One of the most common problems that beginner guitarists experience is the fat finger issue. I put it into quotation marks, because 95% of the time, it’s not a real problem, just a newbie thing.
No matter whether they have short and chubby fingers, or long and skinny ones, beginners will always have difficulty fretting a note without touching the adjacent strings. This is perfectly normal, so before you quit altogether or start playing bass because of your fat fingers, you need to know one thing:
This issue is caused by the fact that the beginner’s hand and fingers are simply not used to fretting chords. Granted, there’s not much space in between the strings to fool around, but if Johnny Hilland, and this guy, and of course the awesomeIsrael Kamakawiwo'olecan play well, you should be able to manage as well.
Playing The Mandolin With Big Or Fat Fingers
Your fingers aren’t too fat for the guitar, you just haven’t developed your playing technique yet. As I mentioned, I can say with 95% certainty, that this is the cause of your problems, it's very common with beginners.
So getting back to business, how do you deal with this problem? Before you start typing Are my short fingers too fat to play guitar? into Google, let’s have a look at a few basic things beginners need to get right in order to position their fingers at an optimal angle on the fretboard:
Now that we’ve reviewed the basics of how to hold the guitar, here are some tips on how to play guitar with “fat fingers”. Hehe, just kidding, your fingers aren’t fat at all, it’s just your technique which needs to be chiseled.
Big Lou Wide Nut Electric Guitars
If you fall into the 5% category, which the above tips don’t help, then, and only then should you have a look at guitars with wider fingerboards.
Again, let me emphasize this. I’m 95% sure you don’t need a new guitar. Your first course of action is to follow the above guide for at least 2 months. If you’ve applied the above and nothing changes, you may want to go into a local guitar shop, one with lots of guitars, and try a few with wider necks.
Different guitars have different neck widths, which is measured as the width at the nut. Electric and acoustic guitars are pretty much the same (usually 1 11/16 width at the nut), but slight differences can definitely count.
What Is The Best Guitar For Fat Fingers? (2023)
Give it a try! Go to a guitar shop and try a Fender Strat, then a Gibson Les Paul. You’ll definitely feel the difference.
Here are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when looking for a guitar with a wider neck for those chubby fingers of yours:
Here are a few guitars that are manufactured with wider necks than the average. If you know of any other brands/companies, leave it in the comments section please and I'll amend the article.
Struggling With Fat Fingers. I Keep Hitting 2 Strings Despite Trying To Use My Fingertips. Any Tips (pun Intended)?
Seagull acoustic guitars have a 1.8 nut width (I have a Seagull SWS, you can see it on some of the lessons, it is awesome).
Big Lou guitarsare made specifically for bigger folks, thus they have a 1- 7/8 nut width. They make electric guitars, no acoustics as of yet.
Big Lou also sells just the neck of the guitar, that you can place onto your Stratocaster or Telecaster style guitar. This is a neat choice if you don't want to buy a whole new guitar.
How To Play Guitar With Fat Fingers
Classical Spanish guitars have the widest necks, the standard is 2 at the nut. Try it after a normal electric or acoustic, it’ll feel like you have a football field to play on.
In closing, keep in mind that as frustrating as it may be right now, all beginners go through this. Your fingers are most likely not too fat for the guitar, you just need to develop your technique.
Before you run out to Guitar Center and buy the widest necked classical guitar, take a few weeks to work on the exercises I gave you above. This will probably deal with your problems in a few weeks.
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How To Finger All Chords On Guitar (with Pictures)
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Difficulties Fingering Chords? “a” Chord & “fat Fingers”
Usually when a beginner complains that their fingers are too fat it’s because they're struggling with the A chord. Let's start there, and then I can give you more general ideas that will apply to fingering chords in general.
A common form of the A chord when you're first learning is putting your 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers altogether on the 2nd fret. Usually students can finger the chord even if their fingers are fairly thick if they don't try to get the fingers in a straight line.
You’ll want to angle your fingers so that the 1st finger is back quite a bit compared to the 3rd finger. Work to make sure that the strings still make good contact with the 2nd fret and don't buzz.
How To Get A Fat Sound On Your Fingerstyle Guitar
Another alternative form I use fairly often is a two finger a chord. To make this chord you’ll use your 1st finger to cover both the 4th and 3rd strings at the 2nd fret. Then I use your 2nd finger to play the 2nd string.
You'll need to raise your knuckles high enough in the air so your fingers don't touch the 1st string. It may be a little difficult at first but with practice you'll find it a very useful fingering.
A 3rd fingering is to make the a court with the 2nd 3rd and 4th fingers. Because the 4th fingerpicking is smaller it takes less space. This is not a fingering I use often and it's not my 1st go to when students complain of having large fingers.
Best Guitars For Short And Fat Fingers In (2023)
If your hands are on the larger side you may want to consider using a classical or nylon string guitar which has a wider neck.
The nylon string guitar sounds different than the steel string acoustic guitar. This may or may not be a good choice for you depending on the style of music you want to play in the sound that you prefer.
Another possibility is a 12 string guitar with a little creative adjustment. What we’ll do is convert the 12 string guitar into a 6 string guitar.
Can You Play Guitar With Fat Fingers (or Small Hands)….
Normally a 12 string guitar uses pairs of strings. To make it a 6 guitar just remove the higher string from each of the pairs. When you do that you end up with a 6 string guitar that has a wider neck and the strings a little farther apart. This is actually a reasonable solution if your hands are big and you want the acoustic steel string sound.
Now that I've dealt with some of the practical issues concerning large fingers and playing the guitar I want to talk about what I would consider sometimes more likely the underlying issue.
I have found over the years that even though students think that there's some physical problem keeping them from playing guitar, it often is more about underestimating what they can do with practice.
Playing Guitar With Fat Fingers: A Few Tips To Help You Out
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