{"id":44822,"date":"2024-07-19T16:15:26","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T20:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarcorner.com\/?p=44822"},"modified":"2024-08-01T16:27:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T20:27:51","slug":"guitar-for-small-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarcorner.com\/guitar-for-small-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Guitar for Small Hands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you play guitar with small hands?<\/h2>\n

How do you deal with having small hands on classical guitar? This is just one of many physical limitations you might struggle with while learning the guitar. In this article I’d like to discuss working within rather than beyond your limitations on classical guitar. If you have small hands, this article is for you!<\/p>\n

Small hands<\/h3>\n

The classical guitar has a wider neck profile than other styles of instruments like electric or acoustic guitar. This can make it somewhat difficult to reach all of the notes you need to if you have smaller hands. Moreover, the “standard” scale length of the instrument is around 650mm (25.6 inches). And because of the construction of the instrument, where frets are wider apart in lower positions, that will mean pretty big stretches are required for those with small hands. And we do most of our playing down in those positions too. So are your hands too small<\/em> to play guitar?<\/p>\n

Technique for small hands<\/h4>\n

If you have small hands, first, it’s important to recognize there’s a lot you can do with what you have. Many professional guitarists with very small hands play on “standard” size guitars (650mm scale and 52mm nut) and play comfortably. This is because they have crafted a left-hand technique that allows them to optimize their hands.<\/p>\n

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp<\/a> talks about how she used to play with a 660mm and then 650mm scale-length guitars for a good part of her career. After experimenting with shorter scale guitars with narrower string spacing it just helped with comfort.<\/p>\n

I have really tiny hands, I have very flexible hands, but they are really really small…I think there are much worse things that you can have than small hands…Does it mean it should stop you from learning guitar? No, it just means you need to get a guitar that fits you…So I don’t think small hands are disadvantaged. It’s very individual and technique is very individual and people have to learn to play with their body and everyone’s bodies are different.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can watch Karin play here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But technique is really important, even with small hands. If you allow your left thumb to be high on the neck or you adopt a “violin” position<\/a>, you will severely reduce the stretch and optimization of your left hand. The sitting position and how you hold your instrument will also directly correlate to the left-hand position. And so finding the right sitting position is also extremely important to make sure your wrist, elbow, and shoulder are not in a position that compromises your left-hand fingers.<\/p>\n

A smaller instrument for smaller hands<\/h4>\n

However, there is no reason to fight the instrument if you have solid technique but still feel restricted by a “standard” size guitar. There are many shorter scale guitars with narrower profile necks out there. In fact, many luthiers today will custom build a guitar to fit you. (Go here if you want all the info on how to buy your first classical guitar<\/a>.) What’s the best guitar for small hands?<\/p>\n

C\u00f3rdoba offers some great small-scale instruments:<\/p>\n