I cannot spread my fingers easily. Am I anatomically disadvantaged for playing the guitar?

Question

Six months ago I started to play the guitar. I like it very much. It became one of these things that I regret not started earlier in my life (I am 25 years old)! By now I can say I am not a complete beginner anymore. I practice whenever I can (about 7 hours per week).

One thing that bothers me a lot is that I seem to be unable to spread my index finger and ring finger far enough to play power chords like the F5:

When I play this chord with not investing much effort it looks like this:

By no effort I mean that my hand and my upper body are relaxed and under no tension. My left arm is leaned onto my body. The guitar is resting comfortably on my leap and is slightly pointing away from me.

When I try hard to play the chord perfectly, so the fingers are in a 90 degrees angle to the strings, it looks like this:

As you can see it is slightly better. But to achieve this I have to put much more effort in my body tension. I have to position the guitar a little bit outside my lap so I can achieve a 90 degrees angle between my arm and the guitar neck. Also I have to move my left arm a little bit away, so it is not leaned against my body anymore.

I met other guitar players and explained my problem to them. They seemed totally unaware of this so it makes me think that I might be one of few "anatomically disadvantaged" guitar players. Is anybody experiencing (or has experienced) this problem?

Update

I want to thank all of the answerers for encouraging me. It really boosted my will to play guitar even more. Additionally I lowered my strings on my guitar, because they were way to far from the fretboard. Now it is even easier to play this chord. It does not sound nasty because I don't need that much force anymore.

Answer 1

Don't try to have a 90° angle, it's bad for ergonomics and could cause injury.

For this chord based on your first photo, I think you actually want to try to work your ring finger closer to the third fret. Your index finger looks just right. You might try angling your hand even more (not less), and try bringing your palm up closer to the bottom of the neck.

This is how I play the F power chord:

The main reason why I like to have my palm against the back of the neck is to make it so I can just squeeze with my fingers without having to put as much tension on my arm. Normally I don't bend my wrist this much, but I have to in order to get my fingers up high enough.

I do keep my fingernails pretty short to prevent the adjacent strings from rattling against them and so they don't impede my fretting in any way.

And give yourself plenty of time to learn precise finger positioning. Your hand looks really good (in the top photo) for someone who has been playing for only six months. Be patient and don't go for uncomfortable hand positions. And if you really want to progress quickly and safely, get a teacher.

BTW, for many years when I played power chords on the low E string, I fretted the low E with my thumb over the top, like this:

The knuckle of my thumb is actually fretting the low F on the E string. Even though my pinky is in the fretting position for the three note power chord, I'm just muting with it there.

Notice my wrist is higher up and not bent.

Answer 2

You shouldn't need to aim for 90 degrees, and you shouldn't need much effort or pressure at all.

When I play that, I use only a little pressure, and my wrist is entirely relaxed. My little finger and index finger also are relaxed and floating.

Unlike Todd's guidance, though, my hand does not touch the neck at all - it's free floating, just resting between thumb and fingers, which makes moving really easy.

Answer 3

It looks as if your hand is normal. Stretching to extended chord shapes does take a lot of practice. Try putting your thumb nearer the center of the back of the neck, you appear to be 'grasping' the neck rather too much.

Answer 4

Firstly, try to free your left arm from your body. It'll be better in the future, as keeping the elbow in restricts whole arm movement.

Secondly, when a power chord is played, it's either two or three strings. If you prefer two, then you need no more than two fingers! But- why not use index and pinky? You could even put down the ring finger next to pinky, for support, because it won't affect the sound. Then, later, when you're feeling a bit more advanced, you'd be able to reach the same fret on 4th string for the root octave, which thickens things up a little. Practise power chords further up the neck, where the frets are a little closer, thus less stretchy.

Thirdly, watch a video or two of one Django, who had far less stretch than even the most stretch-challenged of us. Your worries may disappear!

Answer 5

Nobody else has mentioned it yet but there are a couple other factors you may want to consider in addition to wrist angle before deciding your fingers simply won't spread appropriately for the given chord you are trying to hit.

