Newbie cant reach many chords

[Sandgrounderforever]

Hi,

My hands are an average size, but I find Im struggling to reach A LOT of chords...will flexibilty come if I keep practicing, or could you recommend some exercises?

:mandosmiley::mandosmiley::mandosmiley:

[Brent Hutto]

Play fiddle tunes until your hands and skills make chord playing easier?

[Ben Somerville]

When I started out my hands were smaller than normal (and they still are), so obviously I couldn't play many chords, but many good hours of practice finally gave my hands the ability to play those big ones (like the G chop). I didn't do any special exercises or anything, just plain ol' practice.

[Tim2723]

Hi and welcome!

Are you using a guitarist's grip? A lot of the folks who come to the mandolin from the guitar complain about troubles with reaching things in general. Is that your case as well? If so, adjusting the grip to the proper mandolin technique helps most of the time. It certainly doesn't hurt anything to stretch your hands. Runners stretch before a marathon, right? I never do it, but I suppose it's good for mandolin players too. I did use one of those hand exercisers you see in the music stores, but it never really did much for me. I found it was just a matter of practice and time.

[yarcod]

Practice,practice,practice. New myself to mando and can remember trying a Bm when starting guitar, it will come!!

[mandroid]

0023 is still G, 0230 C, 2002, D. nice open string ringing chords..

but this is not an equipment issue. maybe this can be moved to theory or general sections
by the technicians.

[yankees1]

Hi,

My hands are an average size, but I find Im struggling to reach A LOT of chords...will flexibilty come if I keep practicing, or could you recommend some exercises?

:mandosmiley::mandosmiley::mandosmiley: Join the party!

[JeffD]

Hi and welcome!

Are you using a guitarist's grip? A lot of the folks who come to the mandolin from the guitar complain about troubles with reaching things in general. Is that your case as well? If so, adjusting the grip to the proper mandolin technique helps most of the time. .

This is an important point.

[Steve Ostrander]

I have arthritis in my hands and I can't make a lot of the closed chop chords, but I still play on with 2 and 3 finger chords. Can't let it stop me, it's too much fun...

[Bertram Henze]

Switch from guitar grip to fiddle grip. The mandolin fretboard is narrow enough to free your finger stretches for other directions.

[raulb]

Join the club. I have big hands but short, thick fingers, and I have been playing mandolin for the better part of 30 years. Before that I played the fiddle and viola. I still cannot stretch for many of the chop chords and I cannot stretch my little finger far enough for the 7th fret without moving my hand. So, I tend to play open chords or melody/harmony.

[bmac]

I suppose it depends on what kind of music you want to play.... If it is bluegrass that is one thing and you may feel you have to use 4 string (pair) chords. However Steve Ostrand, above, apparently plays successfully with two and three finger chords. I have good hands but I seldom use more than two string chords.... because I prefer them (sound wise) over full four string chords. But I am not interested in bluegrass.

I think you may be trying to do everything at once, right now, when a gradual develpment of finger strength and flexibility may do fine for now, and then expand as your strength slowly develops.

[mandroid]

Equipment ? use a Step ladder ! ;)

[Rob Gerety]

I think if you practice a tough chord shape for just a minute or two every morning and every evening - not too long - you will have it in several months. You will wake up one morning and that shape that was physically impossible at first will be routine. I do agree that it helps to hold the neck like you do when playing fiddle, not guitar.

[Gwernen]

I was given the suggestion of practicing hammer ons and pull offs pinkie to index up the frets, for as long as I could stand it. Now, if you do that on guitar, given the fret spacings, you get strong and you get a nice long stretch. Switching to mando for my small hands seemed crazy easier after years of that. Some of the chords are still a burden, but everyone is right, you have to keep the mando grip and not wrap your thumb around the fretboard. Still working on a few of those movable ones.

[Rroyd]

The grips have it and thumb position is the key. You aren't hanging on to a hammer handle or tennis racket, and those folks who complain about not being able to play the 4-finger chords usually use that style of neck grip. When you walk around a festival and see 8-year-old kids playing those chords, it invalidates the "small hands" excuse.

[David Lloyd]

If you are talking about chop chords? Start with your standard chop chord in B ..your 2nd finger at the 7th fret bottom string. When you get used to that start moving the pattern back toward the nut. It only took a couple of weeks for me to reach a G chop chord easily doing that way. I have small hands and short fingers. Good luck

[SHORTY]

i'm only 4' 11" so I have extra large hands, haa! In reality I have normal but small hands fitting my size. I've been trying for eons to reach the 2nd fret (index finger) and 7th fret (steching my little finger) on the E string. A note step in Adam Steffey's version of Durangs' Hornpipe. Finally this week I could accomplish it at a fair playing speed. By no means fast, but excepable to me. So persistance and practice will endevor. Everyone has their challenge to playing skills. Just keep playing and have fun.
Oh yeh, sometimes I cheat and skip a note.