Finger Reach..or lack thereof

[nuke_diver]

So I have pretty big hands..not huge but good size. I can reach from pinky to thumb over 10" and easily 6" from pinky to index. But when I play I have terrible reach .

 

My instructor who has much smaller hands has no problem from the 5 fret ->7->10 stretch and I can't . Now some of it is practice but I've been playing for a while and it doesn't seem to get better. What are your tricks of the trade to be able to make those stretches?

 

How much does strength play into it? I ask because I have some nerve damage that does reduce the strength in my ring and pinky fingers a bit, nothing debilitating but it's there

[crashclc]

Do you practice the things you're good at, or work on the parts you're not good at? If your hand is physically able to make a 4 or 5 fret stretch then there's no real reason you can't do it. But practice is the only way you can get there. Sorry. As far as strength goes... not so much. If you're trying to hold a chord in a stretched position then that does take strength and it is going to be uncomfortable, but most of the time you are only briefly making one of those chords on the way to somewhere else. So agility/flexibility is more important. My $0.02 anyway.

[adlo76]

pay attention to your thumb. i teach and for some reason almost every beginner student i've ever had keeps their thumb on the outside of the index finger when fretting, rendering it mostly useless.

 

for wide stretches, bring the thumb in so that it falls in towards the middle of your palm.

[mrbrown49]

 

for wide stretches, bring the thumb in so that it falls in towards the middle of your palm.

 

 

Very important. A lot of players have a cramped hand posture as well which limits mobility, sensitivity, reach, strength, speed, etc. But, I've also noticed that posture improves dramatically when the thumb is placed properly. Your hand and palm should be positioned almost like you are holding an invisible tennis ball in your palm, with a nice comfortable arch to your fingers.

[nuke_diver]

ah finally some response

So agility/flexibility is more important

Well I'm old so flexibility isn't really an option

for wide stretches, bring the thumb in so that it falls in towards the middle of your palm.

Oh this is a good one. I'm pretty sure I don't move my thumb position much or at all which probably means it nearer my index finger but I'm not sure if its inside or outside. Being at work it's hard to tell

[Selsaral]

Oh this is a good one. I'm pretty sure I don't move my thumb position much or at all which probably means it nearer my index finger but I'm not sure if its inside or outside. Being at work it's hard to tell

 

 

I change my hand position a lot when I play, but whenever I have to stretch, my thumb (which often wraps around on top) comes way down to a bit below the halfway point of the neck. It's hard and wierd at first but actually after even just a week of working at it, it will become a lot easier.

[nuke_diver]

The reason I'm not sure where my thumb is, is that it never wraps around the top. I have to make a concious effort to do that and I've never been comfortable fretting chords that way

So afaik it doesn't move around much