Originally Posted by: jdrayson

I have been playing as a complete beginner for a few months with some minor success, although I am struggling with my left hand hitting the frets correctly, and it often sounds clunky, particularly with chords. I am using a standard sized acoustic guitar with a 42mm neck, but I have long thin fingers, so was wondering if in fact the neck is too narrow? Sometimes I feel I just cant hit the frets correctly. May just be poor techinque too... Can you get wider necked guitars and is it worth trying one out? I don't know if a wider neck can be better for people with long and/or fat fingers.

Many thanks

Jonny

I'll start with this; see the guy with the mandolin? He's about 6'3" and a monster at the instument.

Why I start with that is to give you a perspective of big hands and small neck. That mandolin neck is tiny (I have one and it is) and his fingers are quite long.

So, I'm sure you get the point here; neck and finger length are not really a major issue overall. In the short term, it may present a challenge in feeling a little clumsy at times but the truth is; all guitar players feel clumsy when starting out. Remove from your post that you have longer hands and a small neck and leave the rest and what you posed is pretty much the same as the majority of new guitar players challenge as well.

We all have challenges at the outset. Way back when, when I started, it was more natural to me than I would have expected but even with that in mind, fretting chords and notes took time and practice.

So, I'm not trying sound discouraging. The opposite, really. Keep in mind tht all guitr players at some level, when starting out, felt the same way due to fingers that were (too big, too smal, too fat, artheritic and so on). You've joined the guitar playing club! Welcome!

Truth is, once you get over the clumsy hump, you'll come to find that the longer fingers are a definite advantage.