troubles with chords, fingers too short

rafapak

hi guys

I have smallish hands. I can easily play soloing but have serious troubles with certain chord voicings . There are nice voicings that require your thumb pressing bass strings. I can't do that in higher positions. C6/9 in 8 position with thumb pressing on E6 string is unavailable. Are there any exercises that can cause bones of your fingers stretch so that you can over time play voicings that are unavailable at the moment?

MichaelHorowitz

Do you have the Cigano Gj-15? If so, keep in mind that has a wider 1 7/8" nut which may make it harder to do some chords for people with small hands. The GJ-10 has the 1 3/4" nut which is narrower and probably easier for some chord voicings.

I would keep trying, you may find over time you will be able to some of the harder chords. If not, drop a few notes to make them easier.

rafapak

thanks for reply!

Unfortunately I have cigano gj 10. I will try to do stretching exercises for my fingers or sth. By the way, thanks mr Horowitz for gonzalo's book. I have received it already and learnt hungaria by heart. cool licks in this song!

Tele295

rafapak wrote:

Are there any exercises that can cause bones of your fingers stretch so that you can over time play voicings that are unavailable at the moment?

Yes, there are, and they hurt. Any good classical guitar teacher should be able to direct you to these excerices in pain and "web-stretching"

In the meantime, just keep at it, as Michael recommends. Play what you can and adjust the fingerings if necessary. I rarely, if ever, add my thumb to a GJ voicing, and I seem to manage them just fine.

HotTinRoof

Rafa - out of curiosity what shape of C6/9 are you playing where you require your thumb?
You may want to try the Robin Nolan C6/9 of 8x778x (fingering 2nd,muted, 1st barred, 1st barred, 3rd, mute)

steven_eire

There are a lot of different voicings you can use for chords so don't worry too much. Take inspiration from Django, who managed to be the greatest guitar player ever despite his physical limitation.

HotTinRoof wrote:

Rafa - out of curiosity what shape of C6/9 are you playing where you require your thumb?

I'm guessing he means this one:

C 6/9

E  ---10--
B  ---10--
G  ---9---
D  ---10--
A  ---10--
E  ---8---

rafapak you can play this chord without the 6th string note and it still sounds fine. Dennis talks about that on his rhythm DVD

Also here's an alternative chunky 6/9 voicing that uses 6 strings and doesn't require the thumb

C 6/9

E  ---8---
B  ---8---
G  ---7---
D  ---7---
A  ---7---
E  ---8---

I's the same notes in a different order.

rafapak

steven_eire wrote:

There are a lot of different voicings you can use for chords so don't worry too much. Take inspiration from Django, who managed to be the greatest guitar player ever despite his physical limitation.

HotTinRoof wrote:

Rafa - out of curiosity what shape of C6/9 are you playing where you require your thumb?

I'm guessing he means this one:

C 6/9

E  ---10--
B  ---10--
G  ---9---
D  ---10--
A  ---10--
E  ---8---

rafapak you can play this chord without the 6th string note and it still sounds fine. Dennis talks about that on his rhythm DVD

Also here's an alternative chunky 6/9 voicing that uses 6 strings and doesn't require the thumb

C 6/9

E  ---8---
B  ---8---
G  ---7---
D  ---7---
A  ---7---
E  ---8---

I's the same notes in a different order.

The C 6/9 chord with root on E6 eight fret is exactly what I meant. Yes, I play C6/9 with root on A5 third fret but still this is voicing with root on A5 and it sounds great but I would love to play C6/9 with root on E6 as well. For the time being I try to get used to limitations of my fingers. I think I will overcome problem over time. Thanks for replies guys!

rafapak

steven_eire wrote:

There are a lot of different voicings you can use for chords so don't worry too much. Take inspiration from Django, who managed to be the greatest guitar player ever despite his physical limitation.

HotTinRoof wrote:

Rafa - out of curiosity what shape of C6/9 are you playing where you require your thumb?

I'm guessing he means this one:

C 6/9

E  ---10--
B  ---10--
G  ---9---
D  ---10--
A  ---10--
E  ---8---

rafapak you can play this chord without the 6th string note and it still sounds fine. Dennis talks about that on his rhythm DVD

Also here's an alternative chunky 6/9 voicing that uses 6 strings and doesn't require the thumb

C 6/9

E  ---8---
B  ---8---
G  ---7---
D  ---7---
A  ---7---
E  ---8---

I's the same notes in a different order.

what computer program do you use so that you can show diagrams like that?

redblues

what computer program do you use so that you can show diagrams like that?

At what point does this go beyond ridicule? How does a dumbass like this even turn a computer on?