The thumb of your fretting hand should rest behind the neck of the guitar placing it approximately between your first two fingers. Make sure to bend all your knuckles (1st, 2nd and 3rd). Use the tip of your fingers to press down the strings and place them as close to the fret as possible.
Put your index finger on your left hand on the first fret of the B string. Place your middle finger on the second fret of the D string, and your ring finger on the third fret of the A string. Press firmly with the tips of your fingers and be sure not to accidentally mute any other strings.
Steps
- Relax your wrist, gripping the neck of the guitar in the "C" formed between thumb and fingers.
- Curl your fingers whenever you're playing a note.
- Keep your fingers close to the fretboard to improve speed and precision.
- Use your thumb pushing on the back of the neck to provide power and stability.
Many guitar players will tell you that there are only 5 chords to concern yourself with as a beginner. They are the five Major chords mention earlier: E, G, C, A, and D. Major is a word that describes the quality of the chord.
How to Toughen Up Your Fingertips
- Increase your guitar's playability.
- Keep your nails trimmed.
- Get the right strings.
- Learn on a steel string acoustic guitar.
- Don't press on the strings so hard.
- Don't play with wet fingers.
- Refrain from biting, picking, or shaving off your hard-earned calluses.
- Soak your fingers in apple cider vinegar.
There was very little to speak of that Hendrix did on his recordings or live in concert without using the pick as his way of sounding strings with his picking hand ( I say with the picking hand because he certainly used a lot of fretting -hand generated notes, or “pull-offs and hammer-ons”).
If you are playing the guitar incorrectly, or not exercising your fingers – then your hand would hurt after playing the guitar, and can even cause finger joint pains. Therefore, it is extremely important for a guitarist to take care of his hands if he wants to play the guitar pain-free for years.
Some of the pain many beginners feel in their fingers when they start learning to play guitar comes from something else: pushing down too hard on the strings. But pushing down too hard, especially before you've had a chance to build calluses, can make the pain in your fingers worse.
Everyone who takes up the guitar has to deal with sore fingers in the beginning and every time they come back to their instrument after some time away. But in the end, it's so worth a little pain. Don't let sore fingertips stand between you and your dream of playing guitar. Don't give up, toughen up.
Many new guitar players experience sore and painful fingertips in the early stages of learning guitar. This pain comes from the indenting your skin over and over again on hard guitar strings. Remember that this pain will eventually subside once you build up calluses.
Classical guitarists use their right hand fingernails instead of picks. The tape is used to protect their nails, not their fingers. The extra practice you'd be doing would likely tear your nails apart. They won't grow back in time, unless you stop practicing.
Used by amateurs and professionals alike, rubbing alcohol helps harden the skin and, in some instances, can also help ease the pain. Simply soak a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol 3-4 times a day, and rub it over your fingertips. Another liquid mixture that some guitar players use to harden their skin is salt water.
There are a lot of different places you can press down on the “tip” of your finger. Eventually you will will develop a muscle memory in your hand, and your fingers will go right to the correct place without thinking about it. So your fingers are not too fat to play guitar. You can do it, just keep practicing.
Pinch Strengthener
- Pinch a soft foam ball or some putty between the tips of your fingers and your thumb.
- Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Repeat 10 to 15 times on both hands. Do this exercise two to three times a week, but rest your hands for 48 hours in between sessions. Don't do this exercise if your thumb joint is damaged.
You may be able to play a full-sized guitar with ease if the neck is thin and not too wide. While a full-sized guitar with a chunky neck may feel impossible. The best guitar for short fingers or small hands is one with a flat neck that makes it easier for your shorter fingers to reach around the neck.
Use the tip of fingers to fret the notes. Try to curl your fingers a little when fretting. This will help keep the flat part off of other strings.
Electric guitars are generally the easiest to play: the strings are usually thinner, the 'action' is lower and therefore the strings are easier to press down.
Classical nylon string guitars typically have a wider neck (2″) and are easier to play for large handed people for that reason, the nylon strings are pretty easy on the fingers too! The typical acoustic guitar of old had a nut width of 1 -11/16″ while the finger style guitars were around 1–3/4″.
Advantages of big hands - potentially your reach, although this depends on whether your fingers are long, or just big. And for guitars with wide necks big hands can help. Disadvantages of big hands - you might find it tricky to play certain chords high up the neck if you can't get your fingers into a small space.
The Top 5 Guitars for Players with Big Hands
| 1. | Ibanez GIO Series |
|---|
| 2. | Seagull 039296 S6 Acoustic |
| 3. | Ibanez AEG12IINT Acoustic-Electric |
| 4. | Cordoba C3M Classical |
| 5. | Ibanez AM53 AM |
If the frets are worn to the point where they are closer to the fretboard, the guitar will be more difficult to play. If several frets are touching the string between the two you are holding it against, there is insufficient relief. If there is much clearance at all at the 7th fret, you may have too much relief.
Yes, nylon strings are softer and more gently on players' fingers, so beginners generally won't have to worry about finger pain or developing the callouses that will help them practice pain-free. When looking at steel- or nylon-string acoustics, the conversation goes deeper than just the string material.
To play most guitar chords, you need to press down on the strings with the tips of your fingers. This allows you to apply maximum pressure and to get the cleanest sound possible. Press down on guitar string with tip of finger for maximum pressure and to avoid touching other strings that shouldn't be pressed.
If you're looking for the easiest acoustic guitar to play, I've done the research and I have an answer for you: A Big Baby Taylor. If you trust me, go buy it. If you want more details about why I love this guitar… read on… First, let's define what we mean by “easiest guitar to learn to play”.
The problem is that every Martin I've played has been orders of magnitude more difficult to play than the comparable Taylors. The person at the music shop says that it's because Martin ships their guitars with high action and heavy strings opposed to Taylor who ships them with lower action and lighter strings.
The more expensive guitars tend to be made with better wood which produces better tone. The more expensive guitars usually have a more accurate fretboard thus keeping it in tune from top to bottom of the neck. All of that makes it more convenient and sound better. The ease of play comes from how the guitar is set up.
If most of your playing involves hard strumming, medium-gauge strings will likely be a better choice, though they may prove a little more challenging to new players' fingers. If your playing is a mix of strumming and fingerpicking, a light-medium string set may be a good choice.
In order to help ease these woes and set you on the right path, here are the 5 best guitar strings for beginners!
- 1 1 – D'Addario Phosphor Bronze EJ16-3D Set Of 3.
- 2 2 – Martin Phosphor Bronze MSP4150 Strings.
- 3 3 – DR Zebra Acoustic-Electric Strings.
- 4 4 – Gibson Brite Wires.
- 5 5 – Ernie Ball Skinny Top, Heavy Bottom.
Summing up the entire Zager line of guitars is positively easy. They are excellent. Every model included in this review was well made, impeccably setup and both played and sounded beautifully.
