Hand size and guitar (what's yours?)

[Ben Grosskreuz]

Hey everybody,

I'm curious as to what kind of range you synners have for hand size and reach.

Specifically the distance between your pinky and thumb AND the distance between your pinky and index finger.

I doubt he'll see this but I'm dying to know what Syn's is .

Mine are.
Pinky to thumb - 10 inches
Pinky to index - 8.5 inches

 

[Donovan Etue]

I've got pretty small hall hands so pinky to thumb is really stretching it 9" with relaxing a bit more and stretching I'm about 8 3/4 and pinky to index is really stretching it to 7" but is probably closer to 6 4/5".

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

I've got pretty small hall hands so pinky to thumb is really stretching it 9" with relaxing a bit more and stretching I'm about 8 3/4 and pinky to index is really stretching it to 7" but is probably closer to 6 4/5".

That isn't a bad measurement imo and considering my difference between the 2 measurments is 1.5 inches I bet if you work on stretching you could get your Index/pinky distance to 7.5-7.75"

 

[Kai C]

I've got pretty small hall hands so pinky to thumb is really stretching it 9" with relaxing a bit more and stretching I'm about 8 3/4 and pinky to index is really stretching it to 7" but is probably closer to 6 4/5".

Holy shit that makes me feel like I have small hands I'm at 8 1/4 pinky to thumb and 6 1/2 pinky to index.... Both measurements while stretching

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

Holy shit that makes me feel like I have small hands I'm at 8 1/4 pinky to thumb and 6 1/2 pinky to index.... Both measurements while stretching

I looked at one of your videos and your hands look like they should be a bit larger of a stretch. Do you work on flexibility consistently?

 

[Kai C]

I looked at one of your videos and your hands look like they should be a bit larger of a stretch. Do you work on flexibility consistently?

Maybe I measured wrong but I haven't really worked on it. Do you have a good recommendation for stretching exercises?

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

Maybe I measured wrong but I haven't really worked on it. Do you have a good recommendation for stretching exercises?

Yeah.

Hold your arm straight out with your palm down.

Next grab your index finger and pull it toward you slightly.

While holding your index finger, curl the other 3 fingers into a fist and you should feel a solid stretch. I do it like 10 times

Repeat this with the other 3 fingers.

Then turn your hand palm up.

Pull your index slightly toward you and extend your other 3 fingers rather than curling them. (So the opposite of what you just did)

Repeat for the remaining fingers.

Finally put your other hand between your index and middle finger and use your thumb and fingers to push the index and middle finger apart to stretch them out from side to side.

Do this between the middle/ring and the ring/pinkie.

Also stretch the thumb by pulling it back gently.

Make sure you don't have tight shoulder, arm, forearm or chest muscles because they all connect and can effect your fingers. (I had a pinched nerve in my tricep and it was making my index tingle the other day)

 

[Kai C]

Yeah.

Hold your arm straight out with your palm down.

Next grab your index finger and pull it toward you slightly.

While holding your index finger, curl the other 3 fingers into a fist and you should feel a solid stretch. I do it like 10 times

Repeat this with the other 3 fingers.

Then turn your hand palm up.

Pull your index slightly toward you and extend your other 3 fingers rather than curling them. (So the opposite of what you just did)

Repeat for the remaining fingers.

Finally put your other hand between your index and middle finger and use your thumb and fingers to push the index and middle finger apart to stretch them out from side to side.

Do this between the middle/ring and the ring/pinkie.

Also stretch the thumb by pulling it back gently.

Make sure you don't have tight shoulder, arm, forearm or chest muscles because they all connect and can effect your fingers. (I had a pinched nerve in my tricep and it was making my index tingle the other day)

Shit man you got some fucking monster hands making that stretch.

But for real, thank you so much for the stretches! They felt good on my hand. I'll start incorporating that daily and see where we can go from there.

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

Shit man you got some fucking monster hands making that stretch.

But for real, thank you so much for the stretches! They felt good on my hand. I'll start incorporating that daily and see where we can go from there.

Yeah dude for sure, let me know if you see any improvement
N thankyou, it makes playing easier. I wonder what Syn's reach is, probs 1 to 15 LOL

 

[Donovan Etue]

Holy shit that makes me feel like I have small hands I'm at 8 1/4 pinky to thumb and 6 1/2 pinky to index.... Both measurements while stretching

Take in mind that's me stretching like hell and that my measurements probably wouldn't transfer over to the fretboard the same. I probably have a playable stretch measurement similar to yours in the fretboard.

 

[Donovan Etue]

Yeah dude for sure, let me know if you see any improvement
N thankyou, it makes playing easier. I wonder what Syn's reach is, probs 1 to 15 LOL

1-15 is probably just from his index to ring haha. He appears to have pretty long fingers anyway.

 

[Ed Seith]

My hands are big, but my fingers are short (my wedding ring is a size 13). After stretching, I can get to almost 9" pinky to thumb. Index to pinky, I can break 6" on a good day.

 

[Donovan Etue]

That isn't a bad measurement imo and considering my difference between the 2 measurments is 1.5 inches I bet if you work on stretching you could get your Index/pinky distance to 7.5-7.75"

Huh. Did some of the stretches you recommended as well as a few of the stretches I know before warming up guitar for a bit and re measured. I was able to cover up 7 5/8" this time.

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

My hands are big, but my fingers are short (my wedding ring is a size 13). After stretching, I can get to almost 9" pinky to thumb. Index to thumb, I can break 6" on a good day.

Index to PINKY haha, I think you'll get a much better number that way my friend!

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

1-15 is probably just from his index to ring haha. He appears to have pretty long fingers anyway.

I actually compared my hand size to his based on his relative to his guitar (I have the same guitar).
They are almost identical except I think his fingers are slightly thicker, his outer knuckles are a little wider and his pinkys are shorter lol

 

[Christian Schulze]

Wellp....
Pinky to thumb is around 9 inches and pinky to index is around 7 inches. Both measures taken while expanding the hand. After seeing your video and your playing (and your comment on the video replying to mine), I am encouraged to try the stretches before a good guitar session.

 

[Ed Seith]

Index to PINKY haha, I think you'll get a much better number that way my friend!

I actually just wrote it wrong - I did measure index to pinky. No better a number!

 

[Ben Grosskreuz]

Wellp....
Pinky to thumb is around 9 inches and pinky to index is around 7 inches. Both measures taken while expanding the hand. After seeing your video and your playing (and your comment on the video replying to mine), I am encouraged to try the stretches before a good guitar session.

What did I comment? Haha I forgot

 

[Christian Schulze]

What did I comment? Haha I forgot

You told me to work on my flexibility.

 

[Ethan Keeling]

My old guitar teacher said I have waffle hands....