Can you play guitar with small hands?

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!

Small hands

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 to play guitar?

Technique for small hands

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.

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp 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.

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.

You can watch Karin play here.

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, 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.

A smaller instrument for smaller hands

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.) What’s the best guitar for small hands?

Córdoba offers some great small-scale instruments:

  • Córdoba Requinto 1/2 size ($389 USD)
  • Córdoba Cadete 3/4 size ($389 USD)
  • Córdoba Dolce 7/8 size ($389 USD)

Expand your reach with small hands

You can also work to develop stretch in the left-hand fingers. Just know that this takes time to develop. But a great way to develop that stretch is to use a capo. Because the stretch is wider in lower positions and much beginner classical guitar music is in first position (where the stretch is widest!), a simple solution is to move your “first position” higher up on the guitar. The capo allows you to do this.

A capo acts as a new nut position. We can play all the same music with the same fingerings in a different position, and only the pitch changes.

Try placing a capo on the seventh fret and you’ll notice the stretch is considerably easier. This will allow you to place your fingers close up against the fretwire even with your pinky finger. Once the seventh position feels comfortable, move the capo back to the sixth fret. The stretch is only a tiny bit wider here, so the incremental change of one fret won’t feel like much at all. Continue playing here until the sixth position is comfortable, and move the capo back to the fifth fret. Continue until you can get all the way back to the first position without the capo. This will of course take time, but it is a great way to exercise stretch in the left hand.

Moreover, you can continue to use a capo on the first or second fret for a time if it helps with stretches. At the end of the day, you can still play the guitar and at a very high level with small hands.

Conclusion

As you can see, whether you purchase a new instrument or just focus on technique, you can indeed learn classical guitar with small hands.