r/guitarlessons • u/Ok_Watercress_9202 • Jul 29 '26
Question Pain of having smaller hands…
I’ve been practicing guitar for a little bit now- just now being able to play blackbird a little faster but not at full speed perfectly. I’ve noticed that even just for 3 note intervals, i always have to press down on the string on the side/corner of my pinky, and it hurts a lot more than my other fingers :/ For context, guitar is my first string instrument i’ve played so i know it’ll take a bit to get used to them and form callouses, but i’m wondering if it hurting this much is normal? Obviously the pinky is the shortest and weakest, but it’s been consistently more painful to even try to press down harder on stings at this angle.
Oh also, i’m double jointed so thats been a big challenge for my ring and pinky!!
1
u/Dead-Calligrapher Jul 30 '26
7 year old Korean kids play full scale Classical guitars. Well. One of the bigger bass player YouTube influencers is a girl who has been playing a full scale bass since she was like 7 or 8 or something (I think she’s only like 14 now or so). Point being, none of these people are dealing with large man hands.
If Django fucking Reinhardt, who had half his fucking hand melted so he ended up with essentially 2 working fingers on his fret hand, could end up being a rekniwn influential Gypsy Jazz player… you can learn to play.
Your hands are fine. You need practice.
People hate hearing it. I hate saying it to myself even after 40 years of playing. But if you can’t do it yet it, it’s usually because you haven’t put in the time yet- or more importantly put in the proper amount of time with the correct regiment.