• Muted Strings - I'm looking at your first picture and I think your hand placement is slightly wrong which could contribute to your inability to easily stretch your pointer and ring finger. You appear to be holding the F5 as if you your first 4 strings are going to be openly ringing. But take notice of the Xs in the chord diagram: 1-3-X-X-X-X. Those Xs actually mark the strings as muted, which means that you should be able to strum all 6 strings of your guitar and only hear the first fret of your low-E and the 3rd fret of your A string. All of the other strings will give you a low "whump" sound as you lay your pointer finger across them without actually holding them to the fret board. This "laying down of your pointer" finger will relax your hand somewhat and may allow you to more easily spread your fingers apart as necessary.
• Guitar Neck Size - I can't tell exactly from the picture but the dark ebony could represent an Electric Gibson neck (which have necks that are thicker than some other brands like Fender). Keep in mind that not all guitars are created equal. Classical guitars have very thick necks which force a very specific hand technique which requires that the neck be tilted upward somewhat. Some electrics on the other have thinner or thicker necks depending on the style of the guitar. Depending on the size of your hand you may find certain guitars more comfortable than others and certain chords easier or harder. If you have a specific chord which is giving you trouble, you may try going to a guitar shop and experimenting with some other guitar styles to see if they all give you trouble or if it is just a specific characteristic of the guitar you are using.
• Setup of the Guitar - Similar to the neck issue above, depending on how close your strings have been setup to your fretboard, you may be exerting more force than is ideal in order to press your strings down to play notes. When you play a guitar where the strings are too far away from the fretboard, the tendency will be to place your thumb more squarely on the back of the neck which could be somewhat uncomfortable on your hand. Stretching your pointer and ring finger apart when you have unnecessary strain elsewhere could absolutely contribute to the difficulty you are describing.

Answer 6

The more you play the more comfortable you'll get. Your style will adapt to your strengths. Django had his left hand maimed in an accident and played beautifully.

Answer 7

I have another suggestion, basically to help you develop your ability to stretch.

Whatever hand position you settle on, try playing this chord form higher up the neck. So try playing a C power chord at the eighth fret (for example) instead of an F at the first fret. You might find it a bit easier up there mainly because the frets are closer together. If playing a chord formation higher up (closer to the bridge) is easier, you can start working your way down (toward the nut) gradually to the F chord and this will slowly increase your ability to stretch in the lower frets.

I don't use these formations so often but, for what its worth, my hand position looks close to Dr. Mayhem's above. I find the F position is probably the most difficult on my guitar - it's easier to play the formation higher up.

Answer 8

Everyone has different geometry and so not everyone suits the recommended positions. I have large hands but short fingers and so I stretch my fingers out on both hands every day, several time a day, to make the most of what I have, and to keep flexibility. It does make a difference. Also placing your fingers on a table (hover your palm) and practising moving each finger (especially ring fingers), very slowly and deliberately, up and down off the table without moving the others, will make chords and switching chords easier. I stress, slowly and very deliberately, with control.

It will become easier in time, honestly. Playing things higher up the neck (as suggested above) does work but make sure you keep pushing gently to move back down the neck to lower frets or you will get stuck there at the dusty end

Answer 9

I have played for over 50 years and have been constantly plagued by the size and shape of my hand. The first issue I confronted was the difference between playing seated (especially if you hold the guitar up high and close to you) and playing standing. Playing seated one tends to hold the guitar higher and closer to your body this actually facilitates the positioning of your fingers however, it is totally different from playing standing, which necessitates a different positioning of the hand. Next I encountered the difference that scale length makes. With Fender having a longer scale length I have found that Gibson's shorter scale makes it easier to reach more frets. If you really want to experience nirvana try a Gibson Byrdland which has an even smaller scale length. All guitars have different neck widths and depths these have a dramatic impact on your playing ability. A fat neck such as 50's era Gibson's is almost unplayable for folks with small hands. Next up is hand and finger stretching. I highly recommend two dvd's from Lick Library "Guitar Aerobics Beginner" and "Guitar Aerobics Advanced" they introduced me to warm up and practice exercises that forced me to stretch my fingers beyond anything I was previously used to and introduced me to correct hand positioning. To sum up finger stretching and correct hand placement selecting the best neck size for you will do wonders.

Answer 10

Bring the neck in closer to you and hunch/lean forward over the neck and guitar. I have the same problem as you have. I play the Greek Bouzouki now by trying different positions that suited me. The Greek Bouzouki has a big sound bowl which makes it harder to hold and balance. I was determined to play and now I can. You have to be determined although the bouzouki has a narrower fret board and its a tetrchord 4 course not a trixachordo 3 course(narrower fret board). I can play the guitar well to make my own recorded backing. Have fun.

Answer 11

just practise chromatic scale starting with lower 6th string to 1st string (4 note per string) . And then go back from 1st string to 6th string. This exercise helps me the most.