string acoustic and had much more trouble doing barre chords on that because of that high tension of the string (harder to push down) and so I got a classical nylon string guitar just 3 weeks ago. I still have difficulty playing barre chords because of my small fingers but I will assure you that it is much easier to push the strings down.

You should definitely invest in a GripMaster Finger exerciser from your nearest guitar store as it exercises your finger muscles to help you play the chords easier and just do exercises that will stretch your fingers and make them more flexible for those hard to reach frets. I feel you, girl!

There are also 3/4 guitars that are a bit smaller and much easier to play, however I got a normal size because I don't want to be defeated by the size of my hands. Django Reinhardt was a famous guitar master and he only had TWO FINGERS!!! Don't worry, practice will bring you the satisfaction that you are not getting from your small hands in due time. Good luck!

Answer 3

maybe it would help. yes, find a guitar that will suit your needs.